“TVN SA violated Article 18(1) and (2) of the Broadcasting Act by broadcasting the program entitled “Bielmo. Franciszkańska 3″” – reads the message published on the website of the National Broadcasting Council. “In connection with the above, the Chairman called on the broadcaster to stop breaking the law and decided to impose a financial sanction in the amount of PLN 550,000.”
KRRiT on TVN’s report: “lack of objectivity”, “biased material”
On March 6 last year, the reportage “Franciszkańska 3” was broadcast on TVN24 – “Bielmo” is the seventh part of the series. Marcin Gutowski talked to victims of pedophile priests and presented documents from the IPN archives. The evidence indicates that in the years 1964-78, the Metropolitan of Krakow, Cardinal Karol Wojtyła, covered up the pedophilia of priests under his command.
Immediately after the material was broadcast to the National Broadcasting Council, viewers most often alleged that it insulted religious feelings. The National Broadcasting Council then initiated two proceedings – one initiated ex officio by the Chairman of the Council, Maciej Świrski, the other based on complaints. TVN24 encouraged people to submit complaints about the material, among others. Radio Maryja. The radio station’s website includes detailed instructions on how to do this.
“During the explanatory proceedings initiated by the National Broadcasting Council, experts confirmed that the material does not meet the criteria of reportage and the standards of journalistic ethics,” we read in a statement on the National Broadcasting Council’s website. The decision was signed by Świrski. According to KRRiT experts, the broadcast “was based on the materials of the Security Service of the Polish People’s Republic (reports obtained by the Security Service) and other documentation collections were not checked. No in-depth query was carried out, no events were connected, and the entire narrative was adapted to the previously stated thesis. The analysis of the material showed the occurrence of “broadcasting content that is contrary to the law and social good, harming religious feelings, in this particular case of Catholics, and disinforming public opinion.”
“The experts demonstrated a lack of objectivity and journalistic reliability. They noticed that the material was biased, prepared with a selective selection of sources, and an ahistorical interpretation of facts and events. The creators of the program used manipulative techniques prohibited in journalistic work, such as: insinuation, the use of so-called fixer terms , using false associations of emotions and people, gossip,” says the National Broadcasting Council.
TVN has two weeks to pay
TVN should pay the fine within 14 days of receiving the decision. In its justification for its decision, the National Broadcasting Council quotes some of the complaints it took into account. You can read, among others:
I hereby file a complaint against this program broadcast on the extremely anticlerical TVN24, which constitutes blasphemy and bashing of Saint. John Paul II, including incitement to hatred against the Catholic Church. The activities of the media and anti-Catholic organizations should be banned in connection with Art. 13. of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland”.
The lack of professionalism and bias in the assessment of Saint John Paul II is astonishing. A film advertised as a documentary is nothing more than slander, based on manipulation of facts and sources. I express my deep indignation and disapproval of the violation of the personal rights of Saint John Paul II, and therefore my own.
Source: Gazeta
Bruce is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment . He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
