has been changing a lot in recent months. It’s a nice feeling when, after eight years of politicization and turning public media into a propaganda mouthpiece for the government, it turns out that you can go to Woronicza with a clear conscience and take part in something that is being created there. And the invitation concerned not just any program, but a reactivated format that was groundbreaking in the 1980s. “100 Questions for…” became famous as the first Polish program to which politicians and journalists with various views were invited – the more different, the better. The program was also the second Polish talk show in which the audience participated, after the legendary “Tele-Echu” (the longest-running original television program in the world).
I saw with my own eyes that filming an episode of such a TV program is a very complicated operation. It’s not just about preparing the set for the studio and setting up the equipment. It is important to remember that a small army of people must be on site at the same time. Because before the recording even begins, someone has to create the set, set up the lights, microphones and camera, and make sure to invite the right guests. In the case of “100 Questions for…”, these are not only the stars of the episode, but also journalists from various editorial offices who will ask them questions – usually about 10 people. How to do it so that no one gets lost in the cavernous building, ends up for make-up and then ends up in the recording studio? And at the right time? I admit that even though I was part of this episode, I’m still not sure how the people from TVP did it. Because lots and lots of things happened along the way.
How is new TVP built? Reactivation of a cult format and a clash with reality
As an introduction to the history of the format, let us first say that the program “100 questions to…” was originally broadcast from 1988 to 1992 on TVP2. For the next three years, it was broadcast on TVP1, and was hosted alternately by Anna Grzeszczuk-Gałązka and Ewa Michalska. In 1995, television abandoned this title in favor of new ones. After almost 30 years, however, it was reactivated and the format was released on TVP Info, where since March it can be watched every Saturday at 8 p.m. Wioleta Wramba was previously associated with Polsat for 12 years.
The idea to restore this format is not accidental. It seems very symbolic. – “100 questions to…” was the first program in Poland that involved inviting politicians and journalists of various views to the studio. From the right and from the left. A simple thing in principle. However, without guidelines and without the possibility of avoiding answering an uncomfortable question. Because it went both ways. The atmosphere of the meetings has changed. Taboo topics have been removed from the socio-political matter. And especially their top-down interpretation – in an interview with “Newsweek” Anna Grzeszczuk-Gałązka, who conducted “100 questions to…” in the 1980s and 1990s. At that time, the participants in the recordings included, among others: Jerzy Urban, Lech Wałęsa (even before the presidential elections!), Jarosław Kaczyński, Leszek Miller and Donald Tusk. The stars of separate editions were also Andrzej Wajda, Grzegorz Ciechowski, Krzysztof Kieślowski, Ewa Wachowicz and Zbigniew Religa. The cross-section was really wide, now it looks very similar. If someone is missing, it’s probably because they simply didn’t accept the invitation.
– I invite leading opposition politicians. Everyone from , and the so-called United Right, refuses me, everyone. Unfortunately. I hope this will change. I often bounce off assistants, so I don’t know if they forward the invitations to their managers. Maybe it gets stuck somewhere at this stage. I can only say to the politicians of the former ruling party that we would love to host them in this program. The journalists we invite also come from every part of Poland. There is no such thing as not wanting someone. I would simply be very pleased if politicians would like to come to us, Wioleta Wramba told me.
What does a TVP program recording look like?
When I visited Woronicza, not only were standard recordings for various programs taking place there at the same time. On the same day, a press conference was organized there before the festival in Opole, and Prime Minister Donald Tusk also came for an interview. Our episode was recorded in this older complex after 4 p.m.; earlier, an episode with the participation of Krzysztof Bosak was made. So the machine was already in motion, and when we arrived on site with other journalists, a lot of people were leaving work, because it was the time when the first shift disappeared.
The reception was noisy, more people were passing through the gates. If it weren’t for the helpful taxi driver, who has obviously been bringing guests to TVP for a long time, I would never have known who I was looking for and would have called the program’s producer. Meanwhile, the driver showed me the right person who was waiting for the next batch of guests with a list of names and ordered that we all go further together. In this way, we were let in and led upstairs to the dressing room, where two free make-up artists took us under their protective wings. I couldn’t quite count, but I think there were about 10 people in the room at the same time – some were getting their makeup done, others were waiting for their turn, and still others came to remove their makeup or talk about something. This is how MP Bosak stood behind me, talking to Mateusz Baran, a TVP journalist, as well as an actor and director, about a potential visit to another public television program. Someone checked how much time he had left before the photos, and someone else took the already prepared participants to their destination.
We walked along the same corridors immortalized in “Man of Marble”. It was here that the young girl smoked cigarettes and recorded memorable scenes of editorial discussions. The interior hasn’t really changed much, although since then the following have been installed: radiator covers and suspended ceiling. But the walls are of a similar color, and no one interfered much with the structure of the building itself. So to speak, you can feel the history in this place, which does not interfere with the fact that work there is still going on.
Still from the movie ‘Man of Marble’, dir. A. Wajda
We came to the studio, which is located right next to the company cafeteria, which is basically in the heart of office life. There was already a lot of action there. Someone was watching the lights, someone was watching the microphones, someone was watching the cameras. Yet another person checked whether the guest list was correct and whether all seats were filled. The make-up artist came for the final touches, the sound engineer handed out microphones, someone else checked the names of the guests at each position and wrote them down, and another person consciously made sure that there was no bottle of mineral water in the frame, because that would be product placement.
How many people work on creating an episode of the program? – With all the technique, there could be 30-40 people – Wioleta Wramba told me after the recording. – Once I get the name of the guy we’re going to talk to, I spend a lot of time with him at home. These are two, sometimes three days of listening and reading interviews non-stop. I go for a walk with the dog, headphones on, then I take notes. Plus the work of the publisher, Ola, who has to invite journalists and prepare an etude devoted to the guest of the episode, which we always show at the beginning of the program. The publisher and editor are working on it. It takes a lot of work to create a 58-minute episode. It’s a nice job, we all like it very much – the presenter assured me.
Although there is a host on site who moderates the discussion, each person participating in the recording must also prepare in advance for the conversation with the stars of the episode: read, listen to the interviews, and come up with their own questions. However, it is different than in the case of regular interviews, when you have the interlocutor only for yourself. A flexible and cross-sectional approach to the topic is necessary, because it may happen that someone else will come up with the same question. Moreover, you need reflexes to be able to jump in at the right moment during the recording and be able to speak. As it turns out, this is a separate art – you can’t wait too long, because it’s first come first served, and we won’t shout over each other, as often happens in the Polish Sejm. As a novice, I felt a bit bewildered by the pace and it took me a while to speak up.
Somehow, everything worked out, each invited person had a chance to ask a question, and the discussion flowed so naturally that you could forget about the fact that you were recording the program and simply listened to what the other participants were saying. The host of the program admits: – I have never hosted a talk show before. I was always in the know. And suddenly it turns out that not only politicians come, but also artists, just like the Apple Blossom now. It seems to me that it’s becoming more and more natural for me with each episode. Today I almost felt like I was at home with a group of friends sitting down and talking about music. It was really cool and I hope that’s what viewers will see, she said.
The special guest, Jacek Sienkiewicz, half of the band, left the recording satisfied. – After recording the episode, I already feel great. In fact, even before we entered the studio, I felt some kind of pressure, because it seems to me that, firstly, it is a program with tradition, and secondly, the characters I saw in it are in my head of a completely different rank than us. So we were very pleased that we were invited, it was great – he said with a smile.
– It’s been a very friendly experience for me to come back here. The last time we were here was at the very beginning of Kwiat’s activity, so it’s back, I feel very good about it. I hope that public television will move in the right direction and we will be able to visit more often – assured Sienkiewicz.
I also asked the host why we recorded in the old TVP building and not the new one, which looks like the Tower of Babel or Noah’s Ark. – There are beautiful, spacious studios here. You can arrange it according to your own ideas and you don’t have to adapt to the location because it is very flexible. The studios in the new building are smaller. You can’t build a set like we have here, she explained.
She also admits that at the very beginning of her work at TVP, she got a little lost in the building: – When I came here, there was no time to show anyone around. It was very difficult for me to find my way here at the beginning, because there are so many corridors, she assured.
He also admits: – I was afraid to come here to work. If you have been in one place for as long as I have at Polsat [12 lat – przyp. red.], you feel a bit like at work and a bit at home, because you haven’t known any other reality for a very long time. I wasn’t sure where I would end up and I was worried that I wouldn’t know people. First of all, it turned out that a lot of people from Polsat came with me, which made things much easier. Secondly, I felt something here that I didn’t feel while working at Polsat. I’m not saying that Polsat is bad, that’s not the point at all. A new place was being created here and the good energy was extremely palpable. It was felt that everyone wanted the product that viewers received to be simply good. That everyone cares. And that it is not stressful, but even motivating. Everyone is nice, everyone tries hard. If someone pays attention to me, they do it in a way that does not disturb my work and does not try to further upset me. This is a great comfort for me. Absolutely – it describes previous experiences. What’s next? We’ll see.
“100 questions for…” on TVP Info appeared again at the beginning of March 2024 and since then it has featured: Deputy Minister of Agriculture Michał Kołodziejczak, Krystyna Janda, Deputy Prime Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski, Daniel Olbrychski, Dariusz Szpakowski, Elżbieta Dzikowska, Sebastian Karpiel-Bułecka , Leszek Miller, Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz, Jan Peszek, former president Bronisław Komorowski, Andrzej Seweryn, Krzysztof Bosak, Katarzyna and Jacek Sienkiewicz (Kwiat Jabłoni) and Czesław Mozil. They were interviewed by journalists from such editorial offices as “Newsweek”, “Super Express”, Radio 357, Trójka, “Krytyka Polityczna”, OKO.Press, Interia, naekranie.pl, Radio Nowy Świat, “Gazeta Wyborcza”, “Rzeczpospolita”, ” Wysokie Obcasy”, Business Insider Polska, Gazeta.pl, TOK FM, “Forbes”, Radio Zet, Radio ESKA, PAP, Radio Dla Dzień, Goniec.pl, as well as various independent experts. All episodes are available on the website
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.
