After all, why have professionals running a free radio media?

The National Radio and Television Council (KRRiTV) has selected 17 supervisory boards of regional branches of public Polish Radio, ignoring the 89 candidates from the Polish Journalists Association (PJA), the Polish Artists Association (ZASP) and the Business Centre Club (BCC). Instead, the KRRiTV appointed members of the Democratic Left Alliance (SLD), the Polish Peasants Party (PSL) and Solidarity Election Action (AWS). KRRiTV members Jaroslaw Sellin and Janusz Braun spoke out against the appointments and argued that instead of professionals being appointed, the name of the game was "political parity". "As it turns out, the KRRiTV needs a political muzzle for the media. If the Council has some difficulty to muzzle the private media it consequently does it with the public ones," Sellin said. (Gazeta Wyborcza, May 17-18, p. 26) A.Z.