Broadcast blues
Poland's public media - state-funded radio and television stations - are girding themselves for revolutionary changes, as the ruling party, Civic Platform (PO), begins introducing controversial reforms. The party has only introduced amendments to Poland's current legislation on public media so far. But this is just the first step towards a complete overhaul of how public media will be organized and funded, if PO has its way.
Proposed changes
Less than two weeks ago, Parliament passed an amendment to Poland's law on public-media subscription fees - essentially a tax levied on TV and radio owners, but which is only paid by some 43 percent of the public. The amendment abolished the subscription fees for retirees, the unemployed and those on welfare, but is a prelude to the planned abolition of the fee entirely, which PO hopes to enact on January 1, 2009.
Two weeks prior to the subscription-fee legislation's passage, another PO-supported amendment to the media law was passed, introducing new rules on the recruitment and dismissal of management and supervisory board positions in public television, radio and the National Broadcasting Council (KRRiT). The new rules were to give the government more control over the management of media institutions. For example, the amendment introduced a term for the president of the Office of Electronic Communications (UKE), and provides for dismissal within the term, if necessary.
The power to grant broadcast concessions for TV and radio would have been transferred from KRRiT to UKE, to allow KRRiT to focus exclusively on content. The bill was passed by the Sejm and Senate, but was vetoed by President Kaczyński last Friday. Still, PO hopes to overturn the veto.
The amendments were just the first step towards more thorough reforms of the public media, PO claimed. According to head of the Sejm's commission on culture, PO's Iwona Śledzińska-Katarasińska, a whole new bill on public media will soon be prepared.
Opposition protests
The legislation caused an outcry from opposition parties, who said that there was urgent need for reform of the public media, but that the government's amendments would lead to even greater politicization.
Law and Justice (PiS) MPs claim the legislation aims at giving the government greater control over the public media, by making it easier to install sympathetic cronies.
In order to overturn the presidential veto, 276 MPs must vote in favor of the bill. But the ruling coalition of PO and the Polish Peasants' Party (PSL) cannot muster that number on its own and is counting on support from the Sejm's leftist parties, especially the Democratic Left Alliance (SLD).
But Wojciech Olejniczak, the head of SLD, said that his party would abstain from the vote, claiming the amendment on management of public media bodies was unconstitutional. In reply, PO's Tomasz Misiak, the head of the Senate's National Economy Committee, stated that PO has had experts ensure that the legislation was indeed in accordance with the Constitution.
Party disputes
PO is determined to implement changes in the public media and PO's Śledzińska-Katarasińska told WBJ that even if the veto could not be overturned, PO would continue to work on new legislation.
She also reaffirmed that the amendment to the management system was only the beginning of a wider reform of public media. "[The situation and future of the public media] is a really big problem. Changes are required," she said, but refused to give details about the further changes PO plans to implement.
However, she added that if the new rules for the management of public media were not implemented, PO would start over from scratch.
Władysław Stasiak, the former Interior Minister under the previous Law and Justice (PiS) government, said recently that the only significant change in the management amendment was the power to remove public media authorities, "but this is not related to the future of the public media," he said.
PiS's Jacek Kurski went further, claiming the prime minister was trying to weaken the public media as a a reward for private broadcasters for their support of him. "It only reminds me that the joke about TVN is true: What does TVN stand for? Tusk Vision Network. And this might be the secret of the attack on public media by Donald Tusk," said Kurski in the Sejm.
Support for change
But the government's plans have plenty of supporters as well. "I believe PO's intentions are good. I do not see this as a way of making public media more political," said Jakub Bierzyński, the head of Omnicom Media Group.
Bierzyński added, "Transferring some of KRRiT's duties to UKE is a really good change. Around the world, telecommunications and television are now becoming one entity. Dividing these two fields is artificial and blocks development [of technologies such as mobile TV]."
Bierzyński also accused the president of nepotism: "the problem lies in the position of [former head of the President's Chancellery and current president of public television station TVP Andrzej] Urbański, who could be removed from his post if the bill is passed. President Kaczyński does not want to allow that," he added.
To pay or not to pay
The proposal to abolish the subscription fee has sparked fierce debate as well. According to PO, there is no need to continue charging for public television, especially - they claimed - since public media is not fulfilling its mission to spread Polish culture.
During a debate prior to the vote on May 9, Prime Minister Tusk said that "it is ... hypocritical to tell Polish retirees that part of their well deserved but small incomes go ... to support an orchestra, choir or other public mission, because every day Polish retirees see what [this] money is spent on: exorbitant contracts for people without any talent [and on] political propaganda."
Maciej Kozielski, editor-in-chief of media-dedicated website Medialink.pl, supported the abolition of the fee, too. "For a long time I have supported subscription fees, but now I wonder whether it really makes sense," he said "What is the point of paying for something that one can watch on competitors' commercial stations, like low-quality soap operas?"
Kozielski added that public TV should also invest in broadcasting the most important sports championships and TV theater instead of low-grade entertainment such as music show "Przebojowa noc."
But the opponents of abolishing the fee are legion, and surprisingly, they include some private broadcasters. Last month the presidents of Poland's three largest television stations, TVP's Urbański, TVN's Piotr Walter and Polsat's Zygmunt Solorz-Żak, sent a letter to Sejm Speaker Bronisław Komorowski opposing the abolition of the subscription fee for public media, but instead granting tax relief for those who pay it.
According to Paweł Kowal, the deputy chairman of the PiS parliamentary club, "PO is alone today. It is not backed by public opinion, the presidents of the largest TV stations or any of the opposition parties."
Killing the radio star?
Advocates of the fee also say that although TVP could manage without this money by increasing fees for commercials, this would not be the case for the public radio stations, which have fewer opportunities to gain funds from advertising. In fact, up to 70 percent of public radio's expenditures are financed through subscription fees.
This year, KRRiT decided that for the first time ever Polish Radio would receive more money than TVP from subscription fees. Some 57.5 percent of the zł.900-million subscription-fee revenues will go to Polish Radio this year.
Omnicom's Bierzyński disagreed with KRRiT's decision, claiming public radio does receive considerable advertising revenue. "Public radio stations are simply not able to cope with the advertising market like every private station does," argued Bierzyński, accusing the management of inefficiency.
However, according to a report by IAB Polska, last year was the first year that internet advertising brought in greater revenues than radio. Poland's largest radio stations earned zł.533 million last year, while zł.600 million was spent on online ads. The recent amendment abolishing the fee means "death to Polish Radio," Polish Radio president Krzysztof Czabański told the Polish Press Agency.
What next?
"The only way to heal the public media is to sell it," said Bierzyński. According to him, the public mission could be realized not only by TVP, but by every station, by making cultural broadcasts one of the requirements to obtain a concession.
Medialink.pl's Kozielski opined that the best solution for TVP would be to stop watching viewer ratings and stop competing with private stations. "TVP does not have to be the leader in number of viewers, but must be the leading broadcaster when it comes to educational and valuable programming," he said.
