From the web to TV to inserts, it's all the pope all the time
Newspapers created special web sites devoted to the visit, traditional broadcasters also supplemented live coverage with on-line papal content. Even the Catholic Church itself, through its media arm the Catholic Information Agency (KAI), is offering the faithful a chance to partake in the visit through cyberspace. Moreover, dioceses that will host the pope and areas where he will visit have created special web pages to mark the event.
"There are over 37 web pages on the internet covering the pope's visit," said Adam Schulz, a priest and spokesman for the Polish Episcopate. "The multi-media back-up of the pilgrimage is something that didn't exist last time, during the 1997 visit."
Nor was there the same overall media frenzy during that visit. This time around special supplements to magazines and newspapers abound, and commercial sponsors have ponied up funds to enable even more coverage.
"It's the first pilgrimage which is covered so professionally," said Andrzej Rozkrut, coordinator of Mateusz, a Christian, web-based news service that is run by its creators in their free time.
The amount of on-line attention being paid to the pope shows not just the intense interest in his visit, but also the maturing of the Polish internet, those involved in such pages said.
"The idea of creating our web site came up three years ago when there was nothing like it on the Polish internet," Rozkrut said. "It is only now that cyberspace is beginning to be recognized as a good mass medium."
KAI first began using the internet last year, and in January its web site was the first in Poland to publish the official map of this year's papal pilgrimage.
"I have been observing statements made by churchmen concerning new media, such as the internet," said Jaroslaw Polukoszko, marketing director at AGS New Media, which worked with KAI on launching its site. "I am sure that they finally realized how useful such tools may be for the purpose of evangelization, especially of young people."
In addition to religious sites dedicated to the visit, major broadcasters, publications and news services such as Polskie Radio (PR), Polish News Agency (PAP), Telewizja Polska (TVP) and Gazeta Wyborcza have created special web sites in which full coverage of the visit is offered.
Although the pope is seen as one of the most conservative figures worldwide, computer industry insiders said the web frenzy surrounding him is in keeping with modern views about new media in the Vatican.
"To me, he is simply a very modern person open to new kinds of media," said Krzysztof Matej, director of PC World Komputer magazine. Pope John Paul II himself backed the idea of establishing the Holy See's web site, which is now offering video and audio coverage of his audiences and speeches, Matej added.
The heightened coverage of the papal visit isn't just good for building web viewership, though. It also helps sponsors who may be backing such services. KAI said it has attracted thousands of viewers each day to its site because of the visit and in turn AGS has benefited because it sponsored the site.
"It's worth the effort considering the site's popularity," Polukoszko said.
Pure altruism
However, given the religious nature of the pope's visit, companies are loathe to admit that they are sponsoring the visit or any activity connected to it for profit or prestige.
Matej, for example, argued that the release of a special CD of the pope's texts inserted in its May publication was a pure coincidence.
"We would have published it anyway since it inaugurated a series of special inserts," he said.
The supplement, which carried the CD, was more expensive to produce than the basic magazine itself, but as Matej emphasized, it contained no ads. "It's not the time and place for advertising," he said.
Maybe not, but those connected with the event or covering it are receiving numerous benefits. The pilgrimage is attracting record numbers of TV viewers, radio listeners and readers. And that can translate into increased profits from ads during the event or later from hoped-for return viewership or readership.
Super Express, Poland's largest daily, raised its circulation to 2 million copies on the day of the pope's arrival. In addition, the newspaper attached a CD to that edition. The CD contained a song, based on eight benedictions, dedicated to the pope.
Even before the pope arrived, major dailies and magazines, such as Gazeta Wyborcza, Viva, Zycie, all published special supplements related to the trip.
When John Paul arrived June 5 in Gdansk, more than 8 million TV viewers saw the inauguration of John Paul's visit to Poland broadcast by Telewizja Polska (TVP) on TVP1.
According to market research firm Osrodek Badania Opinii Publicznej (OBOP), the 23% viewershare the broadcast garnered is a record figure when compared to normal total viewershare at that time of day, which is about 12%, with only about 3% dedicated to any one channel.
Radio stations saw similar benefits. Paulina Stolarek, head of information programs at Radio ZET, one of the largest commercial radio stations, said that morning coverage of the pope's visit could help boost listenership figures for a time of day that is already high. "It's when people cannot watch TV, they are at work and switch on the radio," she said. She emphasized though, that her station is not using the visit to boost profits.
TVP, on the other hand, is raising prices for ads that run during its seemingly non-stop coverage of the Papal visit.
"Our audience will significantly increase during the pilgrimage so prices had to go up," said Tomasz Sieniutycz, head of the advertising office at TVP.
But he added that practicality, not profit, was behind the increase. Money made on commercials aired before and after transmissions of the visit will partly cover the costs of increased and expensive coverage. TVP was to install 10 cameras in each of 19 cities, where the pope was to visit and planned to run 29 transmissions of masses and other celebrations, including 53 hours of live broadcasting.
Sieniutycz argued that the price increase also resulted from the fact that commercial spots had to be significantly shorter. Commercials that precede coverage of the pope's visit will cost about 10% more than others on the same day.
Sizzle, not steak
But not everyone is pleased with the blanket coverage surrounding the visit, and some have criticized what they consider the commercialization of the visit.
Prior to the pope's arrival, Polish bishops had called for coverage of the spiritual aspect's of the visit. That, many in the media believe, hasn't happened and there is little substance to some of the coverage of the visit.
"Many web pages lack serious and deep analysis of the visit," Rozkrut said. "Take TVP's web site on the pilgrimage. You won't guess whether it's all about the TVP itself or about the pope."
The Episcopate's Schulz wasn't as down on the coverage, saying that he didn't feel it was dominated by materialism rather spiritual qualities. He agreed there is a marginal group of people who want to use the pope's visit as a marketing tool. "But, it's unavoidable," Schulz said.
"It's hard to say whether it's commercialized, but its presentation in the media is certainly different when compared to other pilgrimages," he said. However, there are also more high-quality publications and materials being published this year about the pope, Schulz added.
And whether the coverage is substantive or not, the media seems to be feeding an appetite for papal information that is as voracious as the frenzy that usually surrounds inhabitants of Buckingham Palace. According to OBOP, 80% of all Poles will follow the progress of the pilgrimage. In just about every medium, the media is determined to see that these viewers and readers are not disappointed.
"There are over 37 web pages on the internet covering the pope's visit," said Adam Schulz, a priest and spokesman for the Polish Episcopate. "The multi-media back-up of the pilgrimage is something that didn't exist last time, during the 1997 visit."
Nor was there the same overall media frenzy during that visit. This time around special supplements to magazines and newspapers abound, and commercial sponsors have ponied up funds to enable even more coverage.
"It's the first pilgrimage which is covered so professionally," said Andrzej Rozkrut, coordinator of Mateusz, a Christian, web-based news service that is run by its creators in their free time.
The amount of on-line attention being paid to the pope shows not just the intense interest in his visit, but also the maturing of the Polish internet, those involved in such pages said.
"The idea of creating our web site came up three years ago when there was nothing like it on the Polish internet," Rozkrut said. "It is only now that cyberspace is beginning to be recognized as a good mass medium."
KAI first began using the internet last year, and in January its web site was the first in Poland to publish the official map of this year's papal pilgrimage.
"I have been observing statements made by churchmen concerning new media, such as the internet," said Jaroslaw Polukoszko, marketing director at AGS New Media, which worked with KAI on launching its site. "I am sure that they finally realized how useful such tools may be for the purpose of evangelization, especially of young people."
In addition to religious sites dedicated to the visit, major broadcasters, publications and news services such as Polskie Radio (PR), Polish News Agency (PAP), Telewizja Polska (TVP) and Gazeta Wyborcza have created special web sites in which full coverage of the visit is offered.
Although the pope is seen as one of the most conservative figures worldwide, computer industry insiders said the web frenzy surrounding him is in keeping with modern views about new media in the Vatican.
"To me, he is simply a very modern person open to new kinds of media," said Krzysztof Matej, director of PC World Komputer magazine. Pope John Paul II himself backed the idea of establishing the Holy See's web site, which is now offering video and audio coverage of his audiences and speeches, Matej added.
The heightened coverage of the papal visit isn't just good for building web viewership, though. It also helps sponsors who may be backing such services. KAI said it has attracted thousands of viewers each day to its site because of the visit and in turn AGS has benefited because it sponsored the site.
"It's worth the effort considering the site's popularity," Polukoszko said.
Pure altruism
However, given the religious nature of the pope's visit, companies are loathe to admit that they are sponsoring the visit or any activity connected to it for profit or prestige.
Matej, for example, argued that the release of a special CD of the pope's texts inserted in its May publication was a pure coincidence.
"We would have published it anyway since it inaugurated a series of special inserts," he said.
The supplement, which carried the CD, was more expensive to produce than the basic magazine itself, but as Matej emphasized, it contained no ads. "It's not the time and place for advertising," he said.
Maybe not, but those connected with the event or covering it are receiving numerous benefits. The pilgrimage is attracting record numbers of TV viewers, radio listeners and readers. And that can translate into increased profits from ads during the event or later from hoped-for return viewership or readership.
Super Express, Poland's largest daily, raised its circulation to 2 million copies on the day of the pope's arrival. In addition, the newspaper attached a CD to that edition. The CD contained a song, based on eight benedictions, dedicated to the pope.
Even before the pope arrived, major dailies and magazines, such as Gazeta Wyborcza, Viva, Zycie, all published special supplements related to the trip.
When John Paul arrived June 5 in Gdansk, more than 8 million TV viewers saw the inauguration of John Paul's visit to Poland broadcast by Telewizja Polska (TVP) on TVP1.
According to market research firm Osrodek Badania Opinii Publicznej (OBOP), the 23% viewershare the broadcast garnered is a record figure when compared to normal total viewershare at that time of day, which is about 12%, with only about 3% dedicated to any one channel.
Radio stations saw similar benefits. Paulina Stolarek, head of information programs at Radio ZET, one of the largest commercial radio stations, said that morning coverage of the pope's visit could help boost listenership figures for a time of day that is already high. "It's when people cannot watch TV, they are at work and switch on the radio," she said. She emphasized though, that her station is not using the visit to boost profits.
TVP, on the other hand, is raising prices for ads that run during its seemingly non-stop coverage of the Papal visit.
"Our audience will significantly increase during the pilgrimage so prices had to go up," said Tomasz Sieniutycz, head of the advertising office at TVP.
But he added that practicality, not profit, was behind the increase. Money made on commercials aired before and after transmissions of the visit will partly cover the costs of increased and expensive coverage. TVP was to install 10 cameras in each of 19 cities, where the pope was to visit and planned to run 29 transmissions of masses and other celebrations, including 53 hours of live broadcasting.
Sieniutycz argued that the price increase also resulted from the fact that commercial spots had to be significantly shorter. Commercials that precede coverage of the pope's visit will cost about 10% more than others on the same day.
Sizzle, not steak
But not everyone is pleased with the blanket coverage surrounding the visit, and some have criticized what they consider the commercialization of the visit.
Prior to the pope's arrival, Polish bishops had called for coverage of the spiritual aspect's of the visit. That, many in the media believe, hasn't happened and there is little substance to some of the coverage of the visit.
"Many web pages lack serious and deep analysis of the visit," Rozkrut said. "Take TVP's web site on the pilgrimage. You won't guess whether it's all about the TVP itself or about the pope."
The Episcopate's Schulz wasn't as down on the coverage, saying that he didn't feel it was dominated by materialism rather spiritual qualities. He agreed there is a marginal group of people who want to use the pope's visit as a marketing tool. "But, it's unavoidable," Schulz said.
"It's hard to say whether it's commercialized, but its presentation in the media is certainly different when compared to other pilgrimages," he said. However, there are also more high-quality publications and materials being published this year about the pope, Schulz added.
And whether the coverage is substantive or not, the media seems to be feeding an appetite for papal information that is as voracious as the frenzy that usually surrounds inhabitants of Buckingham Palace. According to OBOP, 80% of all Poles will follow the progress of the pilgrimage. In just about every medium, the media is determined to see that these viewers and readers are not disappointed.
