Gazeta Finansowa plunges into publishing's dangerous waters
To the surprise of its publisher, Bachurski MediaCorp, competitor Prawo I Gospodarka redesigned its masthead at the same time, adding the words "Dziennik Finansowy" (Financial Daily) above its title.
That annoyed Bachurski for two reasons: first because the group had already registered the name "Dziennik Finansowy" with the idea of eventually doing a daily paper, and secondly because it was extremely close to Gazeta Finansowa's name.
"It's not only that the two titles Gazeta Finansowa and Dziennik Finansowy can be easily mistaken," said Piotr Bachurski, the owner and president of Bachurski MediaCorp. "It's that Prawo I Gospodarka used a title to which we got the copyright back in May."
Bachurski said he was considering launching a financial daily at the beginning of next year. Bachurski's group already publishes Home & Market.
"We are talking to a very serious investor here, and the fact that Prawo I Gospodarka is using our title does not help," he said.
While Bachurski had already registered the name, Prawo I Gospodarka can legally continue to use the title because it is not part of the publication's formal name, simply a tag line on top. Bachurski said he asked Prawo I Gospodarka's publisher, Infor, to guarantee that the words never increase in size or replace the current title.
"They are known for constantly changing the title and the format of the paper," Bachurski said. "And 'Dziennik Finansowy' is a damn good title."
But Infor last week underscored that they have no intention of adopting the name. "It just (provides a) more precise definition of what our paper is all about," said Jacek Maczka-Olszewski, a member of Infor's managing board. "All those ideas are just ridiculous."
But that only slightly comforts Bachurski. "This title, even if it does not yet exist, is my property," he said. "And today I am really concerned about its safety."
Registering the title with Warsaw's Registration Court gives Bachurski the exclusive rights to use the name so long as the publication is on the stands within a year. While Bachurski said it is unlikely Gazeta Finansowa will hit the market this year, he said he was confident it would eventually be created. "The only thing that can be better than a financial weekly is a financial daily," he said.
For now however, the two publishing houses are only exchanging terse letters.
"Infor does not seem to take the issue seriously," Bachurski said.
He said that if Infor does not legally guarantee that it will not alter the size or placement of the existing masthead, he will seek to settle the matter in court.
Power brokers
Money and politics were on the mind of Poland's public broadcaster last week.
Telewizja Polska (TVP), which according to the word of its newly appointed President Robert Kwiatkowski "may be public, but will not become political," last week found itself under extreme pressure from the ruling Solidarity Election Action (AWS)-Freedom Union (UW) coalition.
The AWS-UW government, which next January will kick off the country's four major reforms concerning administration, health care, social security and education, was asking the broadcaster to do its public duty. Under the Radio and Television Law, TVP must "allow the government to explain its policy to the nation."
The government wants to begin running 30-second commercial spots this month. Because the spots are financed by the state budget, the government is unwilling to pay steep prime-time rates of zl. 30,000-zl. 99,000 for each spot. To get around that, the government asked TVP's management to grant it an 80% discount.
"I don't see a possibility of such a high discount," said Tomasz Sieniutycz, project coordinator of marketing at Biuro Reklamy TVP, the advertising division of the station. "The highest I think they can get is 50%."
TVP said that such a drastic discount would pierce its revenue, of which 70% comes from advertising. Last year the broadcaster took in zl. 435.8 million ($136 million) from mandatory subscription fees and almost zl. 750 million ($234.38 million) in ad revenue.
But money is not the only issue, said Pawel Sosnowski, director of TVP's management board office. The management board said that the Cabinet's desire to kick off its campaign right now may violate the election law.
With local elections slated for mid October, TVP officials said that messages coated with an AWS-UW spin may influence voters.
For that reason, TVP's managing board last week asked the State Election Commission (PKW) and the National Radio and Television Council (KRRiTV) to look at the matter.
At the end of last week, however, the two agencies had remained mum.
Digital deadline
Canal+ Polska has officially set a date to launch its digital television platform here. The platform will carry more than 10 channels including the country's most popular private broadcaster, Polsat. Canal+ will begin beaming its signal from Sweden Oct. 15, almost a month after competitor Wizja TV plans to kick off its service.
Canal+ President Lew Rywin claimed that his group's platform will cost subscribers 40% less than that of his competitor.
That annoyed Bachurski for two reasons: first because the group had already registered the name "Dziennik Finansowy" with the idea of eventually doing a daily paper, and secondly because it was extremely close to Gazeta Finansowa's name.
"It's not only that the two titles Gazeta Finansowa and Dziennik Finansowy can be easily mistaken," said Piotr Bachurski, the owner and president of Bachurski MediaCorp. "It's that Prawo I Gospodarka used a title to which we got the copyright back in May."
Bachurski said he was considering launching a financial daily at the beginning of next year. Bachurski's group already publishes Home & Market.
"We are talking to a very serious investor here, and the fact that Prawo I Gospodarka is using our title does not help," he said.
While Bachurski had already registered the name, Prawo I Gospodarka can legally continue to use the title because it is not part of the publication's formal name, simply a tag line on top. Bachurski said he asked Prawo I Gospodarka's publisher, Infor, to guarantee that the words never increase in size or replace the current title.
"They are known for constantly changing the title and the format of the paper," Bachurski said. "And 'Dziennik Finansowy' is a damn good title."
But Infor last week underscored that they have no intention of adopting the name. "It just (provides a) more precise definition of what our paper is all about," said Jacek Maczka-Olszewski, a member of Infor's managing board. "All those ideas are just ridiculous."
But that only slightly comforts Bachurski. "This title, even if it does not yet exist, is my property," he said. "And today I am really concerned about its safety."
Registering the title with Warsaw's Registration Court gives Bachurski the exclusive rights to use the name so long as the publication is on the stands within a year. While Bachurski said it is unlikely Gazeta Finansowa will hit the market this year, he said he was confident it would eventually be created. "The only thing that can be better than a financial weekly is a financial daily," he said.
For now however, the two publishing houses are only exchanging terse letters.
"Infor does not seem to take the issue seriously," Bachurski said.
He said that if Infor does not legally guarantee that it will not alter the size or placement of the existing masthead, he will seek to settle the matter in court.
Power brokers
Money and politics were on the mind of Poland's public broadcaster last week.
Telewizja Polska (TVP), which according to the word of its newly appointed President Robert Kwiatkowski "may be public, but will not become political," last week found itself under extreme pressure from the ruling Solidarity Election Action (AWS)-Freedom Union (UW) coalition.
The AWS-UW government, which next January will kick off the country's four major reforms concerning administration, health care, social security and education, was asking the broadcaster to do its public duty. Under the Radio and Television Law, TVP must "allow the government to explain its policy to the nation."
The government wants to begin running 30-second commercial spots this month. Because the spots are financed by the state budget, the government is unwilling to pay steep prime-time rates of zl. 30,000-zl. 99,000 for each spot. To get around that, the government asked TVP's management to grant it an 80% discount.
"I don't see a possibility of such a high discount," said Tomasz Sieniutycz, project coordinator of marketing at Biuro Reklamy TVP, the advertising division of the station. "The highest I think they can get is 50%."
TVP said that such a drastic discount would pierce its revenue, of which 70% comes from advertising. Last year the broadcaster took in zl. 435.8 million ($136 million) from mandatory subscription fees and almost zl. 750 million ($234.38 million) in ad revenue.
But money is not the only issue, said Pawel Sosnowski, director of TVP's management board office. The management board said that the Cabinet's desire to kick off its campaign right now may violate the election law.
With local elections slated for mid October, TVP officials said that messages coated with an AWS-UW spin may influence voters.
For that reason, TVP's managing board last week asked the State Election Commission (PKW) and the National Radio and Television Council (KRRiTV) to look at the matter.
At the end of last week, however, the two agencies had remained mum.
Digital deadline
Canal+ Polska has officially set a date to launch its digital television platform here. The platform will carry more than 10 channels including the country's most popular private broadcaster, Polsat. Canal+ will begin beaming its signal from Sweden Oct. 15, almost a month after competitor Wizja TV plans to kick off its service.
Canal+ President Lew Rywin claimed that his group's platform will cost subscribers 40% less than that of his competitor.
