Government accused of media manipulation in boycotting papers with ads

The European Federation of Journalism (EFJ) has criticized the government for backing out of public advertisements in some national papers. The Finance Ministry decided that their advertisements will not appear in Rzeczpospolita and Gazeta Wyborcza but in Trybuna, a paper with a much lower circulation but is regarded as being aligned with the government. The EFJ labeled this practice as, "Political manipulation of the press market". Gustl Glattfelder, EFJ chairman said that the government is acting, "Against critical voices in the mass-media", and that political manipulation of this kind is a threat to the independence of the media and is a violation of European standards for the freedom of information. The EFJ is going to take up the issue with the Council of Europe and the European Union authorities. "Clear and honest rules concerning public advertisements are necessary to avoid favoritism and manipulation", said Glattfelder. (Rzeczpospolita, p. A2) A.D.