Pressing problems
"The conflict between politicians and the media is one of the pillars of democracy. Public discussion on the role and rights of journalists is needed but what we are witnessing at the moment is not a discussion, it's a battle that won't take us anywhere," said Robert Kozak, director of the news department in TVP during a debate organized by Newsweek Polska.
A number of political moves have raised the hackles of the Polish media, including the new shape of the National Broadcasting Council (KRRiTV), the inclusion of the enigmatic Center for Media Monitoring in the stabilization pact, the scrutiny of newspapers for 'improper' content, and comments by Law and Justice (PiS) leader Jarosław Kaczyński that there is no such thing as free media in Poland as they always serve the interests of their publishers.
"It's extremely malicious to say that PiS' statements constitute a threat to democracy - there's no danger of censorship. But one cannot pretend that everything works just fine in the media world," said PiS MEP, Michał Kamiński.
According to Jacek Żakowski, however, there exists a clash between the conservative mentality of the Kaczyński brothers' PiS and the liberal-democratic media world. Rafał Grupiński, a Civic Platform deputy, claims that PiS' attitude towards the media is a continuation of the Kaczyński twins' idea of a perfect state with no fields remaining uncontrolled.
"They apply their Manichean vision of the world to everything - everything is black or white, if you're not with us, you are against us. But everyone choosing a political career has to remember they become suspects. The media are there to control them," Grupiński says.
"I'm really looking forward to a day when we will be able to discuss publicly the rules of journalism without being accused of threatening freedom of speech. There really is a need for a debate on what the relations between journalists and politicians should look like," said Paweł Kowal (PiS), the head of the Sejm committee for culture and mass media.
It seems, however, that in the immediate future media-related issues will not disappear from the spotlight. Last week the Civic Platform (PO) leader Donald Tusk proposed the creation of a special commission to investigate the inquiry into Rzeczpospolita journalists that Lech Kaczyński ordered when he was still Justice Minister (2000-01) in Jerzy Buzek's cabinet. Although the Prime Minister supported the project, PiS demanded that the investigative commission's scope of interest be expanded and suggested it could look at the relationship between the special services and the media since 1999.
