Public media's objectivity tested during election season
This fall's presidential elections will likely test the political objectivity of public media Polskie Radio (PR) and Telewizja Polska (TVP), both of which have been accused by right-wing politicians of being dominated by the left.
When President Aleksander Kwasniewski, who is affiliated with the Democratic Left Alliance (SLD), announced that he would seek a second term last week on PR's morning news program "Sygnaly dnia," reactions to his radio appearance indicated just how difficult passing such a test might be. While Kwasniewski's announcement didn't come as a surprise, Marian Krzaklewski, head of Solidarity Election Action (AWS) and a regular participant on "Sygnaly dnia," complained that Kwasniewski had been granted airtime to begin advertising his campaign without making the purpose of his appearance clear beforehand. According to Krzaklewski, who spoke about the incident on Radio Plus the same day, it was hard to understand why PR broadcast an interview with Kwasniewski, especially considering that the ruling coalition was on the brink of collapse.
Krzysztof Grzesiowski, head of PR's Channel 1 news programs, didn't have much to say about what happened on June 2. "There's no story. It's already in the past and that's all," he said. "I know what programs run on my channel, but I have no obligation to speak about how Polskie Radio is functioning."
Andrzej Turski, director of PR's Channel 1, was more responsive. "I don't think that something wrong happened on Friday (June 2) because eventually it's always the editorial (department) that invites its guests and it was the editorial (department) that invited the president," he said. "On Friday, the president had at least two serious reasons to be on the air, his visit to Israel and his decision to run for the presidency."
Turski said politicians routinely appeared on "Sygnaly dnia," and added that "they (politicians) have no right to say that somebody took their customary airtime because politicians don't have their own time on the radio."
According to the law, only the president, the prime minister, the Sejm and senate speakers, and the spokesperson for citizens' rights can apply for airtime to speak to the nation. "It would have been fair to change the daily programming if it was done for every presidential candidate on the day that he announces his electoral plans," said Jaroslaw Sellin, an AWS-associated member of the National TV and Radio Council (KRRiTV). "If it was possible, we would probably have done it for Krzaklewski," Turski said. It would be difficult to test the sincerity of PR's management, though, since most presidential candidates have already announced their plans to run.
During the presidential election campaign, PR's Channel 1 is planning to air a special 10-hour electoral program, which will be divided into smaller segments according to the number of candidates. The station is required to regularly inform KRRiTV on how long politicians are on the air.
Gazeta Wyborcza, the nation's largest daily, revived discussion last week about a decision made by state-owned press distributor Ruch to stop distribution of Zly, a magazine featuring photographs of murders, rapes and other atrocities. Catholic clergy, namely Archbishop Jozef Zycinski, welcomed the move, and last week praised the distributor's management as well as some newsstand owners who said they no longer carried the magazine.
Opponents of Ruch's decision said a public distributor should not play censor and discriminate against publishers whose views it finds distasteful. Ruch's head of public relations, Barbara Bochenek, said the company's decision was purely economic and not dictated by ethical criteria. "It's just the start of how we're going to improve the company's profitability," she said. "We can't sponsor other companies just because we're owned by the treasury and spend public money." Ruch distributed Zly for two years before deciding not to extend the magazine's contract on Feb. 29, 2000. At that time, Zly had a 70.97% return rate, Bochenek said.
"We're part of the market and above all we should generate profits," said Jacek Czeladko, CFO and board member for Ruch. "I can't agree with the view presented by many commentators that we ought to distribute everything because we're public."
Zly's fate is shared by Fakty i Mity, an anti-clerical magazine that published an interview with the murderer of Father Jerzy Popieluszko in March. Ruch's justification for dropping the magazine was also economic. According to Bochenek, 77.18% of Fakty i Mity was returned on a regular basis.
Ruch's own retail network of 33,000 kiosks covers about 60% of the press distribution market in the country. As a result of Ruch's decision, Zly's publisher decided to cease publication of the magazine. If Ruch were not nearly such a monopolist, Zly may have continued to appear on newsstands. "We had no economic reasons to stop Zly's distribution and we're continuing to cooperate with Fakty i Mity, said Grzegorz Fibakiewicz, head of marketing at Kielce-based Kolporter, a Ruch competitor. "Every single magazine is precious for us because we live from distribution and we don't take into account political, social or ethical criteria as long as those papers are legal in Poland."
The Polish News Agency (PAP) is working on an English-language online news service, similar to its current Polish-language service sent free of charge to subscribers via e-mail. "We're going to use the agency's content and prepare summaries in English addressed, among others, to Poles living abroad," said Boguslaw Wisniewski, head of marketing at PAP. "The service will also play a promotional role for Poland and the agency." The service is expected to be up and running by July, and will be sent at 1 p.m. daily with complete Warsaw Stock Exchange results, current exchange rates and a mixture of political, cultural and scientific information.
