Regulator or Big Brother?
According to NIK's preliminary report on the activities of the media regulator, KRRiTV abuses its powers and interferes with broadcasters' operations. The body also attempts to limit media freedom by suggesting the "appropriate" program schedules and requiring information on any changes to them. Granting the licenses, the board's main occupation, is also problematic as it takes ages to obtain the council's decision. In the case of TV4 Polskie Media, the final answer came 45 months late.
In the period covered by NIK's report, from 2001 to 2003, there were 66 legal proceedings being conducted against KRRiTV before the administrative courts. The watchdog's decisions were annulled in 16 cases.
Politicization of KRRiTV is yet another problem. A week ago, center and rightist parties raised alarm after another Democratic Left Alliance (SLD) ally had been nominated to a senior public TV post. According to the opposition, Danuta Waniek, the council's leader and a former senior SLD figure, broke the law by forcing this politically biased appointment.
Last Friday, in answer to KRRiTV's moves, the TVP Supervisory Board suspended Marek Hołyński, TVP's vice-president and yet another SLD-linked figure, for the support he provided to the regulator in its attempt to interfere with the state television's affairs.
The President of the International Advertising Association in Poland, Paweł Kowalewski, expressed his concern over KRRiTV's actions: "It is especially disconcerting that the body that is supposed to guard the freedom of speech and public media independence in Poland takes measures that fall far from commonly accepted democratic standards."
In the period covered by NIK's report, from 2001 to 2003, there were 66 legal proceedings being conducted against KRRiTV before the administrative courts. The watchdog's decisions were annulled in 16 cases.
Politicization of KRRiTV is yet another problem. A week ago, center and rightist parties raised alarm after another Democratic Left Alliance (SLD) ally had been nominated to a senior public TV post. According to the opposition, Danuta Waniek, the council's leader and a former senior SLD figure, broke the law by forcing this politically biased appointment.
Last Friday, in answer to KRRiTV's moves, the TVP Supervisory Board suspended Marek Hołyński, TVP's vice-president and yet another SLD-linked figure, for the support he provided to the regulator in its attempt to interfere with the state television's affairs.
The President of the International Advertising Association in Poland, Paweł Kowalewski, expressed his concern over KRRiTV's actions: "It is especially disconcerting that the body that is supposed to guard the freedom of speech and public media independence in Poland takes measures that fall far from commonly accepted democratic standards."
