Mass Media in Poland

This definition isn`t capturing dualities served by the press and other means of communication, resulting from appearing from about and halves of the 19th century specific "bipedalisms" of press (now of also other media), as regards the way of obtaining incomes by it. One profits from the sale of the press, second - influences from the sale of press columns to announcements and advertisements. And so media are performing tasks towards recipients and advertisers. A statement that not always they are for the task shared will be a truism: moreover, in case of all sorts media, within the press - of different titles - obtained takings from the advertising are predominating above reached takings from the sale.

It is possible to perceive the domestic media as the huge market with stalls harassing two groups of customers: recipients and advertisers. As regards the press, distributors are intermediaries (Ruch, Kolporter), and in case of electronic media - ground satellite and cable broadcasting stations.

Especially from 1993 a main change was creating commercial radio and TV stations, earning their living exclusively off advertisements, next to existing already public ones. They are arousing the extraordinary interest private station the Polsat and three nationwide radio networks: RMF FM, the Radio Maryja and the Radio Zet.

Astonishingly quickly a TVN popularity grows, which 9 August 2001 also started with the twenty-four-hour news channel TVN 24, as well as the RTL 7 station. It is worthwhile recalling that stations broadcasting scrambled programmes obtained the concession for sending in Poland with satellite road: Canal + and FilmNet. Also a first digital lorry was started Wizja TV.


Into the decade of years 90. Poland entered with media national, subjected to the political control. Starting from the half of 1989 our media market underwent transformations, biggest probably from the time of the World War II. In editorial offices a technological revolution took place (computerization, offset printing), a number of recipients of the satellite television grew rapidly, and the radio passed on the digital technology.

Agreement of "round-table", backed up with an amendment to a bill in June 1989 caused the press legislation avalanche of press new titles, and liquidation of RSW "Prasa-Książka-Ruch", the only publisher of newspapers contributed to open another prospects for the Polish journalism. Also abolishing the central censorship office was a substantial change which to a considerable degree reduced the freedom of the statement.

According to the state at the end of 1995 in Poland about 5 thousand press titles were published, in it: 900 about general plots, over 100 about the youth and child`s subject matter, 800 - scientific and 1500 sublocal. They are estimating, that distributors are distributing no more than 2100 titles, the rest is reaching the recipient with the subscription or direct sales.

According to R. Filas, process of the metamorphosis of Polish media in years 1989 - 1995 we can divide in four phases:

• Of wild enthusiasm of new publishers
• Of the seeming stability and subcutaneous changes in the press and on the radio
• Of open fight for the market of media, especially for audio-visual media
• Of new developing the market.

From the second half of 1989, a flood of magazines covering various topics entered the press market. Among them, homemade erotic magazines did not catch on (later replaced by Polish versions of Western magazines published by companies like Scandinavia-Poland Publishing House). The number of cultural publications, association periodicals, and party press titles noticeably declined. A significant group of periodicals were published by the Citizens` Committees, with the goal of securing votes in the Sejm and Senate elections.

Foreign capital quickly showed interest in publishing in Poland. Early attempts included the launch of "Goniec Pomorski" in Koszalin with German investment and "Dziennik Dolnośląski" in Wrocław with substantial Norwegian support, followed by "Czas Krakowski," funded by French and Italian investors.

Next, major Western publishers joined the competition, aiming for a strong presence in the Polish press market with their own publications tailored to Polish readers. First, two versions of Western publications, "Popcorn" and "Dziewczyna" (Madchen), appeared through Phoenix Intermedia in Wrocław. Another Wrocław publisher, PP-U Makler, released Polish versions of German advisory magazines aimed at women.

The "Burda" monthly also began reaching Polish readers in the local language. Shortly after, the Bauer publishing house entered the market, launching "Bravo" as its first publication in Poland. Within two years, J. Marquard Ost Gruppe, already present on the Polish market, took over "Dziewczyna" and "Popcorn." Other major German publishers, led by Springer and Bertelsmann, joined Bauer and Burda, shaping the thematic focus, information delivery style, and graphic design - a major advantage of Western publishers. Their market position is evident: of the top 25 most popular weeklies in Poland, only ten titles belong to Polish publishers; the rest are primarily German, with two titles published by Swiss and American companies (data from 1998, according to Polish Readership Studies).

Among Polish publishers, Prószyński i S-ka deserves attention for magazines like "Poradnik Domowy" and "Cztery Kąty." Long-standing Polish titles such as "Pani," "Działkowiec," and "Detektyw" remain strong. Nonetheless, the highest print runs are achieved by Polish editions of foreign magazines: "Cats," "Elle," "Playboy," "Business Week Polska," "National Geographic," "Lady Fitness," "Cosmopolitan," "Przegląd - Reader’s Digest," and "Newsweek Polska," the newest Polish version of an international magazine, with its first issue published on September 10, 2001. Readers are also drawn to "partworks" (collectible magazines), primarily published by De Agostini and Marshall Cavendish, featuring titles like "Dinosaurs," "World of Knowledge," "World Life," "Easy PC," and "The Human Body."

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Report prepared for journalism studies at the State Higher Vocational School in Wałbrzych
based on: Zbigniew Bajka "Journalism and the World of Media"