Local Media in Poland - The Press Owner Influence

1. The Vision of the Editor-in-Chief

The editor-in-chief, according to the provisions of the Press Law, should be responsible for the content of the materials prepared by the editorial team as well as for the editorial and financial matters of the editorial office. This is the theory. In practice - especially in local media, where the editor-in-chief simultaneously wields the scepter of the title owner - it is he, not the journalist, who decides what and how to write. The vision of the editor-in-chief becomes the direction that is binding for every journalist in the editorial office. This affects not only journalists but also the audience.

For example, in October 1998, the new deputy director for programming of the Lublin branch of Polish Television decided to implement savings. He executed this idea in a truly reckless manner. In mid-December... he removed "Panorama Lubelska," the local news program, from the air. The savings were undeniable - several dozen thousand zlotys. The question is, what about the viewers in Lublin? Their outrage fortunately led to the dismissal of the inventive director, and "Panorama Lubelska" returned to the air. However, not everyone is as fortunate as the Lublin branch of TVP.

It is hard to blame the head of Radio City in Słupsk, Przemysław Kowalski, for responsibility for the substantive and financial affairs of the editorial office. In March 1999, the station`s transmitters went silent. Thirty-two journalists from the station were left on the street. Unofficially, there were rumors in the city about pressure on the owner of the station – influential people were unhappy with the controversial "Talk-Show" program hosted by journalist Jerzy Izdebski. For three weeks, fans of "Radio City" protested in the streets of Słupsk against the station`s closure. After three weeks, the owner bowed to the people`s pressure and reactivated the station. In official statements, he explained that the three weeks of silence from the transmitters was... a marketing ploy.

A similar fate befell the journalists of Wrocław`s Radio Aplauz in October 2000. For several days, the station fell silent. The station`s management did not shield itself with marketing but rather cited financial problems – the editorial staff was reduced to a minimum and the news department was eliminated. However, it is also difficult to speak of the editor-in-chief`s responsibility for the fate of the editorial team in this case.

Equally misguided was the marketing attempt to change the image of "Trybuna Śląska." Editor-in-chief Tadeusz Biedzki decided to refresh the title`s image at the beginning of 2000 and added the word "Dzień" to "Trybuna Śląska." Thus "Trybuna Śląska - Dzień" was born. Ultimately, the second part of the name was supposed to replace the first – the editor-in-chief wanted to part ways with the title that reminded him of the times of the Polish People`s Republic. The idea turned out to be misguided because readers protested, being accustomed to their title. Also from a marketing perspective, it seemed strange to eliminate a title that not only had a long tradition in Silesia but also an established position.

Fortunately, the opinions of readers are shared by the new editor-in-chief, Maciej Siembieda, who took office in October 2000. He restored the newspaper to its original title and improved its image by enhancing its layout and raising the substantive content of the newspaper.

In March 2001, the editor-in-chief of Warsaw`s Radio Plus employed somewhat unconventional methods to care for the image of his company. The station was experiencing serious financial difficulties at the time, being behind on payments to its employees. The station`s management forbade the radio staff from speaking to anyone about the situation within the company. The severest penalty was planned for breaking this ban - disciplinary dismissal. There is no information about whether this measure was necessary.

Doubtful program projects and incomprehensible personnel decisions have been criticized by the trade unions operating in Radio Dla Ciebie. In September 2001, the radio staff complained that no one wanted to reveal how the new schedule for the station would look. The publishers of individual time slots received a ban from the editor-in-chief on informing their subordinates about planned changes.

2. The Publisher`s Vision

Undoubtedly, the publisher has a significant, and in some cases even decisive, influence on the substantive content of a newspaper or magazine, and in the case of a radio station or television broadcaster - the broadcaster. It hardly matters whether it is a local businessman, a workers` cooperative, or a large media conglomerate like Passauer, Orkla, or the newly established 4Media in 2000. "The theory that large press groups allow regional newspapers to operate independently because they do not have local interests can only be defended for a short time," states Marek Marian Przybylski, President of the Głos Wielkopolski Publishing House.

Currently, journalism is increasingly not viewed as a social mission but as a market activity whose main task is to make money. All financial, organizational, personnel decisions, and influence on the presented content are concentrated in the hands of publishers. Such powers are granted to the publisher or, in electronic media, to the broadcaster by the Press Law itself. Specifically, Article 38 places legal responsibility for published content not only on the author and editor-in-chief but equally on the publisher. In practice, this means that the publisher can, for example, block the publication of materials that do not align with his vision or even impose his vision on the editorial team. In 1997, Andrzej Goszczyński, Director of the Center for Monitoring Freedom of the Press, stated outright that Polish law, especially the Press Law, does not protect journalists in their relationship with their employers.

The unfavorable vision of publishers is primarily lamented by those editorial offices that have transformed from independent titles into supplements of newspapers published by large corporations. This bitterness is felt by employees of "Echa Ziemi Lęborskiej," which belongs to Passauer Neue Presse. "When the owner was the Arkona publishing house, the newspaper was genuinely independent. Now it is merely a dependent supplement. The editorial team has changed. There is no editor-in-chief, only a leading editor in the branch. And the salaries are low," assesses the situation Zbigniew Eckner, the former editor-in-chief of "Echa."

In July 2000, changes at Polish Radio Pomorza and Kujaw were widely reported. The three-member management board of the company resigned in protest against the politicization of the new Supervisory Board of the station. The radio management feared that the new members of the Board would influence the content of programs and news services. The protest proved ineffective, and for its participants, it ended tragically. Politicians accused of wanting to politicize the radio filed a complaint with the prosecutor`s office, alleging that the departing board members acted to the detriment of the company and unlawfully received high severance pay. The case is ongoing.

In 1998, journalists from "Ilustrowany Kurier Polski" in Bydgoszcz learned firsthand how important it is to align the topics addressed with the publisher`s tastes. When the title was purchased by the Redemptorist Father Jan Golec in March 1998, all journalists who dared not to support Father Tadeusz Rydzyk during the scandal at the Toruń meat plant "Tormięs" were dismissed. The new owner made it clear to employees that any opposition to the line he had outlined for the newspaper could have dire consequences. Naturally, for the journalists.

Restrictions are practiced not only in private media. Similar cases are known in public media. For instance, Elżbieta Więcławska, a journalist at TV Łódź, found herself in trouble with her employer after preparing the program "Z kodeksem na Ty," which dealt with corruption and the salaries of TVP SA heads. The program was removed from the air, and in September 2000, the journalist found herself on the list of employees scheduled for layoffs. The Polish Journalists` Association stood up for her, calling the decision of the management of Łódź TVP "a purge aimed at eliminating diligent journalists and punishment for independence and journalistic courage." Despite such a firm stance, the management of TV Łódź did not change its decision.

A similar situation occurred in June 2000 at the Szczecin branch of TVP. Krzysztof Matlak, director of TV Szczecin, halted the broadcast of the documentary "Firma." The documentary concerned the history of the center and journalists who sympathized with the then government during the PRL. It was only after the matter was publicized by "Gazeta na Pomorzu," the local supplement of "Gazeta Wyborcza," that the film aired. Its authors, unlike Elżbieta Więcławska, were not punished for their courage.

Famous names also fall victim to the punishing finger of management. Mariusz Marks, one of Poland`s best radio reporters, had to say goodbye to public Radio Wrocław for airing a report about a funeral company that advertised in the media. The station`s management deemed that the journalist had committed covert advertising.

That Marks received reporting accolades both domestically and abroad had no bearing on President Ireneusz Guszpit. Trade unions operating in Radio Wrocław did not stand up for him – as is said unofficially due to fear. Despite the fact that Mariusz Marks was a member of the Polish Journalists` Syndicate and the Independent Journalists` Union Media. Both unions supported the management`s decision, basing their support on... the same legal opinion prepared at the request of the station`s management. Only the Center for Monitoring Freedom of the Press stood up for the journalist, albeit unsuccessfully.

In confrontation with their employer, Grzegorz Fafiński, a journalist at Radio Pomorza and Kujaw, had no chance either. When he protested against the removal from the air of comments made by Archbishop Henryk Muszyński, who accused public media of politicization, the station`s management decided to part ways with him. The fact that the courageous journalist, unable to accept the management`s censorial decisions, informed competing media played a decisive role. Although the team defended their colleague, and two female journalists followed Fafiński`s lead, the management of Radio Pomorza and Kujaw did not change its mind.

Examples of disregard for the principle of media freedom and independence, cited in the magazine "Press" by an anonymous reader, may induce true terror in those with a deep conviction about media freedom and independence. The city management, coming from the right side of the political spectrum, directly controls the municipal radio. The editor-in-chief prohibited journalists from attending press conferences organized by the left. A reader was fired for reading a news item that mentioned Kwaśniewski`s name. After a change in the city`s government, the radio`s tone is now set in a similar style by the left. In a Catholic radio station, a priest-director wants to dismiss a pregnant reader. During the conversation, he insists that she was already pregnant when she came to work. In a commercial radio station, the owner is behind on payments, but the employment contracts are constructed in such a way that they cannot be enforced in court. In a branch of a large television station, every topic that appears in local news is created on order or with the approval of the branch owner. A special person is employed to monitor what and where journalists are doing.

Of course, one can always oppose the management`s decisions. Tomasz Swynarski, a journalist at public Radio Łódź SA, sued the station`s management in May 2001, demanding the revocation of a reprimand imposed on him. He received the reprimand, among other things, for changing the content of a statement by SLD leader Leszek Miller and reading it in an altered form in the radio news. The politician`s statement concerned a material that appeared not on the radio`s air but in "Gazeta Łódzka," a local supplement of "Gazeta Wyborcza." Swynarski summarized the overly lengthy statement while preserving, as he claims, its essence. The station`s management disagreed. Although the Editorial Board, where Swynarski works, and the trade union operating in the radio emphasize that the journalist performed his duties diligently, and rephrasing statements is a common practice for a news producer, the management did not revoke the penalty.

In response to the lawsuit, the station`s president, Krzysztof Jędrzejczak, explained that the journalist failed to follow three directives, which are "worthy of condemnation as examples of employee insubordination." "It is unacceptable for someone employed in the position of the plaintiff to decide the form and content of radio programs against the express will of the management. The management is responsible for the form and content and must decide the shape of the radio broadcasts." A ruling in this case has yet to be made.

Not all publishers achieve their goals through confrontations with the editorial team. While some use the stick method, there must also be a group of publishers who use the carrot method. The Polish market is not lacking titles that do not punish for obstinacy but reward for effectively realizing their objectives. For example, Neue Passauer Presse organizes a competition for the best editor-in-chief among its titles. The amount of bonuses received is a secret, but it certainly exceeds several thousand zlotys. Formally signing an employment contract is a reward for the best collaborators at "Dziennik Bałtycki." In 1999, the publisher rewarded ten journalists from "DB" by sending them on a two-week trip to Rome.

The so-called carrot method is definitely more friendly to journalists than the stick method. Such a motivational system, as experts demonstrate, is much more effective, and above all, less stressful and frustrating than the ever-looming threat above one`s head. It should be emphasized that not all publishers utilize the motivational system to influence the substantive content of the columns. Those who have such nefarious intentions typically employ the stick method.

3. Local Government Media

Local government media are treated by colleagues from so-called independent editorial offices as a propaganda arm of the office. This thesis is contradicted by Krzysztof Połubiński, editor-in-chief of Białystok radio "Akadera," supported by the city council with an annual amount of 100,000 zlotys: "Journalists from other Białystok media expected that upon starting cooperation with the city, we would become a mouthpiece for the Municipal Office. Today, everyone has forgotten about those accusations. This probably best testifies to our independence."

A stark example from the other end of the spectrum is the local government newspaper "Biuletyn Urzędowy," published in Nowa Ruda. It is distributed in a circulation of one thousand copies within the city and municipality of Nowa Ruda and consists practically solely of praises for the city authorities. It serves as an example of a critical administrative mouthpiece. This cannot be otherwise since the editorial team comprises officials employed at the town hall, who are obligated to publish texts in the local government title. It is difficult for them to write critically about themselves.

An example of the helplessness of journalists in local government media towards local authorities is undoubtedly the case I have previously described that occurred in 1999 in Pruszków near Warsaw. The mayor ordered journalists from the local cable television to conduct live coverage of the City Council meetings. The sessions were to be broadcast in full and without the slightest comment from the editorial team. The mayor withdrew this order only after the intervention of the Center for Monitoring Freedom of the Press, which sent him a letter requesting the cessation of law violations.

Local government titles often serve local rulers in their battles against political opponents. Jan Waleński, the mayor of Kobylin, confessed what he thinks of his political opponent: "M. wanted to burn Kobylin while drunk, he vomited on the fire truck in Zalesie Wielkie." The mayor wrote this in the official local government newspaper "Kobylin." The issue exceptionally sold out in the municipality like fresh rolls. Waleński also writes openly and without much shame about his opponent: "And now there is a fear that the remnants of sperm are hitting his psyche (...) Out of concern for that remaining sperm, I advise him to get married."

Everyone in the municipality knows that M. refers to Michał Ciesielski, the owner and publisher of the opposing newspaper "Forum Kobylińskie." Ciesielski writes about politics, history, and Kobylin. Between 1990 and 1994, he was Kobylin`s first Solidarity mayor. He does not hide his dislike for the current authorities` actions. He seriously considers taking legal action. In the text, Mayor Waleński also wrote: "M. molests girls and even boys at school" and that "he always drinks only in a crooked manner."

Local government titles wage wars against independent media. This situation occurs, for example, in Świdnica. The "Kurier Świdnicki," financed by the Municipal Office, engages in fierce battles with "Wiadomości Świdnickie," a newspaper owned by a private businessman, the owner of several titles in Lower Silesia. The local government title frequently refers to articles that have appeared in the competing weekly. The mayor of Świdnica denies false information, rebuts accusations, and sometimes even makes counterclaims. This often happens because there is no possibility of publishing a correction in "Wiadomości Świdnickie." Either because the corrected content of the articles is indisputable or because the issues discussed by the competition do not directly concern the local government and its management. This example is certainly not isolated.

Unfortunately, in addition to issues of journalistic reliability, similar situations often spill over into the realm of purely human and extrajudicial relations. For a while in Świdnica, there was such hostility between the two weeklies that journalists from "Kurier" did not greet representatives of "Wiadomości." They publicly and mutually slung mud at each other, accusing one another of unreliability and manipulating readers.

Does local government press pose a danger to journalistic reliability? This theory is fairly common among journalists of so-called "independent media."

"Newspapers published by the authorities generally tend to praise those in power. In this case, we have an exceptional situation, though not so extraordinary in Poland," believes Stefan Bratkowski, a member of the jury for the local and regional media journalist competition "Journalists from Our Regions."

Of course, there are many local governments that can cooperate with local newspapers. They do not treat them as their enemy but as an ally in carrying out tasks for the local community.

"If such cooperation occurs, the results are wonderful. However, I would prefer that the local government help the local newspaper rather than publish and endorse it, as this may provoke distrust and suspicion among many residents. To avoid ambiguity, we should strive for newspapers to be independent, especially since authorities change," continues Stefan Bratkowski.

The danger that awaits journalists employed in local government media is the ease with which the functions of journalist and official can intertwine. A journalist who views work in a local government editorial office as a step in an administrative career ceases to be independent and thereby loses credibility in the eyes of their audience.

Stefan Bratkowski: "In our profession, one should not combine the functions of a journalist with positions of power. Journalism should not be a step to an administrative career. These functions must be clearly divided, and I think our profession is exciting and creates enormous potential for effectiveness and social action. This brings more satisfaction than holding power, without detracting from those who exercise that power. A government that knows how to collaborate with its citizens is a government certainly worthy of support from any local newspaper."

Local government media, setting aside all the accusations that can be directed at them, have one fundamental advantage. They can provide important and useful information that is hard to find in commercial media. A shining example is the work of Jolanta Reisch, a collaborator of the local government title "Kluczborski Kurier Samorządowy." The journalist launched a large social campaign in the newspaper to raise funds for a mammogram for the Kluczbork clinic. It is unnecessary to convince anyone how needed this device is. Jolanta Reisch sought sponsors, encouraged colleagues from other editorial offices, and appealed for support from readers. Her efforts paid off - the Kluczbork clinic now has a modern mammogram. The dedication of the local government journalist has also been appreciated. The articles and radio broadcasts dedicated to this noble cause earned Jolanta Reisch the grand prize in the local and regional media competition "Journalists from Our Regions."

Stefan Bratkowski: "At first glance, the topic of the mammogram is not a catchy one. However, Jolanta Reisch managed to turn it into an object of interest for readers and listeners, the subject of a whole social campaign. I suspect she succeeds in everything she undertakes. Reading the opinions attached to the nomination application, it is evident that she is liked and respected by the local government, her newspaper, and the community. The spark of divine inspiration within her is so obvious that everyone accepts it. I suspect that Jolanta Reisch achieves much because everyone knows of her selflessness. If she were doing this seeking power, intentions at least ambiguous would be automatically attributed to her actions."

Organizing social campaigns presents an incredibly wide field for local government media. This is especially true since the benefits of such actions extend beyond achieving a noble social goal. While this aspect is undoubtedly the most important, one cannot overlook the prestige gained by the organizer, which in this case is the local government editorial office. For the local government issuing the publication, this also presents a reason for pride and an opportunity to gain recognition among people, or, in effect, potential voters. Thus, there is a chance that such actions will become increasingly common in Poland. Especially since at the beginning of the 21st century, they are proving to be ever more necessary.

*****

• [1] Marcin Baranowski, Izdebski znów oskarża, "Press" nr 5/1999
• [2] Monika Polewska, Nie rzucim "Głosu" - wywiad z Markiem Marianem Przybylskim, prezesem Oficyny Wydawniczej Głos Wielkopolski, "Press" nr 11/1998
• [3] Ewa Nowińska, Andrzej Goszczyński, Kłopoty z wolnością, "Polityka" nr 40/1997
• [4] Anna Lewicka, Tygodnikowy biznes, "Press" nr 5/2001
• [5] Tomasz Duda, Kryptozwolnienie, "Press" nr 10/2000
• [6] Czytelniczka, Głos z prowincji, "Press" nr 2/2001
• [7] Katarzyna Kowalewska, Kij i marchewka, "Press" nr 10/1999
• [8] dane za rok 1999
• [9] Rafał Rudnicki, Lokalność i mniejszości, "Press" nr 11/19990
• [10] Agnieszka Prawdzic, Barbara Wiśniewska, Moc sprawcza słów - prasa lokalna równorzędnym partnerem mediów ogólnopolskim; wywiad ze Stefanem Bratkowskim, przewodniczącym kapituły konkursu "Dziennikarz z naszych stron", Wiadomości Wirtualnej Polski, 11 września 2000

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