Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

Polish government’s media bill is latest move to silence its critics

Polish government’s media bill is latest move to silence its critics

Analysis: legislation is likely to target US-owned broadcaster as press freedom continues to deteriorate
In 2015, the year that the populist Law and Justice party (PiS) came to power in Poland, the country ranked 18th – its highest ever position – out of 164 countries on Reporters without Borders’ (RSF) annual World Press Freedom Index.

By this year it had fallen to its lowest ever position, 64th, continuing an annual slide that has left it just below Malawi and Armenia, in 62nd and 63rd, and just above Bhutan and Ivory Coast, with a classification from RSF of “problematic”.

The PiS-led government’s new media bill, which would ban companies outside the European Economic Area from majority ownership of any TV channel, is widely seen in this context as an attempt to silence the country’s largest independent broadcaster.

TVN, whose broadcasts are often critical of the government, is owned by the US Discovery group, which would have to sell most of its stake if the bill passes.

The move is just the latest in a sustained, three-pronged assault on Poland’s media freedoms that began soon after PiS’s 2015 election victory, when the ruling party legislated to give itself direct control of the public broadcaster, TVP, removing senior management and putting appointments in the hands of ministers.

Since then, aggressively partisan news coverage has been the norm. Analysis of TVP’s flagship evening news programme in 2019 found that in the run-up to EU elections that year, of 105 items about the polls, 69 were focused on PiS, of which 68 were positive and one neutral. All 33 items about the opposition were negative.

A separate study found TVP systematically portrayed the ruling party in a positive light, routinely used words such as “reform”, “sovereign”, “strong”, “hero” and “patriotic”, while items about the opposition deployed words such as “shocking”, “scandalous”, “provocation” and “putsch”.

RSF also found bias in coverage of last year’s presidential elections, with state media openly “backing President Andrzej Duda’s successful campaign for re-election” while “doing their best to discredit his main rival”, Rafał Trzaskowski, who was accused of working for a “powerful foreign lobby” and seeking to “fulfil Jewish demands”.

PiS argues the party’s control of TVP is a necessary and proportionate response to what it says is a wider media environment skewed in favour of its liberal opponents, pointing to the fact that many private media outlets are foreign-owned.

That has led the government to also pursue a relentless policy of “repolonising” privately owned media, including through buyouts by state-owned companies friendly to the administration, insisting the policy is in the national interest.

This year the state oil giant, Orlen, Poland’s largest company, bought Polska Press, the country’s largest local media owner with a portfolio of hundreds of local newspapers and websites, from Polska’s German majority shareholder.

Independent media have been targeted in other ways, such as a proposed “solidarity” tax on advertising revenue of between 2% and 15%. The government said the plans would help raise public funds for healthcare and culture, but TV and radio stations said it would threaten their survival.

Commercial TV channels, radio stations and web portals briefly went off air in February in protest at the tax proposals, which RSF described as “another step in the government’s censorship strategy” that risked “finishing off” media outlets whose finances were already weakened by the pandemic.

Finally, Polish police have been accused of failing to protect journalists covering anti-government protests, and of using violence and arbitrary arrests – including during mass demonstrations over strict new abortion laws – to further intimidate reporters and thus restrict the public’s access to free and fair information.
AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
The New Life of Novak Djokovic
German police raid AfD lawmaker’s offices in inquiry over Chinese payments
Volkswagen launches aggressive strategy to fend off Chinese challenge in Europe’s EV market
France Erupts in Mass ‘Block Everything’ Protests on New PM’s First Day
Poland Shoots Down Russian Drones in Airspace Violation During Ukraine Attack
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Macron Appoints Sébastien Lecornu as Prime Minister Amid Budget Crisis and Political Turmoil
Vatican hosts first Catholic LGBTQ pilgrimage
Apple Unveils iPhone 17 Series, iPhone Air, Apple Watch 11 and More at 'Awe Dropping' Event
France joins Eurozone’s ‘periphery’ as turmoil deepens, say investors
France Faces New Political Crisis, again, as Prime Minister Bayrou Pushed Out
Nayib Bukele Points Out Belgian Hypocrisy as Brussels Considers Sending Army into the Streets
France, at an Impasse, Heads Toward Another Government Collapse
The Country That Got Too Rich? Public Spending Dominates Norway Election
EU Proposes Phasing Out Russian Oil and Gas by End of 2027 to End Energy Dependence
More Than 150,000 Followers for a Fictional Character: The New Influencers Are AI Creations
EU Prepares for War
Trump Threatens Retaliatory Tariffs After EU Imposes €2.95 Billion Fine on Google
Tesla Board Proposes Unprecedented One-Trillion-Dollar Performance Package for Elon Musk
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Big Tech Executives Laud Trump at White House Dinner, Unveil Massive U.S. Investments
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
‘Looks Like a Wig’: Online Users Express Concern Over Kate Middleton
Florida’s Vaccine Revolution: DeSantis Declares War on Mandates
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
"The Situation Has Never Been This Bad": The Fall of PepsiCo
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
The Fashion Designer Who Became an Italian Symbol: Giorgio Armani Has Died at 91
Putin Celebrates ‘Unprecedentedly High’ Ties with China as Gazprom Seals Power of Siberia-2 Deal
China Unveils New Weapons in Grand Military Parade as Xi Hosts Putin and Kim
Rapper Cardi B Cleared of Liability in Los Angeles Civil Assault Trial
Google Avoids Break-Up in U.S. Antitrust Case as Stocks Rise
Couple celebrates 80th wedding anniversary at assisted living facility in Lancaster
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
The White House on LinkedIn Has Changed Their Profile Picture to Donald Trump
"Insulted the Prophet Muhammad": Woman Burned Alive by Angry Mob in Niger State, Nigeria
Trump Responds to Death Rumors – Announces 'Missile City'
Druzhba Pipeline Incident Sparks Geopolitical Tensions
Cost of Opposition Leader Péter Magyar's Economic Plan Revealed
Germany in Turmoil: Ukrainian Teenage Girl Pushed to Death by Illegal Iraqi Migrant
United Krack down on human rights: Graham Linehan Arrested at Heathrow Over Three X Posts, Hospitalised, Released on Bail with Posting Ban
Asian and Middle Eastern Investors Avoid US Markets
Ray Dalio Warns of US Shift to Autocracy
Eurozone Inflation Rises to 2.1% in August
Russia and China Sign New Gas Pipeline Deal
×