An uncertain future

Tumultuous scenes unfolded at the Polish state television station Telewizja Polska in December 2023: Dismissed editors-in-chief barricaded themselves in the editorial offices, PiS MPs occupied the broadcasting centres and refused to let new employees in. They improvised in the corridors to produce the current evening news. Before that, the culture minister of Donald Tusk's newly elected government had fired the old directors and filled the top positions with new ones. A year later, the turmoil may have ended, but the underlying conflict remains.

„There is still no effective system in Poland to protect the public media from political interference“

Even after 35 years of democracy, there is still no effective system in Poland to protect the public media from political interference. Since the Communist Party's media monopoly was abolished in 1989, the state broadcaster Telewizja Polska (TVP), the radio station Polskie Radio and the news agency Polska Agencja Prasowa (PAP) have become the subject of bitter rivalry between the political parties.

Each change of government resulted in a change of personnel and programme. In 1993, the National Broadcasting Council (KRRiT) was founded as a supervisory body. However, despite being anchored in the constitution, it proved to be too weak to guarantee the independence of the public media, not least because it is appointed by parliament and the president and therefore reflects the current political majorities.

The national conservative Law and Justice party (PiS) knew how to capitalise on this weakness. Party leader Jarosław Kaczyński has made no secret of the fact that he views the media as an instrument for exercising power. After the PiS formed both the government and the president from 2015, it turned the state media into a weapon against the opposition.

„PiS-dominated bodies remained in office and resisted all reform attempts“

For years, the liberal-conservative opposition leader Donald Tusk, who was defamed as a “German agent”, was caught in the crossfire. In order to consolidate its control, the PiS also disempowered the National Broadcasting Council KRRiT in the summer of 2016 regarding personnel issues and created the Council of National Media (RMN) instead. In this body, PiS politicians had a majority of three to two and were therefore able to appoint or dismiss board members, supervisory board members and directors at will. In the first few months of the new PiS government, around 300 journalists were dismissed or left the organisation themselves because they did not accept the new “standards”. Over subsequent years, the TVP in particular attracted attention for its extremely one-sided reporting, as well as its agitation against minorities and the opposition. The broadcaster was even popularly nicknamed “TVPiS”.

It is therefore not surprising that the reform of the state media was at the top of the opposition's list of priorities in the 2023 parliamentary elections. After the alliance led by Donald Tusk's Civic Platform party won, the new government included the “repair and depoliticisation” of public media in its coalition agreement. However, the political reality proved to be far more difficult than expected. Although the PiS had to relinquish government responsibility, the bodies it dominated remained in office and resisted all attempts at reform. Even in the days after Tusk took office on 13 December 2023, the TVP Info channel continued to broadcast extremely biased reporting.

In this situation, Donald Tusk decided to take a radical step which, in the opinion of many legal experts, bordered on the rule of law. On 20 December 2023, his Culture Minister Bartłomiej Sienkiewicz dismissed the management and supervisory boards of TVP, Polskie Radio and PAP. He declared the companies bankrupt and appointed a neutral administration to replace the management bodies.

He referred to the provisions of commercial law, as all three are public limited companies in which the state holds a 100 percent stake. The national-conservative opposition promptly spoke of a ‘coup’.

„A fundamental reform is currently being hampered by financial uncertainty“

The deposed, pro-PiS editors-in-chief occupied the TVP and PAP buildings together with MPs. In return, Bartłomiej Sienkiewicz had the TVP Info channel completely switched off for the time being. The propagandistic evening programme ‘Wiadomości’ was taken off the air and replaced by the new evening news format called ‘19.30’.

After the intitial turmoil, the situation slowly eased and the new TVP director Tomasz Sygut managed to establish a regular broadcasting schedule. However, conflicts continue. This is because a fundamental reform of the public media is currently being hindered above all by financial uncertainty. Following the appointment of new members to TVP's management bodies, President Andrzej Duda, who is close to the PiS, suddenly vetoed a law on the financing of the public service at the end of December 2023. His main intention was to block the budgets of TVP, Polskie Radio and PAP and hinder their reorganisation.

The KRRiT, whose elected members have also been dominated by the PiS since 2022, also stopped the regular transfer of funds from licence fees in January 2024 in order to reinforce the financial blockade. The government is currently plugging these holes in the budget with ad hoc financial aid, but this makes longer-term planning impossible. Regaining credibility among viewers is a difficult task, not least because Poland remains a deeply divided country.

„A new media law is needed to restore the independence of state broadcasters“

The staff of the new news programme “19.30”, whose faces are familiar, report that they are sometimes insulted or intimidated on the street, but also praised and encouraged. Many journalists who had compromised themselves as PiS propagandists and were dismissed found work at the right-wing nationalist TV programme Republika. The channel, which previously had a limited reach, gained new viewers and became a serious competitor for TVP.

A new media law is needed to restore the independence of state broadcasters. An initial draft has been circulating since June 2024 and foresees the abolition of licence fees. Instead, the public media are to be financed from the state budget. The National Media Council is to be abolished, while the KRRiT State Council is to regain its competences in personnel policy. The principle of replacing three members every two years is to be restored, in a bid to prevent one party from dominating the body.

„The presidential election in May 2025 will be decisive for the future of public media in Poland“

However, although a draft of the law is already available, it is unlikely to be submitted to parliament in the short term. It is too likely that President Andrzej Duda will veto it. The presidential election in May 2025 will be decisive for the future of this law and therefore the state of public media in Poland. If the candidate from the liberal camp, the current mayor of Warsaw Rafał Trzaskowski, wins, rapid reforms based on the new media law can be expected. However, if the candidate put forward by Jarosław Kaczyński, Karol Nawrocki, wins, he will probably maintain the obstructionist policy of his predecessor.

This would have fatal consequences for the media: “It's neck and neck,” says Jan Ordyński, deputy chairman of the liberal Society of Journalists (Towarzystwo Dziennikarskie). “The fate of the public media depends on this presidential election. Either reforms or stagnation.” Regardless of the outcome of this battle, the Polish media landscape will remain pluralistic. This is ensured by countless private electronic and print media. TVN Discovery Polska, for example, plays a special role; its news programme “Fakty” has far higher viewing figures than “19:30”.

The private stations RMF and Radio Zet dominate the radio market. Among newspapers, “Gazeta Wyborczaç” and “Rzeczpospolita” have a solid reputation. Media such as these have played an important role in Polish society for years and continue to ensure political balance - despite the longstanding bickering over the public channels.