Poland | Polish media will be freed from political control – “Democracy was destroyed for eight years”

Warsaw

Polish the exceptional status of the television company can be seen right at the door. There are more security guards and pass check points than before.

The reason for the security measures is the MPs of the former ruling party who have lost their power. In recent weeks, they have taken over rooms from the newsroom in Warsaw's core in protest of the drastic reforms of Polish television.

Due to the protests, the production of the main news broadcast has been evacuated from the premises of the core center to the main building of the broadcasting company outside the center.

The main entrance is closed for security reasons. Chief editor of the news department Maciej Czajkowski is met by the back door, which is easier to guard.

“Democracy was destroyed for eight years. Politicians no longer know what normal behavior is,” says Czajkowski about the MPs who marched on the television company.

in Poland power changed in December, when a pro-Europe supporter of liberal democracy became prime minister Donald Tusk. He ousted the national conservative Law and Justice Party (PiS), which had ruled Poland for eight years.

During the reign of the PiS party, the Polish public service television, radio and news agency were harnessed as propaganda horns. A new supervisory board was appointed to manage the media companies, which was filled with allies of the ruling party at the time.

One of the new Prime Minister Tusk's promises was to return Polish television to a normal independent news house. In the same way, the new government is trying to make the judiciary and other important state institutions independent again.

Read more: Poland's new government began to change the management of media companies – Instead of the evening news, a promise to end propaganda was seen on the screen

Main news deputy director Czajkowski is one example of the new era. He was fired eight years ago when PiS came to power. After the change of power, Czajkowski was hired back to renew the news.

He presents the news delivery, cramped in temporary facilities, where they prepare for the main news broadcast of the evening. Many of the authors are new, as not only the predecessors but also the editors have been changed at a rapid pace.

According to Czajkowski, it was easy to get rid of the journalists and news anchors who acted as PiS's mouthpieces.

“Because of the propaganda, it was easy to show that they did not follow the terms of the agreement on independence,” says Czajkowski.

The recapture of the television company has still not gone without legal beatings. The government tried to put the entire media company into liquidation, so that the management and staff could be renewed without a PiS-friendly supervisory board.

According to the Polish court, the pattern was illegal.

Czajkowski continue the presentation tour to the inner balcony located in connection with the large main lobby. In mid-February, a rare television broadcast was filmed there.

In a live broadcast, the Polish TV host apologized for the way sexual and gender minorities had been talked about during the previous eight years. At worst, they were equated with pedophiles and labeled as a threat to Polish values.

Read more: A female couple living in Warsaw dares to watch TV again

The apology was a message not only for sexual and gender minorities but also for elderly television viewers. In Catholic Poland, many people have conservative values.

“That we are ordinary people. Many heard it for the first time,” says Czajkowski. She herself lives in a relationship with a man.

According to Czajkowski, one of the main goals of a public service television company is to civilize people and provide independent information. The principle line is still being worked out, but the goal is that Poles get enough information for independent thinking.

“People need to know how to think critically,” says Czajkowski.

He frankly admits that, according to public feedback, the news has somehow become more boring since the propaganda has gone away. During the reign of the PiS party, broadcasts wanted to arouse emotions and the content was raunchy. Facts mattered less.

At the same time, many newly hired new journalists are just learning about television work. Czajkowski introduces us to a young reporter transferred from an independent radio station who is learning how to use video in news.

The main topic of the evening's news is the protests of Polish farmers. Farmers are also protesting in Poland against the entry of Ukrainian grain and other products into the EU market.

According to Czajkowski, the choice of news shows that television has not changed from the pocket of the old ruling party to the supporter of the new prime minister. The goal is to critically report on Tusk's government as well.

Now the challenge is to get the former representatives of power to agree to an interview, which is normal journalism and not a propaganda program of the former model. So far, they have been at the premises of the television company mainly to show their opinion.

“We have a very long way to go,” says Czajkowski.

In February Demogog website that follows the main news of Polish television toldthat the main news of the public service is not necessarily still balanced but has swayed in support of the new government.

President Andrzej Duda has been criticized for public service television news more than other channels. Duda is loyal to the former ruling party PiS.