Świrski appointed the new Chairman of the National Broadcasting Council. “Law and Justice decided to wage war against media”

On Monday, Maciej Świrski was appointed Chairman of the National Broadcasting Council. He is known to be a heavy critic of TVN, and his critical statements can be easily found online. In an interview with us, former heads and members of the National Broadcasting Council expect a harsher course of the regulator towards private broadcasters.

During the first meeting of the National Broadcasting Council of the new term of office, Maciej Świrski was appointed chairman, and Agnieszka Glapiak was appointed deputy chairwoman of the Council. Both were appointed by the Sejm as candidates of the Law and Justice Parliamentary Club. Earlier, both had been members of the Supervisory Board of the Polish Press Agency. The National Broadcasting Council is also composed of Prof. Tadeusz Kowalski of the University of Warsaw (elected by the opposition Senate), Hanna Karp, PhD of the College of Social and Media Culture (the college is connected to Father Tadeusz Rydzyk), and Marzena Paczuska, former head of TVP1’s Wiadomości. The last two members of the National Broadcasting Council were appointed by President Andrzej Duda.

In recent years, Świrski has criticized TVN severely. “I have an impression that opportunism should be TVN’s new logo,” he said on TVP Info in January 2021. At that time, he commented on reports by wPolityce.pl that TVN managers were among the persons vaccinated against the coronavirus without taking their turn in the queue.

As early as in 2018, he suggested to the leading Law and Justice politicians that TVN should be boycotted. “It is no point moaning and complaining about TVN, they have to be boycotted. Law and Justice politicians should not visit the station, President and the Prime Minister should not answer questions from TVN, and TVN should not receive invitations. And this is not about making journalists’ work difficult but choosing the truth. No more #FakeNewsMedia,” Świrski twitted. In January 2021, he wrote on social media that he responded to the invitation to Tak jest program on TVN24. “Today, we received an invitation from TVN on behalf of Andrzej Morozowski to take part in TVN24’s Tak jest program. I told them we would not come and expressed my opinion about that medium. I believe that if you come to TVN, you would only lend credence to their manipulations,” wrote the current Chairman of the National Broadcasting Council.

Jan Dworak, who headed the National Broadcasting Council from 2010 to 2016, spoke warmly about his predecessor. He does not expect the current chairman to follow in his footsteps.

“Witold Kołodziejski knew the world of electronic media. Perhaps not all of its aspects, he also had its modus operandi, which was not something to always agree with, but he was a professional media man. Maciej Świrski is rather known for his propaganda skills. He was not famous as a media man, and most certainly not as a man who knows and values the independence of the media, their development, structure, the media market, the advertising market, the tasks of public media, or the issues of commercial media. Not to mention the global market, the whole international sphere, the new attitude of the European Commission, which emphasizes media independence greatly,” says Dworak in an interview with us. In his opinion, one has to have confidence in Świrski, but he does not see professional media elements in his career.

Juliusz Braun, Chairman of the National Broadcasting Council from 1999 to 2003, also expects harsher relations between Law and Justice and private media. “To all those who complain about the current composition of the National Broadcasting Council and Chairman Kołodziejski, I dedicate the following statement: “It has never been so bad that it could not be worse.” It will be much worse now. Mr. Świrski, who has been aggressively involved politically with Law and Justice, has said so many times. The Polish League Against Defamation, the National Foundation spent millions to compromise Poland instead of protecting its good name. I believe it is a decision showing that Law and Justice decided to wage war against the media,” Braun expects in an interview with us.

Krzysztof Luft, a member of the National Broadcasting Council from 2010 to 2016, has no illusions about the future relations of commercial stations with the regulator. “It will be worse for them because you can say a lot of things about former chairman Witold Kołodziejski, but you surely cannot say that he did not know the subject at hand. He knew the market, understood its mechanisms, and what it was about. I have the impression that today, besides Professor Kowalski, there is no longer anyone in the Council who knows anything about this. Instead, there are people who are extremely ideologically tilted. Mr. Świrski is one of them,” argues Luft.

Member of the National Media Council Robert Kwiatkowski, who was a member of the National Broadcasting Council from 1996 to 1998, draws attention to the political involvement of the new Chairman of the Council. 

“This is certainly not good news for the entire media market. Not only for commercial media. I would like to remind you that the constitutional role of the National Broadcasting Council is to perform the function of the market regulator. It is the authority competent for the issues of radio and television broadcasting. If it is headed by a person who is so involved not even in criticism but in fighting the private media sector based on purely political motivations, because there are no allegations of an economic nature or improper fulfillment of licensing requirements, then this could be a poor sign for the entire media market. And I am not talking about commercial media only, but also about electronic media in Poland in general,” notes Kwiatkowski.

The National Broadcasting Council led by Kołodziejski devoted a number of meetings to deal with the issue of TVN24 and TVN7 license renewal. Many members did not want to renew the licenses because, in their view, the network violated the Broadcasting Act. The Act provides that a license may be granted to broadcasters established in the European Economic Area. The formal owner of TVN is established in Amsterdam but is owned by an American group. Witold Kołodziejski urged other members to vote in favor of renewing TVN station licenses. No one knows how the current Council will proceed. The current terrestrial license for TVN is valid until 14 April 2024.

Will the station face issues with renewing the license in the context of Świrski’s speech about TVN in recent years? “I do not know these speeches, but if such words were said, they are outrageous. No person who deals with public matters should use such words. Such words discredit him. We will see what Mr Świrski demonstrates as Chairman of the National Broadcasting Council, who should feel responsible for the entire world of electronic media. Article 213 of the Constitution refers to the National Broadcasting Council and its responsibility for freedom of expression, and public opinion, which should develop freely, and public interest in such media. The new Chairman should not forget about this,” says Dworak.

Luft says that Świrski appointment fits a number of Law and Justice personal mistakes, and it is likely that TVN Warner Bros. Discovery faces more problems. “This may happen. This government staffs various bodies with people who are the least fit to perform such functions. This decision is more or less similar to the appointment of MP Krystyna Pawłowicz to the Constitutional Court. Appointment of people who are unsuitable, be it for technical reasons, ideological fanaticism, or some kind of bias. It’s not normal,” Luft argues.

Former members of the National Broadcasting Council have not ruled out that there may be more disputes or fines imposed on private broadcasters during the new term of office of the regulator. Hanna Karp, Ph.D. is another new member of the Council. A few years ago, she prepared an expert opinion, which was one of the grounds for fining TVN24 for the coverage of the protests in front of the Parliament in December 2016. Back then, the National Broadcasting Council imposed a fine of PLN 1.5 million on the broadcaster. After criticism, Chairman Kołodziejski withdrew the decision to fine the network one month after it was imposed. “I think Mr. Świrski will try to make their life harder, just like he said. His views on the media market are well known. I think he was appointed for the very reason to make the lives of independent broadcasters more difficult. How will he do that? We will see,” says Braun.

The term of office of the National Broadcasting Council in its current composition is to expire in 2028. If the opposition wins the elections, changes will be possible earlier. In the past, the Law and Justice made changes to the composition of the Council by means of acts of law. The opposition may choose similar solutions. “We can expect everything from the new National Broadcasting Council, but there are parliamentary elections ahead of us first. I think, or at least I hope, much will change because of the elections. In particular, party leader Jarosław Kaczyński had previously changed the composition of the National Broadcasting Council, but what can you do? Perhaps you have to stoop to such methods,” suggests Kwiatkowski.

Source: Wirtualnewmedia