By Demanding Fines for Commercial Broadcasters, Head of National Broadcasting Council May Seek to Revoke Their Licenses

Maciej Świrski has continued the war against the free media, which has been waged for years. “There will be more of such attacks,” experts anticipate, especially since Świrski wields a dangerous weapon as the Chairman of the National Broadcasting Council.

As we reported on Tuesday, the Chairman of the National Broadcasting Council Maciej Świrski wants to fine Eurozet for the report by Radio Zet reporter Mariusz Gierszewski stating that the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy was transported through Poland during his trip to the United States without the involvement of the Polish services and the police. In his opinion, the fact that such a report was broadcast violates Article 18(1) of the Broadcasting Act, which stipulates that “programs or other content may not promote activities contrary to the law, Polish raison d’état, or attitudes and views contrary to morality and social good, in particular, they may not contain content that calls for hatred or content discriminating due to race, disability, sex, religion or nationality.” The Chairman of the Council had used the same article to initiate proceedings against TVN (for the Siła kłamstwa report by Piotr Świerczek) and Inforadio, the broadcaster of Tok FM (for calling the textbook by Prof. Wojciech Roszkowski a “textbook for Hitlerjugend”).

Bogusław Chrabota, Rzeczpospolita’s editor-in-chief, believes fining Eurozet for reporting the news is absurd. “If Gierszewski did not tell the truth, then the institution of rectification, as provided for by the press law, should be used by someone who believes that the news is untrue. I do not think that this information significantly affects the interest of the state,” he said. “Mr. Świrski has mistaken the role of the Chairman of the National Broadcasting Council with the role of an overseer who tries to control the free media with a whip in his hand. Unfortunately, this is proof of personal incompetence and embarrassment to the constitutional body which he leads on appointment by the ruling party. This is not the first personnel error of the Law and Justice management. I do not know if you can hope that Mr. Świrski understands what his statutory role is. If he does not understand, then there will be more such attacks against the freedom of expression,” Bogusław Chrabota has no doubts.

Maciej Myśliwiec, a media expert associated with the Social Sky agency, admits that the Chairman of the National Council takes decisions that obviously fit within all legal aspects of the activities of the authority. “For the time being, however, he is taking such decisions unilaterally. I would like similar actions to be also initiated against editorial offices where journalists or guests behave improperly or convey an inappropriate message about political circles other than those currently in power,” says Maciej Myśliwiec.

Bartosz Węglarczyk, Onet’s editor-in-chief, does not believe that Maciej Świrski, by demanding a fine for another broadcaster, would wage war against the commercial media now. “He has been doing it for ages. He was made the Head of the National Council exactly to harass independent media. Similar actions can be expected against other broadcasters who are not liked by the current ruling party, especially during the election year. Although this is not really relevant for Mr. Świrski, as he has been waging war against the free media for years,” emphasized Bartosz Węglarczyk.

Dr. Juliusz Braun, a lecturer at Collegium Civitas, the former Chairman of the National Broadcasting Council, and the former TVP President, has acknowledged that TVN, Tok FM, and Radio Zet are stations that belong to broadcasters against whom the Head of the National Broadcasting Council is going to war. “It is not difficult to find a stick, and Mr. Świrski has been looking for such an opportunity,” he believes. In his opinion, it is worrying that the Chairman refers to Article 18(1) of the Broadcasting Act. “By referring to this provision, Maciej Świrski is, in fact, threatening broadcasters with a nuclear bomb – because a gross violation of this provision is grounds for revocation of the license or refusal to renew the license. I do not think that the Chairman of the Council actually uses this bomb, but he is opening up the road to do so by continually threatening broadcasters with it,” says Juliusz Braun.