Statement of the heads of Polish media without Polsat and Interia. “This is a warning to politicians.”

By wirtualnemedia.pl | 29 June 2023

The heads of dozens of Polish media outlets have issued a joint declaration assuring that they will uphold the independence of journalism. They also inform that they will “consistently inform the public about any attempt by the authorities to influence the media.” The declaration came about after Onet and Wirtualna Polska described attempts by people in power to pressure the freedom of their editorial offices, “It’s important for our community to publicly renew the independence pact from time to time. For those who try to influence journalists, it’s a warning. For the editors themselves, it’s a commitment to guard their red lines,” Katarzyna Kozłowska, editor-in-chief of Fakt, told Wirtualnemedia.pl. The heads of Polsat and Interia did not sign the statement.

The heads of dozens of media outlets published a joint statement in which they argue that they will not allow the media to be stripped of their independence. The statement appeared simultaneously in all media represented by the chiefs.

“As editors-in-chief of Poland’s largest media outlets, we stand up for their independence and declare our unquestionable commitment to journalistic values such as objectivity, integrity and journalistic honesty,” the statement, published Wednesday, reads.

“We believe that it is our primary responsibility to look at the hands of those in power and provide reliable information based on verified sources, taking care to provide a diversity of perspectives. Our goal is always to provide a full, balanced presentation of the facts.”

They also declare that they will “defend the independence of Polish journalism,” and that the editors they manage will “inform the public in solidarity and consistently about any attempt by the authorities to influence the media.”

“Together we will fight to maintain free and independent media as the foundation of a democratic society, protecting the right of citizens to access reliable information,” the declaration says. The manifesto was signed by, among others, Jerzy Baczynski (“Polityka”), Kamila Ceran (TOK FM), Boguslaw Chrabota (“Rzeczpospolita”), Magda Jethon (Radio Nowy Świat), Katarzyna Kozlowska (“Fakt”), Piotr Pacewicz (OKO.Press), Tomasz Sekielski (“Newsweek”), Jaroslaw Kurski (“Gazeta Wyborcza”), but also representatives of local media, such as Andrzej Andrysiak, Łukasz Różanski, Krzysztof Strzelecki and Agnieszka Szymkiewicz.

The declaration of the Polish media was supported by Reporters Without Borders. “Reporters Without Borders supports dozens of editors-in-chief who condemn the pressure and pledge to preserve free media,” the organization reported on Twitter.

“An important appeal.”

“One does not go to work in the media to be liked by various bodies, including the authorities. It’s a kind of service. You need to be able to listen to different sides, and in the end – often in solitude – make decisions for which you take responsibility: civil, criminal, etc. It’s important for our environment to publicly renew the independence pact from time to time. For those who try to influence journalists, it’s a warning. For the editors themselves, it’s a commitment to guard their red lines,” Katarzyna Kozłowska, editor-in-chief of “Fakt” told Wirtualnemedia.pl.

A journalist from “Gazeta Wyborcza” believes similarly. “It is very good that such a declaration was created and signed by all journalists of major media. It is also significant who did not sign, namely Polsat and Interia. One thing I miss in the case from which it started, that is, the pressure of Law and Justice politicians on the media, is information on who pressed. Then the case would be stronger,” says Wojciech Czuchnowski

He adds that “it’s good that the media are beginning to show solidarity and decisiveness and are starting to recognize what a threat PiS is to democracy.” “From the beginning, as Gazeta Wyborcza, we have taken the position that PiS wants to dismantle the democratic system in Poland, to introduce authoritarianism, so they cannot be treated as a normal political force,” the journalist stresses.

The statement on freedom of speech and freedom of the media does not bear the signatures of the heads of the editorial offices of Polsat Television and Interia. Both Dorota Gawryluk, head of Polsat Television’s information and journalism division, and Piotr Witwicki, chief editor of Interia, did not want to talk to us about it.

According to unofficial information from Wirtualnemedia.pl, the editorial offices of Polsat and Interia decided not to join the action, which was initiated by the editors-in-chief of Wirtualna Polska and Onet.

“Appeals for media freedom, when needed, should appear constantly. It is a matter of constantly reminding ourselves of the most important expression of human freedom in the democratic world. Our individual, social and political freedom expresses itself precisely through the free media, first and foremost the journalistic and information media. It is the duty of every human being to realize the benefit of professional free media,” Prof. Jacek Dabala, a media scholar from the Institute of Journalism, Media and Social Communication at Jagiellonian University, tells us.

He admits that the media letter is a signal to politicians to consider whether they want to live in a democratic country or a non-democratic one and then have a media that is propagandistic, biased, and therefore lying and destroying responsible thinking, destroying themselves as well. “At this point, the important thing is not who pushed for the media. What is important is that these kinds of proposals were made. If journalists are willing to follow through, articles on the subject with specific names will be published, the media expert adds.

Onet and Wirtualna Polska write about pressure

A few days ago, Wirtualna Polska’s editor-in-chief, Pawel Kapusta, revealed that after critical publications about the ruling camp, there was a proposal for a state-owned company to buy the publisher and then “do business together” and even fire journalists unfavorable to the government.

In the article “A madman’s dream on the campaign trail, or the hundredth appeal in defense of free media,” Pawel Kapusta recalled that Wirtualna Polska put a strong emphasis on investigative journalism several years ago. Szymon Jadczak, Patryk Slowik and Blanka Mikolajewska, among others, joined the editorial board.

The portal published many widely reported texts about irregularities and abuses, primarily in the public sector. The WP chief described that the ruling camp wanted to gain influence over the portal in various ways. “When the investigative texts began to appear on the site, there was also a proposal for one of the state treasury companies to buy WP. When the proposal was categorically rejected, another appeared: doing joint business,” he said.

Earlier also Bartosz Węglarczyk, editor-in-chief of Onet, wrote that a person affiliated with the Law and Justice party suggested to him what the portal’s editorial board’s relationship with the government should be. The journalist admitted in an interview with Wirtualnemedia.pl that the person who tried to pressure him “was closely linked to the power camp.”

“It’s no secret that all media that are not controlled by the authorities are now under dramatic pressure. This is common knowledge in the journalistic community, which is due to the fact that politicians in the current government believe that there is no such thing as journalistic independence, and that all media are controlled by someone. Therefore, those media that they believe are controlled by someone else should be controlled by them. That’s where this pressure comes from,” the Onet editor-in-chief told us.