Safeguarding Media Freedom in Poland Through Self-Regulation
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On 25 September, the Erich Brost Institute (EBI) for International Journalism of TU Dortmund University staged a top-level conference in Warsaw on the critical situation of the media in Poland. It was funded by the ZEIT Foundation. Professor Susanne Fengler, Director of the Erich Brost Institute, succeeded in attracting representatives of leading Polish media, universities, journalists’ associations and institutions in the field of media policy, parliamentarians and international speakers – among other from the European Council – for the conference. Together they discussed the question: How can journalists and editors in Poland protect themselves effectively against growing political pressure?
Across Europe, developments in Poland are currently being watched with deep concern. One of the key issues is the question of media freedom in view of the growing political pressure exerted on journalism by the PiS government. Is Poland in danger of experiencing a situation like in Hungary?
Already some time ago, the PiS government took control of public broadcasting. In the Polish election campaign, it made the “re-polonization” of the media a subject of discussion – foreign, especially German, media investors in the country are a thorn in the government’s side. And for some time now the setting up of a “media council” has been under debate, which could also exercise considerable influence over private newspapers and broadcasting companies so far independent.
Participants argued for an independent press council
The situation in Poland is extremely complex because supporters and critics of the ruling party find themselves eyeball to eyeball in journalism too: “What we’re experiencing here is a veritable ‘tribalization’ of the media in Poland,” says Professor Boguslawa Dobek-Ostrowska from the University of Wroclaw, a leading Polish expert in media studies, and Dr. Michal Glowacki from the University of Warsaw. The two universities co-organized the debate, and the EBI has worked closely with both researchers for many years.
The conference delegates were unanimous in advocating the establishment of an independent press council as a self-regulatory body in journalism – even if the rifts between the various camps in Polish journalism are deep. “The model of the press council in the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina shows how self-regulation can also function despite major political tensions among journalists in a country too,” says Isabella Kurkowski, international media expert and research associate at the EBI. The next concrete step planned at the conference was therefore a “roundtable” to bring together media representatives and international experts.
More and more governments are restricting the freedom of the press
“Our global studies on media accountability currently show that more and more governments are restricting media freedom – this is how ‘media councils’ are set up, which are, however, intended only to camouflage restrictions,” summarizes Professor Fengler. “We not only want to gain new scientific insights through our international activities but also to campaign in practice for media freedom – especially in neighboring Poland.”