Confirming fears about media capture in Poland, a new report finds the 2020 acquisition of regional media by the state energy company has indeed negatively affected journalistic freedoms and led to a shift in editorial line favourable to the government.
The takeover of much of Poland’s regional media by state energy giant PKN Orlen has negatively affected journalistic freedoms and led to a shift in editorial line favourable to the governing Law and Justice (PiS) party, according to a new report by the Polish Helsinski Foundation for Human Rights.
The report, titled “From regional press to Orlen Press. The situation of media in the Polska Press trust” and published on Tuesday, is based on numerous interviews with journalists currently or formerly employed by various regional media acquired by the state-owned Orlen in 2020.
According to the interviewees, the takeover of Polska Press by Orlen has led to a series of changes in the functioning of regional media, including changes in staff and employment conditions. Particularly concerning are the reported changes of editors-in-chief or deputy editors-in-chief, which the journalists interviewed for the report described as “motivated by political interests”.
An interesting detail is that, in some cases, journalists highlighted the role of a newly employed deputy editor-in-chief whose role is, in the words of one of the journalists interviewed, to “prevent any situation in which any hair is falling from the head of the governing party”.
The journalists complained that the themes they could cover were now restricted to those that were not problematic to either PiS or Orlen. Additionally, they also saw restrictions in their ability to cover topics related to the rights of LGBT people or refugees.
In late June, the heads of Polish independent media wrote an open letter committing to defend media freedom, after two editors-in-chief of independent online portals (national, not regional ones) complained of having been advised by PiS politicians to hire deputy editors-in-chief friendly to the government.
In response to the findings of the report, the International Press Institute (IPI) and its partners in the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) said the developments described constitute “a shocking example of media capture in the EU”.
“Increasing instrumentalisation of these media titles is of particular concern ahead of parliamentary elections in the autumn of 2023, in which the opinion of voters in Poland’s significant rural population will likely be crucial for electoral success,” IPI and its partners in the MFRR wrote in a statement on Thursday.
“If approved, the election observation mission to Poland recently requested by the European Parliament should scrutinise the news output of Polska Press titles during the election period, as part of its overall assessment of the media environment,” they wrote.
Source : Balkaninsight
