"It's crucial not to be afraid and speak out loud". Polish free media united in support for TVN in a dispute with KRRiT

In a TVN24 report "The Power of a Lie", our reporter Piotr Świerczek cast doubt on the reliability of the work of the so-called Macierewicz's subcommittee. We have uncovered supressed facts from the American NIAR report as well as accounts of people who took part in the Smolensk subcommittee works.

In December, 2022, we received a letter from the National Broadcasting Council, which said that due to the airing of the TVN24 report, the Council chairperson launched proceedings aimed at punishing us. The Council accuses us of "promoting acting in violation of the law, Polish national interest, and acting with risk to security" as well as "unreliability and nonobjectivity".

The KRRiT has not presented a single concrete piece of evidence to support its claims.

As a sign of solidarity with TVN24, dozens of Poland's largest nationwide and local media outlets have decided to publish Piotr Świerczek's report in full on their websites.

Polityka Insight journalist Wojciech Szacki, an editor of Gazeta Radomszczańska Andrzej Andrysiak, and Grzegorz Gerek of Pułtuska Gazeta Powiatowa and Pultusk24 portal were guests of Thursday's TVN24 morning show "Wstajesz i wiesz".

"We've been through this. As a matter of fact, for us TVN is like a barometer of the government's actions with respect to the media. What the central government has been doing in the last few years, we've been facing in these years locally, on our soil," said Andrzej Andrysiak.

In his view, "the government doesn't like to be controlled, no matter at what level". "We know they will do anything to restrict free media. That's why we are joining the protest," he declared.

Andrysiak added that "some say it's about solidarity". "Solidarity as well, but it's really about democracy. There's no democracy without independent media, regardless if it's on a nationwide or local scale," he argued.

He also stressed that it is local media's duty to watch local governments. "We are familiar with pressure, economic pressure, and just like PiS has taken over Polish Television, in our own backyard local governments are creating their own media to push us out of the market. We know the drill and we know it's crucial not to be afraid and speak out loud," Andrysiak stressed.

In his opinion, this situation is "part of a much larger problem". "Our government has an eastern mentality. Our government doesn't understand, doesn't want to adopt democratic strandards," he said.

According to Wojciech Szacki, Antoni Macierewicz's accusations against Piotr Świerczek are "a bunch of insults, rather than a rational polemic with a journalistic material".

"Such is the history of this whole term. And probably of the previous one too. We are constantly facing some kind of a threat, be it repolonisation (of the media - edit.), takeovers, or some repressive laws," he listed, reminding of the so-called lex TVN which had been eventually vetoed by president Andrzej Duda.

"We are dealing with the government's constant attempts to approach the media which are unfavourable to this government, which are watching those in power, and which are a painful obstacle on this government's way to create their own media fitting their vision. I hope we have enough of determination to resist," Szacki said.

Grzegorz Gerek of "Pułtuska Gazeta Powiatowa" and Pultusk24 portal said that "democracy requires free media". "And therefore, if the government tries to attack Poland's major broadcaster, which is considered a part of free media, then we all try to support it," he added.