Poland: a new media power base for the PiS?
After the government replaced the management team of the Polish public broadcaster in December, the debate in the country over political methods and the reorganisation of the media continues. Numerous employees and viewers of the hitherto PiS-loyal broadcaster TVP have switched to former niche broadcaster Telewizja Republika. This aspect of the transformation following the change of government has triggered a lively discussion in the media.
Old wine in new bottles
Gazeta Wyborcza compares Telewizja Republika's orientation with that of TVP:
“After the culture minister dismissed the management of the public media institutions, including TVP, the broadcaster has kept its 'stars' and programmes. ... The message is also identical: betrayal, loss of sovereignty and independence, the EU as a threat, especially Berlin and Brussels. Tusk used to be public enemy number one in the opposition, today it's Tusk in government. The argumentation remains the same.”
There won't be a Polish Fox News
Rzeczpospolita comments on the prospects of Telewizja Republika and the criticism of leading PiS politicians in the media:
“Telewizja Republika will expand its audience, but it will remain limited to the PiS's core voters and those who can receive the channel. ... Nor will it be able to give work to all those who have been made redundant from TVP and the PiS-affiliated media. ... By quarrelling with the media, the PiS is making a strategic mistake and [broadcaster boss] Sakiewicz is squandering the potential of Telewizja Republika, which could have been for the PiS what Fox News is for the Republicans and Donald Trump in the US.”
Myth of the passive viewer dispelled
The fact that TVP's new programme is hardly arousing any interest confirms that there is real demand among viewers for national-conservative television channels, the PiS-affiliated news website wPolityce.pl writes:
“The viewing figures are miserable and will remain miserable. The myth of the passive, uninformed TVP viewer who consumes public service media for lack of alternatives has come crashing down. ... The left and the liberals believed their own propaganda. The violent strike against TVP was an act of political and legal barbarism. It was also the moment when the rule of law was practically abolished in Poland.”