24. 12. 2005

POLITICIANS ASSESS JOURNALISTS

WARSAW, December 24, 2005 – Senate of the Polish Parliament has adopted new amendments to the Law on Media, under which the politicians would assess the ethics of journalists. The amendments to the Broadcast Act, which partiality was challenged during the pre-electoral campaign by the ruling political party Law and Justice, were adopted first by the Sejm, lower house of the Polish National Assembly. The new regulatory body should be elected in January next year. The amendments also envisage five instead of nine members of the Broadcast Council. Two members are nominated by the chief of the state, two by the Sejm, and one by the Senate. However, the provision under which the Council should assess the ethics of journalists with the authorization to cancel their licenses provoked the biggest disputes and protests of the Polish journalists. The amendments also enacted the article which provided the automatic renewal of the journalist’s license only for the catholic Radio Maryja, radical media outlet criticized even by the Polish Catholic Church.