Das –a politicaltakeover? fileDas Bildele ment mit der Bezieh ungs-ID rId2 wurde in der Datei nicht gefund en. Das Bildelem ent mit „Small media law amendment” • The new law

Das Bildelement mit der Beziehungs-ID rId2 wurde in der Datei nicht gefunden.

Das Bildelement mit PublicmediareforminPoland

– apolitical takeover?

DorotaGłowacka


Das Bildelement mit

Agenda

• OverviewofthepublicmediareforminPoland• „Smallmedialawamendment”

- Legislativeprocess- Main changes

• Consequencesofthenewlegalframework- Dismissals- Impact onthe content- Viewerandlistener ratings- Reactionoftheinternationalcommunity

• Followup.Whatiscomingnext?


Das Bildelement mit


Organisation ofpublicmediainPoland

PublicTV,includingnationwidegeneralchannels,thematicchannels,regionalchannels

Nationawide radiostation(general channels)+17regionalradiostations



Soon also thePolish PressAgency?


Das Bildelement mit

PublicmedialawreforminPoland- overview (3steps)

Smallmedialawamendment

Bigmedialawreform

ProvisionalmedialawAct

PRESENTED28.12.2016

ENFORCED8.01.2016

PRESENTED21.04.2016

TOBEENFORCED?

PRESENTED7.06.2016

TOBEENFORCEDBEFORE30.06.2016

Das Bildelement mit der Beziehungs-ID rId2 wurde in der Datei nicht gefunden.30.06.2016


Das Bildelement mit

2015

20162016

Submitted totheParliament1streading inSejm(lower chamber)2ndreading3rdreading – adopted bySejm

AdoptedbySenat(higher chamber)

Signed bythePresident andpublished intheJournal ofLaws

Entered into force

28December

29December30December30December

31December

8January

7January

Smallmediaamendment- legislativeprocess


Das Bildelement mit

„Smallmedialawamendment”

• The new law abolished the requirement to elect public media authorities in open and transparentcompetitions, as well as the requirement of engaging different stakeholders in the process of elections. Beforethe process of elections was organised or supervised by the National Broadcasting Council (a constitutionalbody whose competences in this respect were therefore limited by the new act).

• Now it is up to the discretional decision of the Minister of Treasury to appoint the members of public mediaauthorities (members of managment and supervisory boards). There are no precise criteria for the selectionprocess and no provisions enabling the public opinion to control it.

• The new law removed also guarantees of stability and independence for members of public media authorities.Before the reform they held their functions for a specific period of time and could be dismissed only inexceptional, precisely defined circumstances. These guarantees have been abolished as well. The Minister cannow freely dismiss the authorities of public media, at any time, basically for whatever reason.

• As of the Act’s entry into force, the memebr of managment and supervisory boards of nationwide public mediawere removed from office (without any prior evaluation of their performance).

changed rules forselecting publicmediaauthorities


Das Bildelement mit

TheHFHR’s assesmentofthesmallmedialawamendment

• The public media reform is not likely to empower democratic control over public media and their pluralism butinstead it will most likely lead to their complete dependency from the government. They are much more likelyto become a tool of political debate now, practically incapable of fulfilling their “public watchdog” role.

• It is true that previous governments took attempts to take control over public media but their influence waslimited due to certain measures of protection safeguarding political independence that now have been nowabolished.

• As consequence the authorities of public media of will be more likely chosen for political, rather thancompetency, reasons.

• The public media reform contradicts with European standards established within both the EU and CoE legalframeworks (in particular the Venice Commission acquis).

ü In March 2016, the Commissioner for Human Rights (Ombudsman) submitted a motionto the Constitutional Tribunal upon verifying the constitutionality of the provisions of thisAct with the Constitution.


Das Bildelement mit

Consequencesofthenewlegalframework– publicmediastaff shuffle

90 journalists dismissed

41 decided to leave

32 journalists lost their post or programme

Source: http://towarzystwodziennikarskie.org, 16 June 2016


Das Bildelement mit



KamilDąbrowaIzabelaLeśkiewicz&MagdalenaSiemiątkowska


TomaszZimoch

3sample cases


Das Bildelement mit

Strategiclitigation?

Howthelimitsofloyaltyofjournalistsworkingforstate-owned media shouldbedelineatedand what restrictionscanbeimposedontheminpublicdebate?

• ECtHR:Wojtas-Kaletav.Poland(HFHRsubmitted athird-partyintervention)

• See also theECtHR judgment:FuentesBobov.Spain

The Court, having regard to the role played by journalists in society and to their responsibilities to contribute toand encourage public debate, considers that the obligation of discretion and constraint cannot be said to applywith equal force to journalists, given that it is in the nature of their functions to impart information and ideas(…)

The Court notes the applicant’s argument that, as a journalist, she had a right and an obligation to comment onmatters of public interest. In the Court’s view, in the particular context of the applicant’s case, her obligationsof loyalty and constraint must be weighed against the public character of the broadcasting company sheworked for. (…)

Violation ofArticle10oftheECHR


Das Bildelement mit

National Broadcasting Council report – content analysis of 3 main news programmes in Public TV and two private TVs:

• The study was conducted between 4.02.2016 and 11.02.2016 by researchers fromSWPS University in Warsaw.

• Main conclusion concerning the public TV’s news programme: its content ispolicitised and bias.

• „The results of the analysis of the program content of “Wiadomości” provide the basisfor its extremely critical evaluation. It is not only about the shortcomings established inquantitative analysis, but also disturbing violations of the law and journalistic ethics(…)”. Source: presentation summarizing the main findings of the study:http://www.krrit.gov.pl/Data/Files/_public/Portals/0/komunikaty/12.04.2016/prezentacja_ekspertyza.pdf

• TVP managers refute the charges.

Consequencesofthenewlegalframework– impact onthecontent


Das Bildelement mit

Consequencesofthenewlegalframework– viewer andlistenerratings

Polish Radio– Channel1listening figures,source:RadioTrack,Millward Brown(http://www.press.pl)

March– May2015 March– May2016

9,5% 8,4%

Viewership ofthemain TVnewsprogrammes,source:NielsenAudienceMeasurement(www.newsweek.pl)

„Wiadomości” (TVP 1 newsprogramme) in 2015 wasthe most popular among allthe news programmes,whereas in February 2016it holds the third position.

APRIL2016

APRIL2015

(Millions ofviewers)


Das Bildelement mit

Consequencesofthenewlegalframework– viewer andlistenerratings

Viewership ofmainnewschannels andgeneralgroups ofTVchannelsinPolandSource:NielsenAudience Measurement(www.wirtualnemedia.pl)

Disclaimer:TVPmanagmentquestions theaccuracy oftheNielsen’s results.


Das Bildelement mit

Consequencesofthenewlegalframework– reaction ofinternational community

• 29 December 2015 - Association of European Journalists

• 30 December 2015 – OSCE Representative on Freedom of theMedia

• Several statements by European BroadcastingUnion (EBU)

• 1 February 2016 - The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom

(ECPMF) and the International Press Institute (IPI)

• June 2016 – International Federaton of Journalists (IFJ)

• 15 June 2015 - CoE’s Human Rights Comissioner – Report on Poland

Reporters Without Borders

Freedomof Expression Index2016

2015- 18,2016- 47“Poland (47th, down 29) fellspectacularly in the 2016 index as aresult of the government’s declaredaim of restoring foreign-owned Polishmedia to Polish ownership and a law,enacted in early 2016, allowing thegovernment to hire and fire those whorun Poland’s public radio andtelevision”.


Das Bildelement mit

Followup – Bigmedialawreform• New model of organisation of public media in Poland – no management boards and

supervisory boards in each media institution + supervision of the National Broadcasting Council. Instead:establishment of new supervisory body for all institutions – National Media Council + director in each mediainstitution. will supervise all national media institutions, particularly on their programing plans and therealization of the public mission (which will be transformed from commercial law companies into stateinstitutions). The Council will also receive competence to manage the National Media Fund, the main source offinancing of the media institutions

• National Media Council - the proposal confers very broad competence on the NMC with regard to allpublic media. In particular this refers to the way the members of the Council are to be elected as well as to therules for appointing the Chairman of the Council (all six members are to be elected directly by political organs:the two chambers of the Parliament - Sejm, Senate - and the President; only one of the members is to beelected from candidates presented by the political opposition; the Chairmen is to be appointed by the Speakerof the Sejm). Such a mechanism does not meet the standard that supervisory bodies in public media should bein principle composed of members reflecting different political backgrounds and pluralistic views.

• Editorial independence - there are several provisions in the draft laws package which make publicmedia vulnerable to the unjustified interference in their editorial independence. For example, the proposedregulations impose an obligation of public media to broadcast any views of the President, Prime Minister,Speaker of the Polish Sejm and Speaker of the Polish Senate in a specific airtime solely upon a request of theperson holding any of these functions.


Das Bildelement mit

• Definition of the public mission - very broad and does not include the promotion of tolerance,pluralism, political inclusiveness or combatting hate speech.

• Limited the role of the constitutional organ – the National Broadcasting Council – bytransferring some of its competences with regard to public media to the National Media Council. That is why thenew law proposal brings allegations as to its non-conformity with Article 213 of the Polish Constitution whichclearly provides that it is the National Broadcasting Council which safeguards the freedom of expression, the rightto information as well as and the public interest regarding radio broadcasting and television.

• Universal fee - the draft law package changes the system of licensing fees (audiovisual dues), which will becollected from the members of the society based on registered energy meters, independently of the number ofdevices.

• Provisional regulations to be used in the transitional period (before the new law will be fully effective) -some of these provisions raise certain doubts. For example the new draft law foresees an automatic revocation ofall managerial contracts in the national media institutions on 30 September 2016, without any individualevaluation of their performance (unless the new contract is concluded with that person before that date).

ü CouncilofEuropeexpertopiniononBigmedialawreform:http://rm.coe.int/CoERMPublicCommonSearchServices/DisplayDCTMContent?documentId=090000168065e7a4


Das Bildelement mit

Followup – Provisional medialawAct• Nopublicconsultations,speedyprocedure

• New body - the National Media Council – the authority that would supervise the works of publicmedia.

• Composition of NMC: 5 members – 3 members would be appointed by the Parliament while thePresident would appoint 2 members among the candidates presented by the opposition parties Nopublic competitions, public hearings of candidates to the NMC. Lack of precise prerequisites that have tome met by the candidates and vague negative prerequisites (there is no ban on holding simultaneouslythe function of NMC member and MP or member of political party). Risk that the President may notappoint the 2 members indicated by opposition parties (no deadline for the President to appoint thecandidates, the Council can make decision in quorum of 3 votes).

• ThedraftActdoesnoteliminatethemostseriousconcernsregardingthechangesintroducedbythesmallmedialawamendment (forexampleitdoesnotsettransparentcriteriaandprocedureforselecting themembersofthemanagementandsupervisoryboardsofthepublicmedia institutions).

• ThedraftAct furtherrestrictsthecompetencesoftheNationalBroadcastingCouncil (it will nothavethecompetence to„shape inconsultation withthePrimeMinisterthepolicywithregard tothetelevision andradiomediasectors”).


Das Bildelement mit

Possiblenextstep-”repolonisation” ofprivatemediainPoland?


Das Bildelement mit

Thank you!

[email protected]

Documents

Das –a politicaltakeover? fileDas Bildele ment mit der Bezieh ungs-ID rId2 wurde in der Datei nicht gefund en. Das Bildelem ent mit „Small media law amendment” • The new law