Inside the Polish media firms: Accountability and transparency in the newsrooms

Michał Głowacki

doi:10.14746/ssp.2016.2.6

Abstract

Although the majority of mechanisms and instruments which aim to support media ethics and journalistic professionalization in Poland were introduced at an early stage of political and social transformation in the 1990s, media accountability is still in the making. The moderate level of journalistic professionalization might be explained by the weakness of existing self regulatory mechanisms (codes of journalistic conduct, The Council of Media Ethics), divisions within journalistic communities (left wing-oriented vs. right-wing politically oriented) and the growing economic pressure. Bearing in mind that decision-making processes, supportive management as well as organizational structures and cultures might have an impact on journalistic behaviour and the understanding of roles and journalistic quality, this paper will go a long way in explaining the state of media accountability and transparency from the perspective of newsrooms. Referencing to the outcomes of empirical international research project “Media Accountability and Transparency in Europe (MediaAcT)” (2010–2013) the study will provide evidence similarities and differences in the perception of tools and existing practices by journalists from different types of media and job positions.

Highlights

The rapid development of new media and technologies, together with changes in the business models of media and more active users’ behaviour generated new approaches to the role of journalism in contemporary societies and models of journalism
“Media Accountability and Transparency (MediaAcT)” study was conducted in Austria, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Jordan, The Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Spain, Switzerland, Tunisia and United Kingdom
More than 60 percent declared that media managers played a role when maintaining high standards of journalism both under difficult circumstances and in situations in which journalistic work was challenged by members of the public

Summary

Introduction

The rapid development of new media and technologies, together with changes in the business models of media (open innovation, crowdsourcing) and more active users’ behaviour (citizen journalism, media activism) generated new approaches to the role of journalism in contemporary societies and models of journalism. The examination of professional roles in the era of spreadable media (Jenkins et al, 2013), creative publics. The information in this document is the outcome of the EU project “Media Accountability and Transparency (MediaAcT)”. Fengler (2012), Heikkilä et al (2012) and von Krogh (2012) have emphasized the need to rethink and redefine the ways in which contemporary media enterprises respond to the public for the quality and consequences of publication. The role that accountability and transparency play in the everyday running of a media outlet is becoming crucial as the processes of production and consumption blend

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion