National Broadcasting Council Research Articles

Obligation to register Internet channels (YouTube, TikTok, Facebook) and the legal situation of creators on the audiovisual market according to Polish and European Union law

European Union law has introduced a duty for creators engaged in the business of providing various types of on-demand audiovisual content to register. In practice, this duty applies to individuals running audiovisual channels on platforms such as You Tube and similar platforms. The people concerned are very different, providing content of an educational nature (platforms for learning foreign languages, e.g. English, Spanish). The registration duty is also to be extended to those who also provide typically entertaining channels on digital platforms (e.g. reviews of films, books, computer games, comics). These individuals include creators, i.e. entities that provide certain intellectual content to the Internet protected, for example, by copyright and related rights. Relevant registers are to be kept in member states by public administration bodies, such as the National Broadcasting Council in Poland. The purpose of the above duty is increased control over the safety of content provided to the Internet (e.g. from the point of view of whether it is suitable for children or whether it does not contain hate speech). In addition, the purpose of the said duty is also to control whether the owners of channels on YouTube, Tik-Tok, etc. properly settle the income they earn through published content. The Polish legislator wants to propose new legal solutions in this respect. This is because the European Union legislator has introduced certain requirements, but has not determined how they would be implemented. The presentation of the experience of the Polish legislator may be interesting for the Ukrainian viewer, especially in view of Ukraine's aspirations to become a member of the European Union. If Ukraine joins the European Union, it will be obliged to implement relevant solutions in this respect. In this article, I have tried to show that the issue of registration of persons providing audiovisual media services is a new problem in the European Union, raising considerable public concern. The obligation to register audiovisualmedia service providers should not be too broad and cover providers that have a small audience or publish new content irregularly. Therefore, it is important to introduce clear criteria for which audiovisual media service providers should be registered.

Institutionalization of Media Market in Greek Political System

The article points to the process of the institutionalization of the Greek media market. This process began to take shape after the country’s accession to the European structures, i.e. after 1981. Successively since the late 1980s, it has been shaped based on new initiatives, forms and activities. However, this process is not yet completed due to the changes that have taken place over the last decade. At that time, the members of the National Broadcasting Council, for procedural reasons related to the mode of appointment to this Council, were unable to grant or renew broadcasting licences, which led to a media crisis. In addition, the Greek state was on the brink of solvency due to the condition of its finances. The new government created another media related institution, this time the General Secretariat for Information and Communication, which reported directly to the Prime Minister, and its aim was to control the press, radio and television market. Apart from the leading institutions, supporting bodies are also responsible for the Greek media market. To a large extent, they (such as ministries or central offices like the Telecommunications and Postal Commission) existed much earlier and some media powers were handed over to them to assist the leading institutions in fulfilling their functions. Outside of this area, there was content disseminated on the Internet, which came under the control of a special unit established within the police structures.

Conflict of Values in the Licensing Procedure for Broadcasting Radio and Television Programmes in Poland

The issue of the conflict of values in the licensing procedure for broadcasting radio and television programmes is a special case of such a clash in public economic law. The study entitled “Conflict of values in the licensing procedure for broadcasting radio and television programmes in Poland” aimed to conduct analyses to identify the values underlying licensing proceedings for broadcasting radio and television programmes in Poland, examine their potential for conflict and identify ways of resolving disputes arising in this area. The main issue of the article is formulated in the following question: “can the values determining the licensing procedure for broadcasting of radio and television programmes give rise to axiological conflicts, and if so, how should the conflicts be resolved?” The analyses conducted as part of the study led to the conclusion that the Polish broadcasting licensing procedure is determined by a number of values that may clash with one another. The entities responsible for resolving conflicts in practice and specific cases include the National Broadcasting Council and its President at the level of the administrative proceedings and the administrative courts at the level of administrative court proceedings. The settlement is based on the law, which, however, contains a number of general clauses. In order to interpret them correctly and, consequently, fairly resolve the conflict, it is crucial to refer to the fundamental source of all human rights and freedoms, including economic freedom and freedom of expression, paramount in this process – human dignity.

Internet radio and podcasts as alternative to the public service and commercial mainstream media in Poland: the cases of Radio Nowy Świat, Radio 357, and Raport o stanie świata

The aim of this article is to show to what extent alternative audio media can be built online, not only by amateurs but also as a combination of the energy and involvement of professional journalists and the community of listeners who are ready to support them. Moreover, the topic of the extent to which this form of production is similar to the model of alternative media produced by amateurs described by Hackett and Caroll (2006), as well as Atton and Hamilton (2010), is also discussed. Special attention is paid to the ways this can challenge the institutional media logic and provide an interesting alternative to pro-government public media and commercial mainstream media in a country in Central and Eastern Europe that is dropping down the rankings of the Democracy Index. The podcast Raport o stanie świata and two Internet radio stations, Radio Nowy Świat and Radio 357 from Poland, which are analysed in this article, were born in an act of protest against the negative changes in public service broadcasting, which became a propaganda tool. They are financed by listeners via the crowdfunding platform Patronite and do not broadcast advertising. A framework for analysing their functioning is devised using, in particular, theories of the public sphere and of alternative media. The study is based on content analysis of the call-in broadcasts disseminated for the first anniversary of the stations, Radio Nowy Świat (April 16 and July 9, 2022) and Radio 357 (January 5, 2022). Pre-structured interviews with the patrons of Raport o stanie świata are also used. Websites and social media accounts of these initiatives, as well as press coverage and data gathered by the National Broadcasting Council in relation to Polish Radio, are analysed as well. The research found that all three initiatives Raport o stanie świata, Radio Nowy Świat and Radio 357, despite being started by professionals, share some of the characteristics of alternative media and can significantly change the model of audio production, financing and consumption routines in Poland.

Krajowa Rada Radiofonii i Telewizji – konstytucyjny organ regulacyjny

The goal of the paper is to present the regulatory nature of the National Broadcasting Council.. The thesis of the paper is the statement that the National Broadcasting Council has been first stipulated as a regulatory body for the market of media services, and second as the body performing the tasks resulting from Art. 213 of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland. Status of the National Broadcasting Council is based on two acts of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland of 1997 and on the Broadcasting Act of 29th December 1992. The plane for the deliberations will be Polish legal regulations, shorthand records of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland, as well as scientific papers. The following methods were applied in the study: dogmatic-legal, analytic-synthetic.

Transformacja systemu radiofonii w Polsce w kontekście zmian w Europie Wschodniej. Analiza pierwszego procesu koncesyjnego

This article analyses the first licensing process carried out after the adoption of the Broadcasting Act in Poland in 1992. Great excitement surrounded the award of the first television licenses – especially nationwide licenses. However, this article focuses on an analysis of this process in the case of radio broadcasting. It is based on documents gathered in the Archives of the National Broadcasting Council, particularly on reports of meetings with the candidates for radio broadcasting. The analysis also includes articles published in newspapers. A personal interview with the Vice-Chair of the National Broadcasting Council was also used. The study aimed to determine the shape of the Polish radio market desired by the National Broadcasting Council and the focus of this institution during the first licensing process. The author noted that the Council concentrated on the financial aspects of the submitted applications. This thesis corresponds well with the trend observed by media experts in the transformation of media systems in Eastern Europe in the early 1990s and how market logic prevailed when shaping the new media system.

Public Television as a Factor Shaping Electoral Activity of Poles in National and Regional Elections

Public television is an important source of electoral information in Poland. The scope of its duties is regulated by the Election Code and media regulations. The presented content can fundamentally influence electoral attitudes of Poles and shape their views in this respect. The analysis of the National Broadcasting Council (KRRiT) reports on the monitoring of public television and the analysis of the opinion polls’ results carried out by the Public Opinion Research Centre (CBOS) revealed that the key factor that determined a low turnout in the 2015 parliamentary elections was not the lack of information or knowledge on the voters’ side, but more a disappointment in the quality of political life in Poland. In the local government elections of 2014, the phenomenon of insufficient provision of information indeed did occur, as the main media for informational and educational content were not nationwide but rather regional broadcasts with low viewership. The author used the following research methods to address the above issues: critical literature analysis, comparative and descriptive analysis, as well as analysis of legislation, documents and surveys.KEYWORDS: public television, parliamentary elections, local government elections.

PRAWNO-ADMINISTRACYJNE DETERMINANTY FUNKCJONOWANIA RADIOFONII I TELEWIZJI W POLSCE

This article is an attempt at defining legal and administrative determinants of broadcasting in Poland. The author has undertaken an analysis of the statutory tasks and system of broadcasting companies, including their executive (management boards), supervisory (supervisory boards) and advisory and consultative bodies (programme boards). He also provides details concerning the statutory requirements for the appointment and dismissal of the National Broadcasting Council and its principles of operation and rulemaking, with particular reference to several dozen regulations governing the media market in Poland.

Spór o multipleks. Telewizja Trwam kontra Krajowa Rada Radiofonii i Telewizji

The digitalization of terrestrial television in Poland is one of the largest media projects in recent years. The process combines social, economic and technical matters. Digitalization signifies a huge technical leap forward and offers extensive new opportunities when broadcasting television signals. Digital broadcasting is offered by three multiplex platforms. Among the candidates to use the first one (MUC-1) is Telewizja Trwam, owned by the Lux Veritatis foundation. The National Broadcasting Council (KRRiT) which assigns the concessions to use the multiplex rejected the application by Telewizja Trwam, associated with Fr. Tadeusz Rydzyk. The owner of Telewizja Trwam claimed the decisions of the KRRiT were baseless. There quickly emerged accusations of discrimination against a Catholic broadcaster, and, by this token, of scorn directed toward Polish Catholics. The dispute between Telewizja Trwam and the KRRiT has involved many groups and individuals – ranging from the supporters of the media associated with Fr T. Rydzyk, to journalists, politicians, and to the hierarchy of the Catholic Church in Poland. The purpose of this paper is to present this dispute, its background and the arguments of both parties. As the dispute was still unresolved when this paper was completed (in late February 2013), the author tried to suggest possible scenarios for its outcome and to draw conclusions for the future.

Controling and governance of audiovisual media services in Poland

The paper attempts to outline the Polish National Broadcasting Council’s establishing and evaluating its activities. The author observes that after 1989, one of the most essential achievements of the Polish media market was the creation of the National Broadcasting Council (Krajowa Rada Radiofonii i Telewizji KRRiT), that laid the foundations for a new media landscape in Poland. In a broader perspective, despite being criticized, the National Broadcasting Council is to meet high expectations for the electronic media regulation, its impact on state policy in implementing cultural and educational tasks by the Polish community broadcasters. Concurrently, making mistakes and handling criticism was partly caused by the Council politicization bias, a large executive subordination that doesn’t comply both with the Law “On Television and Radio Broadcasting” and European practice. Notable, the success of community broadcasters, who value interaction with viewers and listeners, should be a model for audiovisual sector to emulate.
 Keywords: Mass Media, the National Broadcasting Council, Advisory Council, audiovisual sector

Prawne gwarancje dostępu polityków do mediów publicznych w Polsce

Likwidacja cenzury i monopolu państwa w eterze w 1990 roku rozpoczęła proces transformacji mediów w Polsce, stanowiąc fundament do określenia polityki medialnej państwa w dziedzinie ochrony pluralizmu. Autor przedstawia polityczne okoliczności tworzenia forum debaty publicznej. Wskazuje na gwarancje wynikające z zapisów ustawy medialnej do prezentowania i wyjaśniania polityki przez naczelne organy państwa, a także możliwość przedstawiania na antenie stanowisk partii politycznych w tzw. „węzłowych sprawach publicznych”. Autor bada przyczyny konfliktu interesów pomiędzy partiami politycznymi a mediami publicznymi, w zakresie wzajemnych oczekiwań w prezentowaniu wydarzeń politycznych. W artykule omówione są także gwarancje dostępu polityków do mediów w czasie kampanii wyborczych (wraz z orzecznictwem Trybunału Konstytucyjnego) wynikające z zapisów Kodeksu wyborczego oraz rozporządzeń Krajowej Rady Radiofonii i Telewizji, a także sposób relacjonowania kampanii w programach informacyjnych nadawców publicznych.

Status prawny Krajowej Rady Radiofonii i Telewizji

The National Broadcasting Council (NBC) is a body that refers to extremely important sphere of human life, which is freedom of speech and right to information. In the scheme of the Polish Constitution, NBC include to the bodies of state control and law protection. With the will of the state NBC is responsible for creating the conditions for free exchange of views and information flow, but also it is responsible for respecting the public interest. The lawmaker entrusted NBC responsibility to maintain appropriate standards of democratic states and societies, that consider themselves civilized. A chance to properly perform tasks NBC gives independence from the government and difficulty of dismissal of its members before the end of the term. The method of creating, the personnel composition and the activities of the NBC are cause of controversy and strong opposition, and consequently leads to the demands of its eliminate.

Media publiczne jako sfera wpływów politycznych. Przegląd układów partyjnych we władzach spółek medialnych na przestrzeni ostatnich 20 lat

Koncepcja mediów publicznych zakładała ich separację od władz państwowych i wpływów partyjnych. Założenia nie udało się osiągnąć. Artykuł pokazuje mechanizm upolityczniania zarządów i rad nadzorczych stojących na czele spółek medialnych Telewizji Polskiej i Polskiego Radia. Jego celem było prześledzenie składu personalnego tych instytucji oraz określenie orientacji politycznych poszczególnych osób. Rozprawa zwraca też uwagę na Krajową Radę Radiofonii i Telewizji jako jeden z elementów upartyjniania mediów publicznych.

Krajowa Rada Radiofonii i Telewizji jako przedmiot zainteresowania polityków

The purpose of this paper is to present and support the argument that the National Broadcasting Council appointed to oversee the Polish media system was of great interest to politicians as early as at the stage preceding its official foundation, and continues to be so until today. The issues associated with the National Council of Radio and Television can be viewed in many ways. For the purpose of the present paper, it is reasonable to base it only on the analysis of the formation, functioning and change of the statutory principles of the Council. Therefore, the article only focuses on the analysis of the legal regulations, with the significant impact on the changes made in the operation of the National Council of Radio and Television and on the practical dimension of these changes reflected in specific behaviors of politicians.

LEGAL AND FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS OF NATIONAL AND ETHNIC MINORITIES’ BROADCASTS IN THE PUBLIC REGIONAL MEDIA

One of the fundamental duties of public media in Poland is to implement the so-called social mission, within which the media are obliged, among other things, to broadcast programs for national and ethnic minorities. The basis for undertaking by minorities any activities in broadcasting are legal and financial considerations, which are the main determinants of creating the programs and their broadcasting. In order to determine the legal conditions which guarantee broadcasting for minorities and in order to compare the number of broadcasts and related costs, the national law and documents of the National Broadcasting Council (KRRiT) were subjected to research analysis. In the analysis the following methods were applied: descriptive, comparative and statistical. They allowed to confirm the research hypothesis which assumes that the Polish state creates appropriate conditions for broadcasting for minorities, thanks to provisions of the law and funds transferred from subscriptions. However, equally important determinant in this field is the initiative and activity of the minority communities themselves, since according to KRRiT they are supposed to realize and run broadcasts for minorities.

Krajowa Rada Radiofonii i Telewizji organem politycznej kontroli nadawców w Polsce

The National Broadcasting Council as the authority of political control of broadcasters in Poland
 According to the Constitution of the Republic of Poland, the National Broadcasting Council: safeguards the freedom of speech, the right to information and the public interest in broadcasting. The protection of these values justifies the independence of the social flow of information in public affairs from the disposal of the government. In the meantime the chairman of the National Broadcasting Council due to his special statutory entitlements remains under exceptional political pressure as in the process of control broadcasters’ activity is among others entitled to impose financial sanctions what in fact makes the National Broadcasting Council in Poland the authority that takes actions of repressive censorship nature.

Book Review: Central and Eastern European Media in Comparative Perspective: Politics, Economy and Culture, by John Downey and Sabina Mihelj

Central and Eastern European Media in Comparative Perspective: Politics, Economy and Culture. John Downey and Sabina Mihelj, eds. Surrey, UK: Ashgate Publishing, 2012. 199 pp. $95 hbk.Reviewed by: Anthony Moretti, Robert Morris University, Moon Township, PA, USA DOI: 10.1177/1077699013506348This book demands the attention of scholars or anyone interested in understanding the ongoing development of print and television media in Russia and multiple nations in the region. In short, it challenges assumptions that people in the West (might) have about the operation of privately owned and public-sector media in Central and Eastern Europe. Perhaps the worst assumption is that all Central and Eastern European media are homogeneous, no matter the country in which they disseminate news, entertain- ment, and other programming. Such thinking could be a relic of the Cold War in which a monolithic image of the region was ingrained in the minds of Americans and others who lived in the West.The text is edited by John Downey, a reader in comparative media in the Department of Social Sciences at Loughborough University in the United Kingdom, and Sabina Mihelj, a senior lecturer in media, communication, and culture at Loughborough University. It includes seven essays examining the political, economic, and cultural forces that influence the content, ownership, and audience preferences in this part of the world.When examining politics, the book argues that as more pressure is applied by domestic political agencies, the less likely the media system will be free (based on the Western interpretation of that word as it relates to media). No surprise there; Russia is the most obvious example of this. But what the book also demonstrates is that while the European Union (EU)-an external agency-succeeded in some cases in institut- ing media policies in many of these former Soviet bloc states consistent with EU practices, the United also has been successful in guiding nations toward its media practices. The EU attempted to link mimicking of its media policies (i.e., strong public-service broadcasters and subsidies for independent and national production, p. 152) to interested in gaining EU membership. But that linkage often has not held. Alison Harcourt, of the University of Exeter, writes, States in the region adopted European policy models on paper but they have not worked well in practice. Hence, although the European model seems to have prevailed over the US model, in practice, a more liberal market has emerged (p. 145).Karol Jakubowicz, a former journalist and educator and now the chairman of the National Broadcasting Council in his native Poland, divides the in the region into democratic (Croatia is among them), semidemocratic to semiauthoritarian (Russia is among them), and authoritarian (Belarus is among them). He states, Indeed, media freedom and independence is higher in the democratic and progressively lower in semi-democratic and semi-authoritarian and authoritarian countries (p. …

Odpowiedzialność nadawców radiowych i telewizyjnych za emitowane treści na gruncie ustawy medialnej oraz jej egzekwowanie przez Krajową Radę Radiofonii i Telewizji

Artykuł 18 ustawy o radiofonii i telewizji zawiera m.in. zapisy mówiące o tym, że nadawcy radiowi i telewizyjni nie mogą emitować audycji, które propagują działania sprzeczne z prawem, poglądy sprzeczne z moralnością i dobrem społecznym; które zawierają treści dyskryminujące ze względu na rasę, płeć lub narodowość, które nie szanowałyby uczuć religijnych odbiorców, a zwłaszcza godziłyby w chrześcijański system wartości. Unormowania wskazują także na zakaz emisji audycji mogących zagrażać fizycznemu, psychicznemu lub moralnemu rozwojowi małoletnich. W referacie zostały przedstawione przykłady nadawania audycji, których treści sprzeciwiają się regulacjom artykułu 18. Są to przypadki, które zostały poddane kontroli Krajowej Rady Radiofonii i Telewizji, ponieważ to organ regulacyjny w świetle ustawy o radiofonii i telewizji jest uprawniony do egzekwowania ustawowych unormowań i pociągania nadawców do odpowiedzialności. Pokazana też została aktywność Rady dotycząca tworzenia szczegółowych przepisów w zakresie ochrony najmłodszych odbiorców przed szkodliwymi treściami. W artykule znajduje się także ocena poczynań samej Krajowej Rady właśnie w obszarze nadzoru programowego nad nadawcami.

Independence of administrative agencies in the broadcasting sector: the case of the Polish National Broadcasting Council

Appointments of members of independent administrative agencies are claimed to be the most effective tool of retaining political control over these agencies. However, even if politicians hold considerable discretionary power in deciding upon their membership, legal rules ensuring credibility of such appointments cannot be underestimated. The author argues that properly drawn rules may stipulate the necessary prerequisites for making a credible appointment, assure democratic scrutiny in the process of appointments, and stabilize the policy of an agency. An independent administrative agency also seems to be the most effective form of regulating media broadcasting and general network industries. The paper presents key issues regarding their operation in an unstable legal environment on the lines of a Polish case adjudicated by the Constitutional Tribunal, and is also an attempt of drawing some more general conclusions. Independent administrative agencies are often presented as the fourth branch within political systems of modern industrial democracies. The process of strengthening these agencies is ongoing (including sometimes constitutionalization), but it is difficult to assume today that these agencies will emerge as fully distinguished independent branch within the system of separation of powers in the foreseeable future. The last issue presented in this article considers regulation, self-regulation, and co-regulation. The author argues that at least in countries where the principle of subsidiarity was adopted, this principle can be helpful in drawing the borderlines between the area of regulation, self-regulation, and co-regulation.