Krajowa Rada Radiofonii i Telewizji
Encyclopedia
Krajowa Rada Radiofonii i Telewizji (officially known in English as the National Broadcasting Council and also commonly referred to by its Polish acronym KRRiT) is the Polish
broadcasting regulator, which issues radio
and television
broadcast licenses, ensures compliance with the law by public broadcasters, and indirectly controls state-owned media. It is roughly equivalent to the Federal Communications Commission
in the USA.
KRRiT is an independent agency, with powers specified directly in the Polish Constitution, and members elected by the President and each of the chambers of the Parliament for 6-year terms. It was created in 1992 to manage the public media, previously tightly controlled by the state, and regulate private broadcasting, which was then emerging.
The direct constitutional empowerment, election of members for very long terms by various branches of the government, and requirement that the KRRiT members can't belong to a political party, give it very strong position, compared to similar agencies in other countries. It was considered crucial that the media be freed from political pressures.
While theoretically apolitical, members of the council were de facto appointed by the political parties, in rough proportion to their power. For a few years, because of the fragmentation of the Parliament, and ongoing conflict between the parliament and the president Lech Wałęsa
, the council was in relative political balance, and so the public media weren't controlled by any particular party, while the private media were more concerned by economical expansion than politics.
However, after the victory of the post-communist Democratic Left Alliance
(SLD) in the 1993 parliamentary elections,
and of their candidate Aleksander Kwaśniewski
in the 1995 presidential elections, the council soon became dominated by people connected to the left.
Even the right-wing 1997-2001 Parliament couldn't reverse that, because of the long terms of KRRiT members and the presence of the members appointed by the President.
Having won the next elections in 2001, the post-communists were able to retain control of the public media for the second part of 1990s and early 2000s.
The post-communist head of the public Polish Television, Robert Kwiatkowski, was widely accused of using it as a propaganda
machine for the Democratic Left Alliance
. Some of the early accusations include highly disproportional coverage of SLD in 1997-2001, when SLD leader Leszek Miller
was given more airtime than all members of the government combined (according to some calculations), airing a documentary claiming Lech Kaczyński
's involvement in the FOZZ scandal just before the elections (later found to be baseless), and a general bias in coverage of political news. KRRiT was also in constant conflict with private broadcasters, for example forbidding RMF FM
to air local news.
The big problems however started only after the 2001 elections, when some members of the KRRiT were named in a conspiracy to gain control over the private media (the newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza
and the TV station Polsat
) by falsifying the laws (in the strand of the Lew Rywin scandal referred to as "or newspapers" (lub czasopisma, in honor of wording of the media law that was illegally switched after approval by the government), and using their broadcast licensing power to exert political and economical pressure over local private broadcasters. These events, and other corruption scandals revealed soon afterward, shattered the Polish political class. These events were all tied into a complex scandal referred to as the Rywin Affair
.
In 2004 Robert Kwiatkowski was replaced by a compromise candidate, Jan Dworak, as the head of Polish Television.
Many parties taking part in 2005 elections proposed abandonment of the KRRiT.
The official website of the National Broadcasting Council is www.krrit.gov.pl
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
broadcasting regulator, which issues radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
and television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
broadcast licenses, ensures compliance with the law by public broadcasters, and indirectly controls state-owned media. It is roughly equivalent to the Federal Communications Commission
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
in the USA.
KRRiT is an independent agency, with powers specified directly in the Polish Constitution, and members elected by the President and each of the chambers of the Parliament for 6-year terms. It was created in 1992 to manage the public media, previously tightly controlled by the state, and regulate private broadcasting, which was then emerging.
The direct constitutional empowerment, election of members for very long terms by various branches of the government, and requirement that the KRRiT members can't belong to a political party, give it very strong position, compared to similar agencies in other countries. It was considered crucial that the media be freed from political pressures.
While theoretically apolitical, members of the council were de facto appointed by the political parties, in rough proportion to their power. For a few years, because of the fragmentation of the Parliament, and ongoing conflict between the parliament and the president Lech Wałęsa
Lech Wałęsa
Lech Wałęsa is a Polish politician, trade-union organizer, and human-rights activist. A charismatic leader, he co-founded Solidarity , the Soviet bloc's first independent trade union, won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1983, and served as President of Poland between 1990 and 95.Wałęsa was an electrician...
, the council was in relative political balance, and so the public media weren't controlled by any particular party, while the private media were more concerned by economical expansion than politics.
However, after the victory of the post-communist Democratic Left Alliance
Democratic Left Alliance
Democratic Left Alliance is a social-democratic political party in Poland. Formed in 1991 as a coalition of centre-left parties, it was formally established as a single party on 15 April 1999. It is currently the third largest opposition party in Poland....
(SLD) in the 1993 parliamentary elections,
and of their candidate Aleksander Kwaśniewski
Aleksander Kwasniewski
Aleksander Kwaśniewski is a Polish politician who served as the President of Poland from 1995 to 2005. He was born in Białogard, and during communist rule he was active in the Socialist Union of Polish Students and was the Minister for Sport in the communist government in the 1980s...
in the 1995 presidential elections, the council soon became dominated by people connected to the left.
Even the right-wing 1997-2001 Parliament couldn't reverse that, because of the long terms of KRRiT members and the presence of the members appointed by the President.
Having won the next elections in 2001, the post-communists were able to retain control of the public media for the second part of 1990s and early 2000s.
The post-communist head of the public Polish Television, Robert Kwiatkowski, was widely accused of using it as a propaganda
Propaganda
Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself or one's group....
machine for the Democratic Left Alliance
Democratic Left Alliance
Democratic Left Alliance is a social-democratic political party in Poland. Formed in 1991 as a coalition of centre-left parties, it was formally established as a single party on 15 April 1999. It is currently the third largest opposition party in Poland....
. Some of the early accusations include highly disproportional coverage of SLD in 1997-2001, when SLD leader Leszek Miller
Leszek Miller
Leszek Cezary Miller is a Polish central-left-wing politician, leader of the Democratic Left Alliance , Prime Minister of the government of the Republic of Poland in 2001-2004.-Childhood and youth:...
was given more airtime than all members of the government combined (according to some calculations), airing a documentary claiming Lech Kaczyński
Lech Kaczynski
Lech Aleksander Kaczyński was Polish lawyer and politician who served as the President of Poland from 2005 until 2010 and as Mayor of Warsaw from 2002 until 22 December 2005. Before he became a president, he was also a member of the party Prawo i Sprawiedliwość...
's involvement in the FOZZ scandal just before the elections (later found to be baseless), and a general bias in coverage of political news. KRRiT was also in constant conflict with private broadcasters, for example forbidding RMF FM
RMF FM
RMF FM - the most popular and the first commercial radio station in Poland. RMF FM started broadcasting on 15 January 1990 in Kraków. The current director is Tadeusz Sołtys. The radio is wholly owned by the German Bauer Verlagsgruppe.-Frequency FM in Poland:-External links:*...
to air local news.
The big problems however started only after the 2001 elections, when some members of the KRRiT were named in a conspiracy to gain control over the private media (the newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza
Gazeta Wyborcza
Gazeta Wyborcza is a leading Polish newspaper. It covers the gamut of political, international and general news. Like all the Polish newspapers, it is printed on compact-sized paper, and is published by the multimedia corporation Agora SA...
and the TV station Polsat
Polsat
Polsat is Poland's second biggest television channel, founded on December 5, 1992 and owned by Zygmunt Solorz-Żak.Polsat belongs to the Polsat Group , which also owns other channels:*Polsat HD*Polsat 2 International*Polsat News*TV Biznes...
) by falsifying the laws (in the strand of the Lew Rywin scandal referred to as "or newspapers" (lub czasopisma, in honor of wording of the media law that was illegally switched after approval by the government), and using their broadcast licensing power to exert political and economical pressure over local private broadcasters. These events, and other corruption scandals revealed soon afterward, shattered the Polish political class. These events were all tied into a complex scandal referred to as the Rywin Affair
Rywin affair
The Rywin affair was a corruption scandal in Poland, which began in late 2002 while the post communist government of the SLD was in power...
.
In 2004 Robert Kwiatkowski was replaced by a compromise candidate, Jan Dworak, as the head of Polish Television.
Many parties taking part in 2005 elections proposed abandonment of the KRRiT.
The official website of the National Broadcasting Council is www.krrit.gov.pl
Article 213
- The National Broadcasting Council shall safeguard the freedom of speech, the right to information, and the public interest in radio and television broadcasting.
- The National Broadcasting Council may issue regulations or, in individual cases, adopt resolutions.
Article 214
- The members of the National Broadcasting Council shall be appointed by the Sejm, the Senate and the President of the Republic.
- A member of the National Broadcasting Council shall not belong to a political party or trade union, or perform public activities incompatible with the dignity of the office.
Article 215
- The rules and manner of operation of the National Broadcasting Council, its organization, and specific rules for appointment of its members shall be determined by statute.