Leader of the largest opposition party in Poland Jaroslaw Kaczynski told Polish Radio One this morning that the new media bill prepared by the Ministry of Culture favours commercial broadcasters while discriminating against public media.
Jaroslaw Kaczynski said that the bill is “a token of gratitude of the [ruling] Civic Platform” to private broadcasters which – according to Kaczynski – supported the party in the general election last year and brutally attacked Law and Justice while its was in power.
The opposition leader told Polish Radio that the new media bill is “a blow against national institutions” and public media in particular.
The new draft of the media bill provides for setting up a Public Tasks Fund, which would be used for financing the ‘public mission’ of state media in Poland. According to the bill, funds would also be made available for the commercial broadcasters, and not – as it is now – exclusively for the public media.
The money from the Fund would be assigned for particular projects and governed by a council of three people appointed by Parliament. The bill also seeks to limit the public media’s income form commercials.
Civic Platform declared that the bill will be ready this October. (jm)