On the occasion of a conference on "Image versus the reality of states and societies of Central Europe in the Western-European press", Wojciech Surmacz defended Poland's record on press freedom. (A recording of the transmitted portion of the conference can be found here.)
Surmacz, the Head of the Polish Press Agency (PAP) recounted how Swiss journalists visiting the Agency had asked repeatedly about press freedom in Poland. He claimed their concerns were due to the fact they had spoken only or mainly to liberal media in Poland.
He also suggested that the critics of the level of press freedom in Poland were perhaps younger journalists who had not lived through communism and so did not have such a deep appreciation of freedom of expression as those who had "fought for it."
Surmacz claimed that the level of freedom of expression, though not 100% (as it "never is") was higher in Poland than anywhere else.
Freedom House assesses the current overall level of freedom in Poland as 81/100; the sub-score for free and independent media is 3/4. On the freedom of the press, Freedom House writes:
"The constitution guarantees freedom of expression and forbids censorship, though libel laws have been used to harass journalists. According to March 2022 report by the Coalition against SLAPPs (strategic lawsuits against public participation) in Europe, Poland had the highest number of such lawsuits in Europe, though a majority were ultimately dismissed.
Public outlets and their governing bodies have been purged of independent or dissenting voices since PiS came to power in 2015. TVP, the state broadcaster, promotes government messages and often seeks to discredit the opposition, breaching its statutory obligations to present news in a “reliable and pluralistic manner.” TVP also depicts those who criticize the government, including NGOs and judges, as agents of the opposition or foreign forces.
PiS uses state-run companies to exert control over local media. [...]"
Reporters Without Borders ranks Poland as the 57th country in the world in terms of press freedom in 2023, out of 180 ranked states. This is a considerable fall from Poland's highest rank of 18th place, achieved in 2015. They summarise the situation in Poland:
"While Poland has a diverse media landscape, public awareness of press freedom remains weak. After turning the public media into instruments of propaganda, the government has multiplied its attempts to change the editorial line of private media and control information on sensitive subjects."
Sources: PAP, sdp.pl (Association of Polish Journalists), freedomhouse.org, rsf.org (Reporters Without Borders)
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