Polish state TV relaunches its main newscast as the new government shakes up the media

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Viewers in Poland watched a remolded main evening newscast on TVP state television Thursday, after the country’s new, pro-European Union government took control of state media to free it from the control and propaganda of the previous right-wing ruling team.

Prime Minister Donald Tusk, whose Cabinet took office last week, has promised to free the outlet and other state-owned media of the former ruling conservatives’ propaganda and divisive policies.

The first broadcast under the new authorities began with experts and officials explaining why programs under the previous government violated standards of fairness and objectivity, and why the new government had to make changes quickly. Even the name of the program was changed, from “News” to “19.30,” the time when it is broadcast on the main channel, TVP1.

The program then carried a report on the 2024 budget debate in parliament, followed by other news from Poland and around the world, trying to include various viewpoints. At the end, the newscaster said the program aspired to the highest standards and would also consider critical voices.

Other programs on TVP1, such as popular sitcoms or quiz shows, remained unchanged.

Police and security forces erected barriers in front of TVP’s main building in the capital, Warsaw, after leaders of the Law and Justice party that was ousted from power following elections two months ago began a sit-in inside the building on Wednesday to protest the changes implemented by the government of Prime Minister Donald Tusk.

Some remained inside on Thursday, when police only allowed authorized employees into the TVP building.

The government on Wednesday said it had fired and replaced the directors of the state television and radio outlets and the government-run news agency, PAP. They had been under control of the right-wing Law and Justice party during its eight years in power, and were used as the government mouthpiece, denigrating government critics and the opposition and spreading euroskeptic views.

Tusk’s administration said it would seek to reestablish independent media in Poland in a legally binding and lasting way.

The change of TVP management was sudden and the new editorial team apparently had no time to prepare a full evening newscast on Wednesday. Instead, a newly appointed anchor came on the air to explain the situation, promising unbiased newscasts would start on Thursday.

President Andrzej Duda, an ally of the previous ruling team, has criticized the steps by Tusk’s government regarding state media, but Tusk replied they were needed to restore their objectivity and fairness, in the service of the entire public.

The Associated Press