News Media Fights Pressure From Political Operators
Michael Hedges March 4, 2020 - Follow on Twitter
Exclusive reporting is status-enhancing for news outlets. Competitors, quite often, will mention or even quote these reports as they add more information or analysis. Usually, credit is given. Under generally accepted copyright rules, this is just fine, quite legal. But, when it comes to news reporting and the rule of law in the age of spin and disinformation claims to the contrary rise.
 Polish daily Gazeta Wyborcza (February 26) recently published a report on the court testimony of “gangsters,” wrote Warsaw Business Journal (February 26), about questionable activities of former investigative reporter Patrycja Kotecka. Gangsters are not typically considered the most reliable witnesses. Reporting on the testimony is, however, fair game. Ms Kotecka is the spouse of Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro. The testimony suggested corrupt relationships.
Given wide interest in Poland for intrigue related to Law and Justice (PiS) party officials and those close to them, several news outlets mentioned or quoted the Gazeta Wyborcza report. Some were dismissive, others not. When the reporting emerged, a lawyer representing Ms Kotecka contacted several news outlets demanding the quotes or mentions be removed under threat of legal action, said media news portal press.pl (March 2).
“The lawyer demanded immediate removal from our publication,” said the editors of news portal polityka.pl, in a statement, “together with an accompanying photo of her, depicting his client with her husband, Minister Zbigniew Ziobro.” They declined to remove the article. “Polityka acts in the public interest, which is protected by law.”
“We find no justification for deleting the discussion,” said tabloid Fakt chief editor Katarzyna Kozlowska. “I can not imagine that it is possible not to pay attention to the cover of such an opinion-forming title as “Gazeta (Wyborcza).“ Radio Zet also refused to delete the references in question. Fakt is owned by Swiss/German publisher Ringier Axel Springer. Radio Zet and Gazeta Wyborcza are owned by Agora Group.
Others staked out a different position. “The information disclosed by the media in response to the publication by Gazeta Wyborcza confirms that the above-mentioned article was based on lies and confabulations of unbelievable persons,” offered Press Freedom Monitoring Center of the Polish Journalists' Association (SDP), in a statement quoted by media portal wirtualnemedia.pl (March 2). “The content of the published article and how it has been promoted in the media, including on social media, indicates that it is part of an unfair political struggle aimed at discrediting the Minister of Justice and the associated political camp.” The SDP is aligned with the right-wing populist PiS party.
Ms Kotecka denounced the publication, unsurprisingly, on state television TVP (March 2), as “based on false testimony.” Previously, she had worked as a reporter for tabloid newspapers and, eventually, TVP. In 2009 as deputy director of the TVP Information Agency she was “dismissed” by TVP president Piotr Farfala, reported news portal dziennik.pl (January 26, 2009), due to “influence from the Law and Justice party.” Most recently she has been marketing director with insurance company Link4.
Poland’s ranking in the Reporters sans Frontieres (RSF) Global Press Freedom Index has fallen to 59th in 2019 from 18th in 2015.
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