The Warsaw Enterprise Institute has responded sharply to the proposed changes in the financing of public media. In a statement released today, WEI writes:
“The government is considering replacing the television license fee with a mandatory levy collected alongside income tax. Taxpayers are to be burdened with the financing of public media. This new charge will affect nearly everyone, regardless of whether they support the form and content of these media, or even whether they watch traditional television at all. The Warsaw Enterprise Institute expresses its outrage at the proposal for a new tax, which in reality would fund the government’s propaganda machine.”
Below we publish extensive excerpts from the Warsaw Enterprise Institute’s statement. For context, WEI is a Polish think tank founded in 2014 that promotes the ideas of economic, personal, and political freedom. The Institute focuses its activities on four key areas: state and law, security, economy, and demographics.
In the Warsaw Enterprise Institute’s statement, we read:
“Public media, despite numerous declarations of reform and detachment from political influence, remain highly politicized and continue to be staffed through party-affiliated appointments. Over the 35 years since the fall of communism, the Polish market has developed a vibrant and diverse private media sector, utilizing all possible platforms. Not only do these private outlets surpass state-run radio and television in popularity and quality, but they also fulfil their informational mission far more effectively—often putting state-funded media to shame with their professionalism.”
“Nevertheless, the Polish government plans to introduce a fee collected along with personal income tax or added to electricity bills. In 2024 alone, public media received 1.851 billion PLN from the state budget (…). If, despite such significant state subsidies, public media are still experiencing liquidity problems, it indicates poor management and a lack of market sensitivity. One of the fundamental issues with public media is prioritizing government messaging over the interests and needs of viewers, who expect greater balance and multi-perspective reporting.”
“The simplest solution to the issue of public media financing would be their privatization. An intermediate path could involve a combination of market mechanisms and clearly defined public service objectives. As a starting point, funding should be tied to viewership metrics—even if this means relying solely on advertising and subscription revenues, similar to private online platforms. The same principle should apply to programming, with the state acting only as a passive shareholder, without the right to interfere in management appointments or media content.”
“The Warsaw Enterprise Institute fundamentally opposes forcing taxpayers to pay fees that will solely benefit the politicians of the ruling coalition, who would then enjoy favourable media coverage. This violates a core principle of democracy—the right to independently criticize political leaders. Funding a single political narrative with money contributed by both supporters and opponents of the ruling party is inherently unjust. Public media needs thorough reform but in the direction of greater democratization and independence from the state budget. And finally, people should not be compelled to pay for services they do not use.”