“We carry within us the spirit of freedom that gives hope for the future. This is the spirit that ‘Gazeta Polska’ has always lived by. Whether it was Mochnacki, Roman Dmowski, friends of Józef Piłsudski, or finally our team, which may have unworthily taken up this tradition but continues it to this day. This is the newspaper that gives hope and carries freedom,” said Tomasz Sakiewicz, editor-in-chief of “Gazeta Polska,” “Gazeta Polska Codziennie,” and head of Telewizja Republika, during the 2025 “Gazeta Polska” Gala.
At 6:00 PM, the grand event of the House of Free Speech, the “Gazeta Polska” Gala 2025, began. During the event, several awards were presented, including the 2024 “Gazeta Polska” Clubs Award. The recipient of this honor was Dr. Karol Nawrocki, head of the Institute of National Remembrance and a civic candidate for the presidency of Poland.
President Andrzej Duda was awarded the Gregory the Great Prize.
Among the guests was also Matt Schlapp, head of the CPAC organization.
Tomasz Sakiewicz: There Are More of Us
After the event began, Tomasz Sakiewicz, editor-in-chief of “Gazeta Polska,” “Gazeta Polska Codziennie,” and president of Telewizja Republika, took the stage. He recalled the beginnings of the House of Free Speech.
“I look at you with emotion, seeing us together here. So many years have passed, and there are more of us. We are a growing family, creating more and more. The year 1992, when the first right-wing, conservative government of Jan Olszewski fell. That’s when we launched the idea of building. I urged the then editor-in-chief of ‘Nowy Świat,’ Piotr Wierzbicki, to create our own, independent newspaper. A few months later, in early 1993, ‘Gazeta Polska’ was born. This title is not accidental. It refers to what lies deepest within us. To Poland. And Poland, through the centuries, has simply meant: freedom. Love for this community, which has lasted for a thousand years. And which makes you want to live here, even when life is hard.”
He continued, recalling the chronology:
“‘Gazeta Polska’ was created, and based on it, other media emerged. The portal Niezalezna.pl was born, the largest conservative portal, reaching millions of people. We took over the publication of ‘Nowe Państwo,’ the most elite conservative monthly in Poland. Finally, the largest daily, ‘Gazeta Polska Codziennie,’ was created, which continues to this day despite the decline of the press market. Smaller media were also created, but ultimately, we established TV Republika. Everyone said: how can you create a television station that requires tens of millions of dollars? Anyone who knows business understands that enormous resources are needed to create a TV station. We created it for 100,000 złotys. Since our friends from America are here, I’ll explain that this is about 20,000 dollars. Today, we have the largest conservative television station in all of Europe. We pooled our resources, some had to borrow—there’s one person here who lent me money for my contribution, about 20,000 dollars. And after years, we have the largest conservative television station in Europe, unmatched in terms of viewership and audience numbers.”
“We Carry the Spirit of Freedom”
“We carry within us the spirit of freedom that gives hope for the future. This is the spirit that ‘Gazeta Polska’ has always lived by. Whether it was Mochnacki, Roman Dmowski, friends of Józef Piłsudski, or finally our team, which may have unworthily taken up this tradition but continues it to this day. This is the newspaper that gives hope and carries freedom,” emphasized the editor-in-chief of “Gazeta Polska.”
“If there is one thing that is our greatest value, it is not the covers. It is not the awards. But the fact that we are very credible in this regard. And no one can accuse us of not wanting to be free. They can accuse us of anything, because anything can be questioned. Only those who do not know us or do not want to accept the truth can accuse us of something,” he added.
Tomasz Sakiewicz then thanked his closest collaborators over the years. He mentioned Katarzyna Gójska, editor-in-chief of the monthly “Nowe Państwo,” Piotr Lisiewicz, a journalist at “Gazeta Polska” and “Gazeta Polska Codziennie.” He also highlighted the incredibly important role of Joanna Jenerowicz, head of the Independent Media Foundation.