TV Republika Reporter forcibly removed from the crisis staff conference. The head of the National Broadcasting Council informs the prosecutor!
“The flood disaster cannot be treated as merely an ‘interesting topic.’ The media play a crucial role in disseminating the actions and orders of crisis management teams. For this reason, it is absolutely unacceptable to categorize media into ‘better’ or ‘worse.’ An example of this is the repeated refusal to admit a journalistic team from TV Republika to today’s press conference of the Prime Minister and the meeting of the crisis management team in the disaster area,” wrote Maciej Świrski, Chairman of the National Broadcasting Council, in a statement released to the media.
Indeed, this is not the first time that TV Republika team was not allowed to attend the press conference and the CM meeting in the disaster area. At noon, TV Republika reporter Łukasz Żmuda was denied access to Donald Tusk’s conference. The situation was even worse in Wrocław, where TV Republika journalists were not allowed to attend a press conference held alongside a local crisis staff meeting. There, force was used to remove Janusz Życzkowski.
Maciej Świrski decided to intervene and appealed for prudence and integrity in reporting the catastrophic flood.
He also said he would approach the Prosecutor’s Office to “prosecute officials who prevent journalists from attending press conferences of the crisis management team, thus causing widespread danger to citizens.”
The full content of Świrski’s statement:
"In connection with the flood, the National Broadcasting Council informs that it is closely monitoring media reports on these tragic events and appeals to the media for reliable, credible reporting, without inciting negative emotions or causing panic among those affected by the disaster. Let us remember that the most important values are the health and life of people and their safety.
In a situation where the fire brigade, police, military, and rescue services are still fighting the elements, we call for accurate and objective dissemination of information. Only such information will fulfill the tasks related to providing effective assistance and its coordination by the appropriate state services. The flood disaster cannot be treated as merely an 'interesting topic.' The media are a crucial element in propagating the actions and instructions of crisis management teams.
For this reason, it is absolutely unacceptable to categorize media into 'better' or 'worse.' An example of this is the repeated refusal to admit a journalistic team from TV Republika to today's press conference of the Prime Minister and the meeting of the crisis management team in the disaster area, which, in the current situation of danger to the health and lives of residents in the flood-affected areas, has a special dimension and meets the criteria of causing widespread danger to the health and lives of citizens who may not be informed about the dangers or, for example, the need for evacuation, which is specified in Article 165 § 1 point 5 of the Penal Code (‘Anyone who causes an event that endangers the life or health of many people, or property to a significant extent in the form of acting in any other manner in especially dangerous circumstances is liable to imprisonment for between six months and eight years.’) in conjunction with Article 231 § 1 of the Penal Code and Articles 43 and 44 paragraph 1 of the Press Law. I inform you that I submit a request to the prosecutor's office to bring to judgment those responsible for causing such a threat.
The National Broadcasting Council fully understands that in the current situation, many broadcasters, fulfilling additional informational obligations, had to suspend the implementation of certain programming conditions and adapt their programs to the current challenges. The National Broadcasting Council will take these circumstances into account in the process of evaluating the fulfillment of license and programming obligations, including those arising from Articles 15, 15a, and 15b of the Act of December 29, 1992, on Broadcasting. The National Broadcasting Council will also approach the Polish Post to possibly extend the process of collecting subscription fees, as well as consider all applications from flood-affected viewers for the cancellation of subscription fees under Article 10 of the Act of April 21, 2005, on Subscription Fees.
In consultation with other authorities, including the President of UKE (Office of Electronic Communications), the National Broadcasting Council will also analyze other forms of possible assistance for those media outlets that have suffered losses due to the flood disaster, including losses in broadcasting infrastructure."