Indicator history

Public media (radio and tv) are required to account for the needs of minorities, including broadcasting information programmes in minority languages. Minority language programming or content about minorities are broadcast in certain sections of regional Polish state television (TVP 3) in areas with minority populations. There are also three private radio stations broadcasting for minorities - Radio Racja (for Belarusians), Radio Kaszebe (for Kashubians), Radio Vanesa (for Germans). However, the respective laws are sometimes being implemented defectively: minority programming is broadcast during low point hours and on the selected local channels only (thus being unavailable for the minority members living outside a given area). In 2010, some television stations reduced the air time available for minority programming by as much as 50 per cent. Several programmes are facing the threat of termination due to the lack of financial resources. The minorities are not satisfied with their actual capacity to make use of the public media. The issue has been much discussed at meetings of The Joint Commission of the Government and National and Ethnic Minorities: the minorities objections concern both organisation and content-related problems and the cooperation with local TV stations. Apart from this, minority’s magazines (in minority language) are subsidized by the state budget. (in 2010, 36 minority’s magazines received financial support)

The above regulations apply only to national and ethnic minorities. There are no regulations concerning migrants, in the sense of the existence of any restrictions or positive measures. In practice, the creation of materials dealing with the subject matter of migrants or multiculturalism depends on the the good will of editors or individual journalists. At this point one should note that the degree of the implementation of the public media tasks described in the National Programme Against Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance 2004-2009 was so low that in the final report the objective of these tasks was considered unattained. From this one can conclude that the media’s interest in this subject matter is insignificant.

Sources:

Ministry of Interior, Raport dla Sekretarza Generalnego Rady Europy z realizacji przez Rzeczpospolitą Polską postanowień Europejskiej karty języków regionalnych lub mniejszościowych

Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, Second Opinion on Poland, adopted on 20 March 2009

Act on Radio and Television (Dz. U. 1993/7/34)