The Polish Press Agency (Polska Agencja Prasowa, PAP) is Poland’s national news agency. Its history dates back to 1918 when a group of journalists created it under the name Polish Telegraphic Agency (PTA). PAP operated as a state-owned news outlet during communism, serving as an official communist mouthpiece.
After 1990, the agency gradually gained more independence from the government, although it has always been financed and owned by government structures. In May 2018, PAP launched an English-language news portal in response to what the agency’s managers claimed was inadequate news coverage of Poland by foreign media. In January 2024, however, the portal was shut down as there was no evidence of impact.
Media assets
News agency: PAP
State Media Matrix: State-Controlled (SC)
Ownership and governance
PAP’s governance structures, including the Management and Supervisory Board as well as an advisory Programming Council, are all appointed by the National Media Council, following the same model that applies to TVP and Polish Radio. The Treasury wholly owns PAP.
After the opposition parties won enough seats in the elections on October 15, 2023, to take power from the right-wing Law and Justice (PiS) party, significant changes have occurred in the country’s public service media.
The new coalition, comprising the centrist Civic Coalition (KO), center-right Third Way (Trzecia Droga), and The Left (Lewica), led by Prime Minister Donald Tusk, began reforming the public media in the country in the fall of 2023. Their goal was to transform these institutions into independent, impartial, and pluralistic news outlets. However, their attempts have been blocked by Polish President Andrzej Duda, who represents the interests of the PiS party.
In late December 2023, President Duda vetoed a bill related to state media subsidies that the coalition put forward, labeling their actions as “illegal” seizure of public media. In response, the culture minister announced on December 27, 2023, that TVP, Polish Radio, and PAP would be placed into liquidation, a move aimed at taking back control of public service media from the former ruling PiS party. This decision came after the management of TVP, loyal to PiS, was replaced before Christmas 2023.
Source of funding and budget
The Polish Press Agency is legally required to provide information about the Sejm, the Senate, the President, the Council of Ministers, and other state bodies. As a result, it receives an annual state subsidy. However, this subsidy makes up less than 50% of the agency’s budget. In 2018, the state subsidy for PAP was PLN 8m (€1.9m), but the agency primarily funds itself through the sale of content and advertising.
Editorial independence
In the early 1990s, the PAP underwent significant changes, gaining independence from the government while still facing political pressures. The relationship between PAP and political groups in post-communist Poland has been ambiguous, with the agency sometimes aligning with political forces and sometimes being defensive, depending on the political context.
PAP has also been known for high-quality news reporting and has employed highly reputable journalists.
The legal provisions introduced by the National Media Council Act of 2016 categorized the Polish Press Agency as a National Media entity under the supervision of the partisan National Media Council. This has notably diminished the agency’s independence.
In the early 2010s, despite being funded by the government, PAP managed to achieve more editorial independence, as reported by a Florence-based research group. However, in 2016, new legal provisions were introduced that undermined PAP’s independence, according to a 2020 assessment. The National Media Council, which is staffed by members of the PiS party, appointed a new PAP program council mainly consisting of journalists with a conservative background, leading to concerns about partisanship.
According to the 1997 PAP Act (Ustawa o Polskiej Agencji Prasowej), later amended, “the Polish Press Agency cannot find itself under legal, economic, or any kind of control by any ideological, political or economic group.” However, the changes introduced by the National Media Council Act of 2016 have steadily eroded the agency’s independence.
There is no independent/oversight mechanism validating the PAP’s editorial independence.
August 2024