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Poland Radio and Television
To a significant extent, electronic news and
information
sources defied government control in the 1980s. Millions
of Poles
received uncensored radio broadcasts from Radio Free
Europe, the
Voice of America, the British Broadcasting Corporation,
and other
Western sources. Solidarity units also occasionally
broadcast
news programs from mobile radio stations. And hundreds of
thousands of VCRs allowed the Polish population to view
taboo
films by prominent domestic and foreign directors.
Unlike periodicals, the electronic media adjusted
slowly to
the changed political environment following the Round
Table
Agreement. As of mid-1992, the Sejm had yet to enact
legislation
to regulate radio and television broadcasting. Decades of
communist manipulation of the electronic media had taught
politicians the power of those media in shaping public
attitudes.
In mid-1992, Walesa indicated his continuing distrust of
broadcast journalism by stating that television should
represent
the government's views and that state television was not
the
place for contrary political opinions. The membership of
the
Committee for Radio and Television, a communist-era
holdover
agency regulating all broadcasting, was determined by the
Council
of Ministers, and appointment of the committee chairman
became
highly politicized.
In mid-1992 Poland continued to have only two national
television channels, and by Western standards the program
offerings were limited. Besides daily news broadcasts, the
most
popular program was a political satire, "Polish Zoo," a
weekly
puppet show that lampooned leading political figures and
institutions, including the church. To supplement the
meager
offerings of domestic television, many Poles received
foreign
broadcasts. Small satellite antenna dishes were common
throughout
the country. Impatient with the government's inaction,
private
television stations in Warsaw, Lublin, Poznan, and
Szczecin began
to broadcast without licenses in the early 1990s.
The government interfered less with radio than with
television broadcasting. In addition to the four national
stations broadcasting to nearly 11 million Polish
receivers,
thirteen unlicensed radio stations had come into existence
by
mid-1992.
Nearly 600 applications for broadcasting licenses awaited
evaluation. Radio broadcasts were dominated by Western
popular
music, just as the publishing and film industries were
overwhelmingly Western in orientation.
The continuing dominance of Western culture in the
1990s
appeared to be assured, as unauthorized reproduction of
films,
literature, and music made inexpensive, high-quality
copies
easily accessible to the average citizen. In the
postcommunist
era, intellectual piracy in Poland emerged as one of the
troublesome issues between Warsaw and the United States.
In early
1992, it was estimated that the United States lost US$140
million
dollars annually to Polish audio, video, and computer
program
piracy.
Data as of October 1992
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