As of 2025, Belsat, the Belarusian-language channel created under TVP in 2007 to counter state propaganda from the Lukashenko regime, underwent a major restructuring. Following prolonged budget disputes and the dismissal of its founding director Agnieszka Romaszewska-Guzy in March 2024, the channel was folded into a new international broadcasting structure managed by TVP World. The new arrangement placed Belsat alongside Russian-language (Vot Tak) and Ukrainian-language (Slava TV) editorial offices, each allocated six hours of daily programming. Accordingly, from 2025 onwards, Belsat will no longer be featured as a separate entity in the State Media Monitor typology, but as part of TVP’s consolidated international broadcasting portfolio.

Media assets

Television: National- TVP1, TVP2, TVP3 (TVP3 Białystok, TVP3 Bydgoszcz, TVP3 Gdańsk, TVP3 Gorzów Wielkopolski, TVP3 Katowice, TVP3 Kielce, TVP3 Kraków, TVP3 Lublin, TVP3 Łódź, TVP3 Olsztyn, TVP3 Opole, TVP3 Poznań, TVP3 Rzeszów, TVP3 Szczecin, TVP3 Warszawa, TVP3 Wrocław), TVP Info, TVP Historia, TVP Kultura, TVP Rozrywka, TVP Seriale, TVP Sport, TVP ABC, TVP Parlament; International- TVP Polonia, TVP World-Belsat TV, TVP Wilno

News portal: PolandIn

State Media Matrix Typology

Independent State Funded and State Managed/Owned (ISFM)

Ownership and governance

Public broadcasting in Poland—including TVP and Polish Radio—is regulated by the Broadcasting Act of 1992, amended over time. TVP functions as a state-owned joint-stock company under the control of the State Treasury, with governance structures shaped in consultation with the National Broadcasting Council (KRRiT).

In 2015, the Sejm passed the Small Media Act, amending the 1992 Broadcasting Act. The amendments brought changes to the appointment procedure of the public service media governance structures. Under the new amendments, members of the Board of Management, including the President of the Board of Management and members of the Supervisory Board, were to be appointed by the Minister of the Treasury, instead of the KRRiT as was previously the case. In essence, these legal changes gave the government extraordinary powers to directly appoint the governance structures of the public media (TVP and Polish Radio), resulting in an immediate negative impact on the editorial independence of the Polish public media.

The legal changes received strong criticism from international institutions and the European Union. Thorbjørn Jagland, the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, expressed concern about the new law’s impact on the independence of public media. At the time, Dunja Miljatović, OSCE Representative on the Freedom of the Media, criticized the government’s direct control over the governance structures of Polish public media.

In 2016, in response to criticism from European institutions, the PiS-dominated Sejm passed a new law establishing the National Media Council (RMN). This council was made responsible for appointing the governing bodies of TVP, Polish Radio, and the Polish Press Agency (PAP). However, three of the newly appointed council members were Law and Justice (PiS) party lawmakers, which allowed the government to maintain significant control over the governing structures of Polish public media. Before this, the government had already removed unwanted employees from public media and appointed their people to lead these institutions.

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 former Polish President Andrzej Duda, who represented the interests of the PiS party.

In late December 2023, 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 the news agency 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. In April 2024, a court confirmed that TVP was in a state of liquidation (and multiple subsequent rulings in 2024–2025 reaffirmed the liquidator’s authority).

During the December 2023 transition the Supervisory Board appointed Tomasz Sygut as President/CEO of TVP, a move later upheld as legally valid by Warsaw courts (Dec 2024–Feb 2025 rulings). In parallel, the PiS-backed National Media Council tried to counter-appoint Maciej Łopiński on 25 December 2023, which the Culture Ministry declared void. In October 2024 the Sejm dismissed RMN chair Krzysztof Czabański over conflict-of-interest concerns; in December 2024 Wojciech Król (KO) was appointed to RMN and elected chair on 12 December 2024. These steps are tied to aligning appointments with EMFA Article 5 safeguards now under public consultation in Poland.

The European Media Freedom Act (EMFA), in effect as of August 2025, has binding standards on transparent, merit-based appointments and editorial safeguards in public service media that create an external compliance benchmark. RSF, EBU and MFRR submissions to Poland’s 2024 consultation emphasized civil-society roles in supervisory and management boards and called for de-politicized governance procedures.

Source of funding and budget

TVP is funded through a combination of a license fee (a fee imposed on Polish households to support public broadcasting in the country), government subsidies, and advertising. According to the License Fees Act of 2005, the National Broadcasting Council (KRRiT), Poland’s media regulator, determines the level of the fee every year, not later than June 30th.

Typically, the license fee is meant to cover over 50% of the broadcaster’s budget. However, a poorly designed system for collecting the license fee (where postal workers are expected to collect money from each household in person) combined with people’s unwillingness to pay the fee (either because they dislike the station or are generally averse to spending money) has resulted in a situation where government subsidies have become TVP’s main source of funding in recent years. The government regularly uses funds from the state budget to fill the financial gaps caused by the low collection of license fees.

Some 60% of the total revenue generated through license fees is supposed to go to TVP, with the rest reserved for Polskie Radio (Polish Radio), the country’s public service radio channel.

In 2018, for example, TVP saw its revenues from sales advertising increase by nearly 14% year on year to PLN 908m (€211m), which accounted for 47% of the broadcaster’s total budget. The license fee contributed PLN 385.5m to TVP, while the government approved PLN 593.5m in state subsidy to compensate the broadcaster for the losses incurred from uncollected license fees. That means the government subsidy accounted for approximately 30% of TVP’s budget in 2018.

In its 2019 annual report, TVP stated that the license fee had generated approximately PLN 1.45bn (€330m) in revenue. However, the state covered a significant portion of that sum, resulting in a total of PLN 1bn (€250m) awarded to the station. This adjustment was made because the initially projected amount was not fully attained.

In February 2020, after intense debates, the lower house of Poland’s parliament, the Sejm, approved a state subsidy of PLN 2bn (€470m) for the public media. Approximately 60% of this subsidy was allocated to TVP, increasing the share of state subsidy to over 50% of the station’s total budget. Local experts reported that only 8% of Polish households paid the license fee in 2020. Experts criticized the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party, arguing that the generous state subsidy is used by PiS to ensure favorable political coverage on TVP’s channels.

In conclusion, although it represents less than 50% of TVP’s budget in some years, the state subsidy has been used by the government as a potent tool to control the public media in Poland.

In February 2022, former Polish President Andrzej Duda signed the 2022 budget act, granting a state subsidy of €500m to the Polish public media, with €400m of that going to TVP. In November 2022, the PiS party pushed for approval in parliament of an increase by around PLN 800m (€171m) in TVP’s budget, raising it to over PLN 2bn (€428m). Opposition MPs criticized the decision, stating that it is intended to secure funding for the electoral campaign.

In March 2024, KRRiT suspended transfers from the license-fee system amid the governance dispute; courts later confirmed KRRiT could hold license-fee proceeds in escrow while litigation ran. In response to September 2024 floods, KRRiT approved the 2025 split of projected license-fee income— some PLN 308m for TVP and PLN 148m each for Polish Radio and regional radios—unlocking the October 2024 instalment; meanwhile, since December 2023 public media have relied mostly on state-budget tranches, with TVP’s 2024 inflows from the state roughly in the PLN 1.06–1.9bn range depending on counting methodology and timing of tranches. The Culture Ministry later confirmed PLN 2.341bn total public-media transfers in 2024.

Looking ahead, the government has floated the idea of abolishing the household license fee and replacing it with a 0.09% of GDP tax (PLN 3.5 bn/year) as a stable appropriation.

Editorial independence

The Broadcasting Act enshrines the responsibilities of Poland’s public service media, TVP and Polish Radio. The act requires the public media to provide services, including information, journalism, culture, entertainment, education, and sports services, that demonstrate pluralism, impartiality, balance, autonomy, innovation, high quality, and integrity. However, these requirements are vaguely worded and have no impact on the broadcasters’ editorial independence, as they are routinely ignored. There is no independent/oversight mechanism validating TVP’s editorial independence.

However, the government exerted significant influence over the editorial affairs of the Polish public media (TVP and Polish Radio) for many. Legal changes adopted in 2015 and 2016 further solidified this control by granting the government total power over the outlets’ employment structures. The immediate effects were evident as most independent journalists from both TVP and Polish Radio were dismissed shortly after the 2015 legal amendments were passed.

Journalists supportive of the PiS party were employed, transforming TVP and Polish Radio into openly pro-government media outlets. For many years, numerous reports from media NGOs, independent journalists, and experts have criticized the increased government control over the editorial independence of the Polish public media. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has stated that the Polish public media serve as “government propaganda mouthpieces.”

During the PiS’ regime, politicians from the PiS party were chosen for top management positions at the station. This has had a negative impact on the station’s news coverage. For instance, with Jacek Kurski, a PiS politician, leading TVP, the station’s news reports became overly supportive of the government and critical of the opposition. After a period away from the director position, Kurski was re-appointed as head of TVP in July 2020. PiS argued that preceding governments also exploited public media, reinforcing that PiS treated TVP as a state-controlled media outlet.

After the October 2023 elections, the new Donald Tusk-led coalition moved to dismantle this system, liquidated existing management, and relaunched TVP’s flagship news with a stated commitment to impartiality. Symbolically, on 20 December 2023, TVP Info went off air, and the following day the new “19:30” bulletin promised to end propaganda and restore factual reporting.

Although TVP’s independence remains fragile—with political battles over appointments, oversight, and funding still shaping its operations—the broadcaster is no longer under the overt political control it experienced during the PiS era. Since the leadership changes and reforms of late 2023–2024, its news coverage has become more balanced. For this reason, in our State Media Monitor taxonomy, we have reclassified TVP as Independent State Funded and State Managed/Owned (ISFM).

September 2025

Media assets

Radio: National- Jedynka, Dwójka, Trójka, Czwórka, Polskie Radio 24 (PR24), Polskie Radio Chopin, Polskie Radio Dzieciom; Regional- Radio Białystok, Radio Pomorza i Kujaw, Radio Gdańsk, Radio Katowice, Radio Kielce, Radio Koszalin, Radio Kraków, Radio Lublin, Radio Łódź, Radio Olsztyn, Radio Opole, Radio Poznań, Radio Rzeszów, Radio Szczecin, Polskie Radio RDC, Radio Wrocław, Radio Zachód, City- Radio Gorzów, Radio Free, MC Radio, Radio Słupsk, Radio Szczecin Extra, Radio RAM, Radio Zielona Góra; International- Radio Poland

News portal: TheNews

State Media Matrix Typology

 Independent State Funded and State Managed/Owned (ISFM)

Ownership and governance

The public broadcasting media in Poland, including TVP and Polish Radio, are regulated by the Broadcasting Act, which was first adopted in 1992 and has since been amended multiple times. Polish Radio functions as a state-owned joint-stock company. The Minister of State Treasury determines its statutes in consultation with the National Broadcasting Council (KRRiT).

The legal provisions adopted in 2015–2016 that changed the governance structures of the public media affected Polish Radio in a similar manner as they affected TVP, granting the government greater control over staffing and management.

After opposition parties won sufficient seats in the elections on 15 October 2023 to take power from the right-wing Law and Justice (PiS) party, the public service media in the country, including TVP, Polish Radio, and the news agency PAP, went through major changes.

The new coalition—comprising the centrist Civic Coalition (KO), centre-right Third Way (Trzecia Droga), and The Left (Lewica), and led by Prime Minister Donald Tusk—began reforming the public media in the fall of 2023. Their declared goal was to transform these institutions into independent, impartial, and pluralistic outlets. However, their attempts were blocked by former President Andrzej Duda, who is closely aligned with PiS.

In late December 2023, Duda vetoed a bill related to state media subsidies that the coalition had put forward, labeling their actions an “illegal” seizure of public media. In response, on 27 December 2023 the culture minister announced that TVP, Polish Radio, and PAP would be placed into liquidation, a legal manoeuvre intended to wrest control of public service media from PiS-appointed management.

A key leadership change followed: Paweł Majcher was appointed General Director of Polish Radio at the end of December 2023, succeeding PiS-linked managers. Majcher, a former journalist and editor, has overseen the restructuring process since then.

Source of funding and budget

Polish Radio, like its larger counterpart TVP, is funded through a combination of license fees, government subsidies, and advertising. Around 40% of its annual income comes from the license fee. However, due to low collection rates, the government frequently intervenes to cover losses with direct subsidies. This has made state funding a powerful tool for exerting control over the broadcaster. According to the European Audiovisual Observatory, Polish Radio operated with a budget of €67.2 million in 2022.

Editorial independence

The Broadcasting Act stipulates that public media must ensure pluralism, impartiality, balance, autonomy, innovation, and integrity. Yet these provisions are vaguely worded and lack enforcement mechanisms. There is no independent body overseeing editorial independence at Polish Radio, leaving it vulnerable to political influence regardless of which party is in power.

The government has historically exerted heavy influence over the editorial affairs of Polish Radio. The legal reforms of 2015–2016 gave the ruling party the power to reshape employment structures, and many independent journalists were dismissed soon after. In their place, pro-government voices supportive of PiS were installed, transforming the station into a broadcaster aligned with government narratives.

International watchdogs have repeatedly raised concerns. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) described the Polish public media—including Polskie Radio—as “government propaganda mouthpieces” during the PiS years. Back then, PiS loyalists occupied top management positions at Polish Radio, undermining editorial autonomy.

Following the October 2023 elections, however, the new government began reinstating some journalists dismissed under PiS, and attempted to rebalance programming. Despite these changes, accusations of political bias now occasionally target the new coalition, underscoring the persistent fragility of the broadcaster’s independence.

In the absence of any evidence of censorship in 2025, and given that its coverage has shown marked improvements in balance and independence compared with the PiS years, Polish Radio has been reclassified in our State Media Monitor typology as Independent State Funded and State Managed/Owned (ISFM).

September 2025

After 1990, the agency gradually gained greater operational independence, although it has remained financed and owned by the state. In May 2018, PAP launched an English-language news portal in response to what its managers described as inadequate coverage of Poland in foreign media. In January 2024, the portal was shut down due to lack of measurable impact.

Media assets

News agency: PAP

State Media Matrix

State-Controlled (SC)

Ownership and governance

PAP’s governance structure—its Management Board, Supervisory Board, and advisory Programming Council—is appointed by the National Media Council (RNM), following the same model used for TVP and Polish Radio. The Polish Treasury remains its sole owner.

After the opposition’s victory in the 15 October 2023 elections, a coalition of the Civic Coalition (KO), Third Way (Trzecia Droga), and The Left (Lewica) led by Prime Minister Donald Tusk began reforming the country’s public service media. Their stated goal was to transform these outlets into independent, impartial, and pluralistic institutions. However, previous President Andrzej Duda, aligned with the former ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party, has blocked many of these initiatives.

In late December 2023, Duda vetoed a public media subsidy bill, calling the government’s moves an “illegal” seizure of public media. In response, the Ministry of Culture announced on 27 December 2023 that TVP, Polish Radio, and PAP would be placed into liquidation, following the dismissal just before Christmas of PiS-loyal managers.

On 20 December 2023, veteran PAP journalist Marek Błoński was appointed President of PAP, replacing Wojciech Surmacz. Błoński had worked at PAP for more than 20 years, serving as head of its Katowice branch and deputy editorial director of PAP Media (2014–2015). His appointment was made by a newly installed management board appointed by the Ministry of Culture. Paweł Kostrzewa, with a background in journalism and business development, was brought onto the management board, further solidifying the agency’s commitment to editorial independence and the restoration of public service standards.

Source of funding and budget

By law, PAP must provide coverage of the Sejm, Senate, President, Council of Ministers, and other state institutions. For this, it receives an annual state subsidy, which makes up around a third of the overall budget. The rest comes mainly from sales of content, distribution services, and advertising.

In 2024, PAP recorded total revenues of PLN 65.67 million, a marginal 0.1% increase from 2023. Net sales rose slightly from PLN 68.02m to 68.23m. Domestic revenues increased from PLN 62.66m to 63.77m, while foreign revenues fell from PLN 5.36m to 4.46m. General news services brought in nearly PLN 19.28m (up from 16.94m in 2023); photo services rose to 7.65m; information distribution to 7.83m; and the press centre to 5.11m. At the same time, media services revenue dropped from 7.53m to 5.24m, and “other” income from 2.7m to 1.58m. The state budget subsidy increased from PLN 20 million to PLN 22 million in 2024.

For 2025, PAP projected revenues of PLN 75.49m against operating costs of PLN 113.77m. Salaries were expected to rise to 58.45m and outsourced services to 27.64m. The state subsidy was projected at 22m.

Editorial independence

The 1997 PAP Act explicitly states that “the Polish Press Agency cannot be subject to legal, economic, or any other control by ideological, political, or economic groups.” PAP has long balanced state funding with varying levels of political pressure. In the early 2010s, it managed to strengthen its independence, but the 2016 National Media Council Act placed it formally under a partisan-controlled body, eroding this principle, with the National Media Council appointing a programming council dominated by conservative journalists.

Despite these pressures, PAP has maintained a reputation for professional reporting and has employed respected journalists. Moreover, following leadership changes in December 2023, with Marek Błoński appointed CEO, PAP has taken a clear step away from PiS-era political capture. The agency continues to uphold professional reporting standards and has not displayed the partisan bias characteristic of TVP during the year 2025, maintaining a more neutral wire-service profile. The Tusk government has also pledged to depoliticize public service media, including PAP, creating conditions for structural reform. Also, with less than half of its budget coming from state subsidies and the rest generated commercially, PAP demonstrates reduced financial dependence compared to TVP or Polish Radio. For these reasons, in 2025 we move PAP into the Independent State Funded/Managed (ISFM) category of the State Media Monitor typology.

September 2025

Media assets

Publishing: Dailies- Dziennik Bałtycki, Dziennik Łódzki, Dziennik Zachodni, Gazeta Krakowska, Gazeta Wrocławska, Głos Wielkopolski, Kurier Lubelski and Polska Metropolia Warszawska, Express Ilustrowany, Dziennik Polski, Gazeta Pomorska, Kurier Poranny, Gazeta Współczesna, Głos Dziennik Pomorza, Nowa Trybuna Opolska, Echo Dnia, Gazeta Codzienna Nowiny, Gazeta Lubuska, Express Bydgoski, Nowości Toruńskie; Local weeklies- 100 titles; Magazines- Nasza Historia, Moto Salon, Moto Salon Classic, Strefa Biznesu, Strefa Agro, Tele Magazyn, Super Tele, TV Pilot, Tele Program

State Media Matrix Typology

Independent State-Managed/Owned (ISM)

Ownership and governance

In March 2021, PKN Orlen, Poland’s state-controlled oil and gas company, completed the acquisition of Polska Press from the German publishing group Verlagsgruppe Passau. Former CEO Dorota Stanek resigned upon the takeover.

Under the PiS-aligned leadership of Orlen (notably CEO Daniel Obajtek), this acquisition raised serious concerns about editorial independence and media capture, driving Poland to plummet in the 2022 World Press Freedom Index.

The new government installed in Poland after the 2023 elections announced plans to sell PKN Orlen to a private investor. By early 2024, a new board under Orlen’s current CEO, Ireneusz Fąfara, had been installed, and editorial management at Polska Press was formally separated from commercial operations; important editorial positions were filled via open recruitment, aiming to reinforce editorial freedom 

In September 2025, Orlen confirmed that it was preparing to sell Polska Press. Talks are ongoing with potential buyers, with Wirtualna Polska Media named among those interested. The government views the sale as part of efforts to depoliticize the media landscape in Poland.

Source of funding and budget

While Polska Press does not publicly disclose its standalone revenues, generated mostly from advertising, for 2024 or projections for 2025–2026, external sources shed light. Orlen had paid approximately PLN 210 million for Polska Press in 2021 (including goodwill); at the time, the net asset value of the publisher was estimated around PLN 131 million. Orlen has stated that Polska Press posted a first-quarter net profit in 2025, as part of efforts to make it profitable ahead of an imminent sale.

Editorial independence

Following the 2021 takeover, Orlen swiftly initiated what many described as a purge of editors, replacing several regional editors-in-chief with journalists tied to pro-PiS or state media outlets. Reports confirmed mass resignations and dismissals, with journalists and deputies leaving titles like Dziennik Zachodni, Głos Wielkopolski, Gazeta Krakowska, and more.

Since early 2024, management has officially disconnected editorial oversight from commercial influence and introduced open recruitment for newsroom leadership.

The removal of Orlen from Norway’s sovereign wealth fund “watch list” in February 2025 underscores progress in media freedom compliance. The fund owns a stake in Orlen.

Once the sale of Polska Press is finalised, the company will be removed from our state media database. In the meantime, given that no significant editorial bias has been observed in its publications over the past two years, we continue to classify Polska Press in the Independent State-Managed (ISM) category within our State Media Matrix taxonomy.

September 2025