14-01-2016

New President of Polish Pubcaster TVP Appointed

By
    Jacek Kurski Jacek Kurski wp.pl

    WARSAW: Jacek Kurski has been appointed President of public Polish television TVP replacing former president Janusz Daszczyński . The appointment follows a controversial amendment to the media bill by Polish government which has been dominated by the conservative Law and Justice party since elections in October 2015.

    The amendment was passed by the Polish government on 30 December 2015 and Jacek Kurski was appointed on 8 January 2016. The amendment changes the way the heads of public media in Poland are appointed. Previously, the presidents and directors of public TV and radio were chosen by the boards of respective media in consultation with the National Broadcasting Chamber (KRRiT). Following the amendment, they are to be appointed by the Polish Minister of Treasury, who will also nominate the members of the supervisory board of the public television and radio.

    Born in 1966 in Gdańsk, Jacek Kurski worked at TVP from 1991 to 1994. He was a member of the European Parliament until 2014. He has also headed his own advertising agency and worked as a BBC correspondent for Poland.

    The new government plans to introduce a new media bill in two or three months which would transform the "public" media to "national" media. The proposed change has already caused criticism from the opposition and public protests in Poland. European Commission said it would investigate whether the country’s new laws breach the bloc’s rules on democracy and the rule of law.