Messages in the Media - University of Toronto

BACKGROUND:
Poland joined the EU on May 1, 2004, 1 following the
June 2003 Referendum. On 7-8 June 77.45% of those who
voted were in favor of the accession and 22.55% were
against it. 2 The referendum was a victory for the pro-EU
political parties, among them, the then ruling Social Democratic
Party. Euroscepticism has never surfaced as a prominent
trend in Polish mainstream political discourse,
though it would be unfair to say that it does not exist outside
the mainstream media.
MEDIA SOURCES:
Gazeta Wyborcza
www.wyborcza.pl
With a circulation of over 300,000 copies Gazeta Wyborcza
is, and has been, the leading Polish newspaper since the
post-communist transition. 3 It dates back to the Round Table
Talks of 1989. Its main aim then was to represent the
Solidarity movement in the 1989 legislative elections.
Journalism presented by Gazeta Wyborcza has often been
the subject of sharp criticism from other newspapers and
opinion leaders, because of its perceived biases. The
strongest condemnation was levied for allegedly biased
coverage of such issues as post-communist vetting (lustration),
and a perceived attempt to whitewash former communists.
Rzeczpospolita
www.rp.pl
With a circulation of around 200,000 copies, Rzeczpospolita
considers itself to be the most serious competitor of Gazeta
Wyborcza. 4 Rzeczpospolita was the first newspaper to provide
a platform for discussion about lustration among
journalists. In 2006, when Pawel Lisicki replaced Grzegorz
Gauden as Rzeczpospolita’s chief editor, the newspaper
switched its profile from moderate to more conservative.
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