American ambassador defends US-owned station under investigation by Polish media regulator

The US ambassador to Warsaw, Mark Brzezinski, has spoken in defence of TVN, the American-owned TV network that was recently placed under investigation by Poland’s broadcasting regulator, KRRiT, at the request of the deputy leader of the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party.

Brzezinski described the station, which is Poland’s largest private broadcaster and is often critical of the government, as “an important part of media freedom” in the country. He also hinted that action against it could dent the confidence of Western firms investing in Poland.

“I have to say this very clearly, the US government very much sees the freedom of the press – of which TVN is an important part – to be a central foundation of democracy in modern Poland, which is our special friend,” said Brzezinski during an interview with TVN itself.

“Media freedom is one of the most fundamental ways of protecting our population against disinformation,” he continued. “A robust exchange of ideas, competing ideas, is the way to find the best way forward…No one person has the whole truth, has all the answers – and that’s the beauty of democracy.”

“I assure you that the Western business here in Poland…which provide thousands of jobs…see the presence of TVN as a source of tremendous reassurance,” added the ambassador.

Brzezinski assured that the US government “recognises the right of regulatory agencies to investigate matters within their purview”. But he added that “in Poland, over the last couple of years, some politicians, even some members of KRRiT, have expressed animosity towards TVN”.

“That’s why it is especially important that the current process be approached in a…way to make sure that any kind of outcome truly reflects the facts and respects the rule of law,” said the ambassador.

TVN has long faced criticism from PiS, which accuses it of unjustly attacking the government. In 2020, Brzezinski’s predecessor as ambassador, Georgette Mosbacher, came to the station’s defence after Polish state TV news, a PiS mouthpiece, called TVN a “fake news factory”.

The following year, the PiS majority in parliament passed a law that would have forced TVN’s owner, Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc., to sell its majority share. But it was vetoed by President Andrzej Duda following mass protests and diplomatic pressure from Washington.

In the latest development, the head of the KRRiT, Maciej Świrski, last month launched proceedings against TVN to determine if it had violated the law and its broadcasting licence by “promoting false information contrary to the Polish raison d’état and threatening public security”.

His decision came in response to a complaint submitted by Antoni Macierewicz, a deputy leader of PiS, who accused TVN of broadcasting “lies” during a programme about a government committee chaired by Macierewicz that has been re-investigating the 2010 Smolensk air disaster.

TVN found that the committee had deliberately ignored or misrepresented findings commissioned from a US laboratory that contradicted the theory presented by PiS that the crash – which killed President Lech Kaczyński and dozens of other high-ranking officials – was deliberately caused by Russia.

Given that Świrski is a conservative figure seen as close to the ruling party – and who was appointed to the KRRiT by the PiS majority in parliament – many have interpreted his decision to take action against TVN as politically motivated.

Last week, dozens of Polish media outlets republished TVN’s Smolensk programme in a show of solidarity with the station. Many of their editors accused Świrski and Macierewicz of seeking to restrict freedom of the press.

Since PiS came to power, Poland has fallen every year in the annual World Press Freedom Index compiled by Reporters Without Borders – from its highest ever position of 18th in 2015 to a new low of 66th last year.

However, PiS has defended its actions, arguing that it has undertaken a necessary rebalancing of a media landscape it claims was previously dominated by liberal and left-wing outlets.

Main image credit: TVN screenshot

Daniel Tilles

Daniel Tilles is editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland. He has written on Polish affairs for a wide range of publications, including Foreign Policy, POLITICO Europe, EUobserver and Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.