By Daniel Tilles, editor-in-chief
Notes from Poland is the leading independent source of news and analysis on Poland in English. But as a non-profit media organisation, 90% of whose funding has come from individual donations, we can only keep doing this with your support. Please consider making a donation here, or read on for more information on what we do, what we’ve achieved so far, and why we need your help.
A lot has changed in the last year. Twelve months ago, Notes from Poland was a service providing short updates on social media, run by two academics, myself and Stanley Bill. Now, thanks to a successful crowdfunding campaign, we are a fully fledged website with a professional editorial team providing comprehensive coverage of Polish current affairs, culture, history and politics. Our advisory board includes the likes of Olga Tokarczuk, Norman Davies and Timothy Garton Ash. (You can read our story and meet our team here.)
Since launching the new service in October, we have seen our readership increase every month, with 317,000 page views on our website in January and a combined 60,000 followers on Facebook and Twitter.
Our work has also been recognised with a nomination for the Grand Press prize, one of Poland’s most prestigious media awards, where we were among four candidates in the digital category. To be acknowledged so soon after our launch alongside top media outlets – including the eventual winner, a branch of TVN, Poland’s biggest private broadcaster – was a great honour and reinforced the importance of what we are doing.
Very proud of the @notesfrompoland team. We didn't win the Grand Press award (congrats to @konkret24) but even to be nominated just a couple of months after launching the new website was an honour and gives us confidence that we're doing something important pic.twitter.com/MKGZV5msIs
— Daniel Tilles (@danieltilles1) December 11, 2019
We aim not only to report the news from Poland, but also to provide the insights, context and background necessary to help our international audience understand what it really means. We have covered all the big stories, including conflict over rule of law; the dispute with Russia over World War Two history; and climate, energy and coal. We provide reporting and analysis on the latest political developments as they happen.
But we also seek to go beyond the headlines, reporting on events and issues that don’t normally make international news. These have included the wonderful story of how a small local community, led by a Polish Olympic athlete, has been restoring the heritage of its lost Jewish community; how a team of international volunteers is feeding Warsaw’s homeless; and how Poland has become a surprising vegan capital – prompting a conservative backlash.
Meanwhile, we have launched a podcast; published photographic essays (on Poland’s Vietnamese community, on the wildlife of Białowieża Forest, on the period of communist martial law); and showcased the best in Polish culture (from Oscar-nominated films to Poland’s forgotten Nobel literature laureate). As we develop our service, we’re always looking for new ways to engage with our audience, including plans for an email newsletter and to organise public events.
All of the above has been achieved with a small team and limited resources. It has only been possible thanks to the support of our readers, who have provided almost 90% of our funding so far. This funding model has also allowed us to remain independent, and to meet our goal of reaching as large an audience as possible by avoiding paywalls and subscriptions.
But to keep providing this service – and, we hope, to expand and enhance it – we need your ongoing support. We know from conversations with our readers, and from seeing our growth and impact, that we have become a vital source of information for people with an interest in Poland.
If you are among those who appreciate what we do, we really hope you will consider helping us continue to do it by going to our support page and making a donation. This can be done through PayPal or PayU (Poland’s leading online payment service). It can be a one-off payment or a monthly donation. Whatever help you can provide is greatly appreciated.
Every donation helps us to create new content – from breaking news stories to deeper insight pieces. By supporting our work, you’ll be part of our mission to bring the full picture on Poland to the world. If you have any questions, please always feel free to get in touch at [email protected].
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.
