funding sources for public broadcasters to include subsi­dies from the state budget, this is still not a guaranteed form, but rather an optional one. It is also subject to politi ­cal pressure, as was evident in the presidential blockade of EUR 705 thousand funding for public media in 2023(more on this in Chapter III). What is more, since August 8, 2025 Poland is obliged to implement the EU European Media Freedom Act, EMFA resolution. The EMFA puts in place a new set of rules to protect media pluralism and independ ­ence in the EU ensuring that media – public and private – can operate more easily across borders in the EU internal market, without political pressure. The new media law an ­nounced in August 2025 by the Ministry of Culture and Na ­tional Heritage is expected to include, among other things, the abolition of license fees and the provision of a stable source of financing for public media, however the chances of it being signed by the president are low 19 . 3. Public Media and Society: Reception, Trust, and Audience Dynamics In July 2025 Reporters without Borders published a report revealing the survey on the level of political pressure to the public media, where Poland was categorized as the“ex ­treme” case, alongside Hungary and Malta(see. Graph 2). Poland also ranked 3 out of 27 EU countries in terms of governmental influence over the editorial boards of public service/state media outlets. There is no doubt that political events surrounding public media, especially during the PiS-led government, have con ­tributed to a significant decline in trust in the media news in Poland. Although trust indicators have increased from record lows in 2024 – the moment of power change in the country and culmination of the dispute over public media – ​s​ till half of the population does not put faith in the independence and truthfulness of information provided in the media(see Graph 3). If we look only at the public broadcaster, trust in the TVP News television channel(main news channel of the public broadcaster) does not exceed 35%. Low trust and the long-standing crisis of public media in the country also affect viewership. In July 2025, for the first time in history, TV Republika, a conservative and far-right private television station, became the number one TV sta ­tion in viewership, achieving a 6.81% share. Main public broadcaster TVP1 fell to second place with 6.80%, a 21.1% Pressure on the public media among EU countries I s there any pressure(of any kind: political, economic, etc.) on public service media in your country? Graph 2 10,34 10,34 55,17 24,14 More than half of the RSF survey respondents(16 out of 29) believe there is high pressure on the public media in their country(Greece, Italy, Spain, Czechia, Slovakia, Estonia, Latvia, Cyprus, Switzerland, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Austria, Croatia, Lithuania, Finland, United Kingdom). For over half of the respondents (16 out of 29, or 55.17 percent), the pressure exerted was political in nature, such as interference in governance, or changes in general management (Greece, Italy, Hungary, Spain, Romania, Slovakia, Malta, Cyprus, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Portugal, Austria, Croatia, Netherlands, Lithuania, France, United Kingdom). Extreme – 10.34%(3) – Hungary, Malta, Poland High pressure – 10.34%(3) – Greece, Italy, Spain, Czechia, Slovakia, Estonia, Latvia, Cyprus, Switzerland, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Austria, Croatia, Lithuania, Finland, United Kingdom Low pressure – 24.14%(7) – Romania, Germany, Portugal, Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden, France No pressure – 55.17%(16) – Ireland, Denmark, Luxembourg Source: Pressure on public media. A decisive test for European democracies, Reporters without Borders 2025, https://rsf.org/en/rsf-publishes-new-report-protect-europe-s-public-media[Accessed: 13.09.2025]. 19 Ustawa medialna wysłana, ale prezydent jej nie podpisze.“Szanse równe zeru”, Press[online: 4.09.2025] https://www.press.pl/tresc/89178,ustawa-medialna-wysla ­na_-ale-prezydent-jej-nie-podpisze_-_szanse-rowne-zeru_[Accessed: 14.09.2025]. State of public service broadcasting in Poland 4