more at“regaining” control over the public broadcaster than at actually restoring independence from the ruling po ­litical party. IV. Key Findings and Policy Recommendations Between 2015 and 2023, public media in Poland were subject to intense politicization and instrumentalization under the PiS-led government, which undermined their statutory obli ­gations and eroded public trust. The establishment of the National Media Council and politically motivated manageri ­al changes entrenched state capture, leading to biased cov ­erage and violations of the Broadcasting Act. The 2023 par ­liamentary campaign highlighted the scale of partisanship, with the public broadcaster acting as a propaganda tool rather than a pluralistic medium. Although the new KO-led coalition pledged to restore impartiality, its actions have faced legal and political resistance, especially from the presi ­dent and PiS-aligned institutions. Moreover, subsequent de ­cisions made by the ruling coalition revealed its desire to free public media from the influence of the previous govern ­ment rather than to introduce regulations making the public broadcaster independent from the political influence of any ruling party. The ongoing liquidation of state-owned media companies and contested governance reforms illustrate both the urgency and complexity of systemic change. Looking ahead, without a broad political consensus and a new media law, the independence and credibility of public service me ­dia in Poland remain uncertain. Recommendations: Since the main challenge facing public media in Poland is their lack of impartiality and dependence on political influ ­ence, changes should primarily aim to ensure the greatest possible independence, impartiality and professionalism of the public broadcaster. → The procedure for selecting members of the management and supervisory boards of public broadcasting companies should limit the possibility of political influence and rules’ circumvention by focusing on the transparency of the set selection criteria and unbiased appeal process to limit po­litical influence on the elected members. → The National Media Council, as a body duplicating the existing National Broadcasting Council(KRRiT) and be ­ing politicized, should be abolished. However, its aboli ­tion should be accompanied by changes implemented within the KRRiT itself. → National Broadcasting Council(KRRiT) should be depo ­liticized, primarily by changing the method of electing Council members, making it independent from ruling government. → The state of liquidation of public media in Poland should be lifted while ensuring a stable source of financing, inde ­pendent of political pressure and in accordance with the requirements of the European Media Freedom Act. → Consideration should be given to transforming the coun ­try’s public media financing system. It would be advisa ­ble to allocate a fixed portion of the budget to the pub ­lic media. At the same time, the viability of maintaining the television and radio license fee should be consid ­ered. While maintaining it, the fee collection system should be transformed and the public broadcaster’s mandate strengthened through regular reports on in­vestments and innovations covered by the license fee. About the author Dr. Sonia Horonziak is a program director at the Institute of Pub­lic Affairs in Warsaw and analyzes the challenges facing democra ­cy and the rule of law in Poland and Central Europe, with a par ­ticular focus on elections, disinformation, and the media. List of Illustrations Graph 1. Assessment of the credibility of news and current affairs programs on public television between 2012 and 2023 (TVP1, TVP2, TVP Info). Graph 2. Pressure on the public media among EU countries. Graph 3. Overall trust score in news in Poland. Change over time 2015-2025. Graph 4. Information sources for young Poles aged 16-29, September 2024. Graph 5. Mediapanel Survey Results: Raking of Top Internet Apps: July 2025. Bibliography Civil Liberties Union for Europe(2022): Media Freedom Report 2022, Berlin, https://www.liberties.eu/f/KBEEq5(14.11.2025). CBOS(2023): Postrzeganie mediów Nr. 132/2023, https://www. cbos.pl/SPISKOM.POL/2023/K_132_23.PDF(11.9.2025). Dobek-Ostrowska, B.(2022): Das polnische Mediensystem: Drei Jahrzehnte nach dem Zusammenbruch des Kommunismus: Dyna ­mik des Wandels vor dem Hintergrund Mittel- und Osteuropas, in: Kępa-Mętrak, J.; Ciszek, P.(Hrsg.): Das polnische Mediensystem im Wandel, Band 2, Kielce. European Union(2025): Standard Eurobarometer 103: Spring 2025, Dataset AP, https://data.europa.eu/data/datasets/ s3372_103_3_std103_eng?locale=en(14.9.2025). Freedom House(2022): Poland: Freedom of Expression and Belief, https://freedomhouse.org/country/poland/freedom-world/2022 (11.9.2025). State of public service broadcasting in Poland 10