The International Press Institute (IPI) today expressed concern that the company that publishes Polish daily Rzeczpospolita could be dissolved, leaving the newspaper in state hands.
Polish state-owned Państwowe Przedsiębiorstwo Wydawnicze Rzeczpospolita (PW) initiated proceedings last October in a Warsaw court to liquidate publisher Presspublica SA, in which it holds 49 percent of control. PW pointed to losses following a “failed” investment in another publication. It also said the publisher’s four-person board is paralyzed by disagreement.
Majority shareholder Presspublica Holding Norway (PHN), a subsidiary of the British Mecom Group, opposes the liquidation. It says the reasons advanced for dissolution are political, and noted that a provision in the shareholder agreement puts all assets under government control if the publisher is dissolved.
Rzeczpospolita, which translates into English as “Republic” or “Commonwealth”, is one of Poland’s largest dailies. A former state paper, it became independent in 1996, after the majority of shares were sold to private investors. The Mecom Group acquired its share in the paper’s publisher in 2006. The now-“liberal conservative” publication is known as being critical of Poland’s government.
The paper publishes every day but Sunday, and is known for its white/green/yellow printing format for news, business and legal sections, respectively. The government estimates circulation at 260,000, but the latest reports put the figure nearer 140,000. The paper’s competitors include privately-owned national dailies Gazeta Wyborcza and Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.
Rzeczpospolita’s publisher’s four-person board includes two members elected by each shareholder, but PHN holds the ultimate right to appoint the paper’s editor-in-chief. That control has led to friction between the shareholders.
PW in court filings accused Rzeczpospolita of abandoning neutrality and taking sides in last year’s presidential election, an argument PHN denies. Another source of contention is the publisher’s 2007 acquisition of another newspaper, Zycie Warszawy. PW argues that the venture failed, and that the decision to acquire the paper was contrary to the publisher’s best interests.
PHN, however, noted that both board members representing the minority shareholder joined in a unanimous vote in favour of the acquisition, and it denied claims that recent losses could be traced to poor management. The company pointed to the effects of the recent financial crisis as well as to the 2006 entry of Dziennik into the national market. It also rejected PW’s argument that the current conflict left the publisher unable to function.
IPI Press Freedom & Communication Manager Anthony Mills said: “We are surprised and worried to hear that a government-owned and controlled company in a western democratic country seeks to solve an ownership dispute by closing down a well-known and highly-respected newspaper. The most fundamental interference in a newspaper’s independency and ability to report freely and critically is to close down the newspaper itself.
“The Polish government has a special duty to guarantee the freedom of the media and as a media-owner needs to act especially cautiously in this respect. A legal claim to dissolve the newspaper is not in line with this obligation, and we call on the government to withdraw this court case.”
This press release is supported by the South and East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO), an IPI affiliate.
