Polish gov't dismisses public media chiefs

The ministry of culture in Warsaw announced the decision on Wednesday, the state news agency PAP reported.

Culture Minister Bartłomiej Sienkiewicz has relieved the CEO's of TVP, Polish Radio and PAP of their duties, as well as dismissing the boards of directors of these outlets, officials said on the X social media platform. 

Sienkiewicz has also appointed new boards of directors for TVP, Polish Radio and PAP, which in turn have appointed new executive boards, the ministry of culture added in its statement.

Minister Kultury i Dziedzictwa Narodowego jako organ wykonujący uprawnienia właścicielskie Skarbu Państwa, posiadającego 100% akcji w Spółkach, działając na podstawie przepisów Kodeksu spółek handlowych odwołał 19 grudnia 2023 roku dotychczasowych prezesów Zarządów Telewizji… pic.twitter.com/H5r96xDmci

It also said that the "necessity and justification" for the move flowed from Tuesday's resolution by the Polish parliament, which called on the government to "restore the impartiality and credibility of public media," private broadcaster Polsat News reported.

Following the announcement, the TVP Info news channel and its website went out of action, with TVP Info replaced by the TVP1 channel, public broadcaster Polish Radio's IAR news agency reported.

TVP's regional stations and the TVP World channel also went off the air, replaced by the TVP 2 channel, according to IAR.

Source: IAR, PAP, Polsat News