The government abandons the ban on publishing press by local governments. Publishers protest

Press publishers issued a statement on the draft act amending the Broadcasting Act and certain other acts. They pointed out that the provisions limiting the publication of local government press had been deleted.

The Chamber of Press Publishers, the Association of Local Newspapers and the Association of Local Media issued a joint statement on the government bill amending the Broadcasting Act and certain other acts. It emphasized that in the project published on December 8, 2025 (dated December 5), provisions limiting the publication of local government press were deleted. The authors of the statement remind us that during consultations on subsequent versions of the amendment to the Act, it was shown that the press published by local governments “is not the press, but most often only a propaganda mouthpiece for local authorities.”

“Independent, professional local press has no chance to compete with titles financed from unlimited public funds, which also take over advertising. The sudden deletion of regulations which – following the example of many EU Member States where the publication of press by local governments is prohibited – were supposed to correct the pathological situation existing in Poland, raises our strong objection,” we read.

As the authors of the statement noted, “The Ministry of Culture and National Heritage has prepared regulations that – in a sustainable way – would enable local governments to provide citizens with the necessary information via information bulletins. The introduction of such a solution results from the European Media Freedom Act, which is to be transposed into the Polish legal order by means of the amendment in question.”

They added that they “regret” that “this transposition – if the draft version of December 5 is adopted – will be defective.”

“For these reasons, we appeal to the government to change the project and introduce the previously announced reasonable provisions setting the framework for issuing information bulletins by local governments and preventing the collapse of the local press. There is still time to introduce sustainable solutions in line with European regulations, which were announced just a few days ago – in the interest of democracy and information security of Poland,” it said.

The draft bill states that “a press publisher may be a legal person, a natural person or another organizational unit, even if it does not have legal personality. In particular, a press publisher may be a state body, a state-owned enterprise, a political organization, a trade union, a cooperative organization, a professional self-government and another social organization, as well as a church or other religious association.”

The draft act amending the Broadcasting Act and certain other acts aims to depoliticize public media, ensure stable financing and implement the European Media Freedom Act into the Polish legal order, i.e. the provisions of the Regulation of the European Parliament and of the EU Council of 11 April 2024 on establishing a common framework for media services in the internal market and amending Directive 2010/13/EU.

The resort translates

The Ministry of Culture and National Heritage informed PAP that
is working on a new support program for local media, details of which will be announced in the first quarter of 2026. “The program will be organized on principles analogous to the Minister's Programs, and will be addressed to press publishers, local radio and television broadcasters. Only media not affiliated with local government units will be able to participate in the program,” it was noted.

“We have repeatedly said that we are prepared for various scenarios, and we are implementing one of them. We are determined to complete the reform of public media,” the ministry said.

The draft bill states that “a press publisher may be a legal person, a natural person or another organizational unit, even if it does not have legal personality. In particular, a press publisher may be a state body, a state-owned enterprise, a political organization, a trade union, a cooperative organization, a professional self-government and another social organization, as well as a church or other religious association.”

The draft act amending the Broadcasting Act and certain other acts aims to depoliticize public media, ensure stable financing and implement the European Media Freedom Act into the Polish legal order, i.e. the provisions of the Regulation of the European Parliament and of the EU Council of 11 April 2024 on establishing a common framework for media services in the internal market and amending Directive 2010/13/EU.

On Friday, the Minister of Culture and National Heritage, Marta Cienkowska, submitted the project for public consultations. Comments can be submitted until January 23, 2026.

poppy / dki /