Media have total freedom, says deputy PM

Poland's media have total freedom, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Culture and National Heritage Piotr Glinski said, opening an international conference entitled Media as a Public Service. The deputy PM said Polish media were in a similar position to media in the west when it came to all the "bad things" related to globalisation: tabloidisation, fake news, involvement of the media in propaganda, combining information and entertainment and sensationalism. "It's a threat that we have to tackle everywhere in the world," he said. "However, Polish media also have their characteristic traits and specifics." He said some Polish media were still influenced by the legacy of communism and there were "many big media institutions" established "directly by people from the communist system, through the use of their money and connections."