Following the unfortunate conjunction of events in the late 18th century, Poland lost its independence for over a century. And the history of the Polish press in the 19th century reflects the situation of a nation deprived of its statehood. Publishers faced adversities arising from cultural, economic and societal issues (primarily illiteracy and poverty); the interminably slow modernisation of social structure, as well as the policies implemented by the partitioning powers. Aware of the importance of the press – both as a source of information and as an institution able to preserve the culture and national identity in these dire circumstances – these powers had neither the interest nor the intention of making life easier for the Polish press. This situation resulted in a limited number of titles, low circulation figures, and content that had to be in line with the legal restrictions and censorial intervention. These factors, however, hindered but did not entirely preclude the development of the press in the former Polish territories. In the late 19th century, a segment of the daily press – consisting of news dailies and titles controlled by political groups – emerged in those territories that were to become part of the new Polish state in 1918. These were modelled on periodicals that were operating in Western Europe, which were soon followed by the very first sensationalist daily. Another noteworthy phenomenon unique to the Polish press were the sociocultural and literary weeklies, paralleling the emergence of a new intelligentsia, whose representatives were the founders and readers of such publications.

The press would often act as a replacement for those institutions that were deprived of the right to be present in public life, providing both a platform for political activity (to the degree permitted by the governments of the partitioning powers), and a place where geopolitical orientations were forged in the period preceding the outbreak of World War I. Despite the differences of opinions espoused, the press played a role that should not be underestimated; namely, it brought together a nation that was living across territories now belonging to foreign states.

In 1918 the country regained its independence, an event that proved to be a springboard for the Polish press, and not only because it could take a certain amount of credit for the liberation. The financial standing of most citizens in the newly formed state may have been less than satisfactory – thereby preventing a rapid increase in circulation figures – but newspapers and magazines were at last able to operate under relatively favourable conditions, and their editorial boards knew exactly how to take advantage of this. The March Constitution of 1921 did not legislate for preventive censorship, guaranteeing both the right to obtain information and freedom of dissemination. By prohibiting state-support practices, it also provided boundless opportunities to establish new periodicals. Besides the protection warranted by the Constitution, the political situation also worked to the advantage of publishers. The multiparty structure and the parliamentary-cabinet model of the political system stimulated civic activism, which then encouraged the launch of new periodicals and an increase in circulation figures.

Close links between the press and political factions were the order of the day in the 1920s, with the former being a major tool for legitimising politics. Discussions conducted in parliament were typically either the prelude to, or the consequence of debates held in newspapers and magazines. The ferocity and uncompromising nature of these disputes enticed readers and increased circulation, thereby confirming the importance of the press in the political system of a democratic state.

However, the enthusiasm surrounding this new freedom of speech was not its only concomitant manifestation. Shortly after the restoration of independence, the darker aspects of the press and the freedoms it enjoyed were highlighted. The press was often perceived as an exponent of particularistic interests and an instigator of the mounting conflicts and divisions. This was reinforced by the assassination of Gabriel Narutowicz, Poland’s first President (elected and killed in December 1922). The event was preceded by numerous attacks in the press, conducted on the limits of the law and sometimes even beyond it, and launched by newspapers hostile to the president. Some of this vilification could be regarded as more than an expression of opinion, as these were attempts to wrest power and evidence of aspirations by the unchecked media acting above the constitutional bodies of the state.

The 1926 coup d’état in Poland and the resultant change in the rule of law within the existing Constitution brought considerable consequences, both for the role of publishers and the liberties they enjoyed. The importance of individual rights was gradually replaced by the concept of ‘the welfare of the state’. This shift was felt by all participants of political life, including the press, and the persecution of opposition-run periodicals was a clear manifestation of the process. Any criticism of government policy led to seizure of print runs, especially during pre-election periods. A new class of periodicals emerged – the government-controlled press, which owed its existence to handsome budgetary subsidies. Along with daily newspapers, the dynamically expanding class of state-run periodicals began to include weeklies, e.g., socio-cultural papers, and the sensationalist press, an important instrument of propaganda in the late 1920s and the early 1930s. An increasingly important impact was also exerted by the radio, seized by the state in the mid-1930s; a medium that had reached one million listeners by the outbreak of World War II.

A consequence of the transformations in the political sphere was the new Constitution of 1935. Possessed by a desire to lay the foundations of a strong state, its creators abandoned the concept of unrestrained freedom for the press, reducing it to mere freedom of speech. This included a proviso of the ‘common good’, a concept vague and difficult to define; true not only for publishers and journalists. Shortly afterwards, in 1938, a new press law came into force, perceived by journalists as a list of imperatives and prohibitions, which – while not completely incapacitating the press – still made it even more subservient to the state.

Even if it is assumed that the 1926 political turmoil in Poland culminated in the establishment of an authoritarian rule, it did not end the pluralism of the press. Despite being subordinated to the demands of the state, the press still enjoyed a considerable degree of freedom, even in the face of the constraints imposed.

World War II brutally ended this chapter in the history of the Polish press (the origins of which dated back to the mid-19th century), as in the post-war communist-run state there was no desire to revive periodicals whose existence had been brought to an untimely end by the war. Several titles did however survive in exile, where – along with newly-established ones – they assumed the duty of penetrating the country through the Iron Curtain.

The press in the People’s Republic of Poland was closely modelled on the system developed in the Soviet Union. The media were seen as a ‘conveyor belt’ – a term that augured their objectiveness – for government propaganda, and were completely subservient to the government. Even prior to the official establishment of the new Polish state, the Central Office of Control of the Press, Publications and Performance, an institution strictly subordinated to the communist party, was founded. Through its arbitrary, unlegislated decisions the press became a unified instrument of propaganda. With this purpose in mind, the press was assisted by the radio, and, in the mid-1950s, by television, which, from the 1970s, gradually becoming the major tool of indoctrination.

After the Polish October (1956), triggered by the transformations in the Soviet Union, the press gained marginally greater freedom. One upshot of this was the socio-cultural weeklies, which, despite remaining under state censorship, were able – through the efforts of some authors – to offer a glimpse of the truth by skilfully selecting genres, language and subject matters, oftentimes seemingly far from the issues they were discussing. This did not mean, however, that the press was relieved of its former responsibilities to toe the state line, and the vast majority of journalists followed the imposed guidelines, sacrificing integrity and honesty to enforced loyalty or conformism.

This condemned readers to a ‘world of illusion’. By paradox, or perhaps by natural reaction to the quality and predictability of the propaganda, reinforced by the dislike for its instigator, this proved to have the opposite effect than that desired, prompting citizens to protest against the authorities.

In 1976, Poland faced yet another economically-driven political crisis – just like previous upheavals – which led to the emergence of a democratic opposition and a like-minded press that operated outside censorial oversight. Initially, the number of titles was limited and editions scant. However, this changed with time, and the new press gradually became a counterbalance to the governmental ‘propaganda of success’. Thanks to this underground press, Czarna księga cenzury PRL (The Black Book of Communist Censorship) was published in 1977, revealing how scrupulously all manifestations of political, social and cultural life were being controlled.

Another factor that helped to break the regime’s information monopoly were radio stations from the West, the most effective of which was Radio Free Europe, founded in 1950. In the 1960s, it already boasted an audience of up to 14–15 million listeners, despite attempts by the authorities in Poland and the Soviet Union to jam the signal. Western stations were also reporting on the situation in Poland and in the world, broadcasting programmes on political, economic, international and cultural issues. Importantly, these reports were a balance to the lies and distortions of the communist propaganda.

The loss of the state’s monopoly on political power exacerbated the loss of its control over the mass media. A unique moment in the history of the Polish media was the brief period between August 1980 and December 1981 when Solidarity was allowed to operate legally. Following lengthy negotiations, Solidarity was granted permission to publish a weekly, while in the autumn of 1981 the government also authorised the passing of a new censorship law that granted publishers the right to highlight which extracts had been exposed to censorship and even to take legal actions against censorial verdicts that they considered unlawful.

Solidarity’s legal operations were brutally terminated by the imposition of martial law in December 1981. Its journalists were laid off, their trade union liquidated, and the Solidarity magazine was closed. These acts were compounded by the subjection of the media to governmental control and oversight, just as it had been prior to the Gdansk Agreement of August 1980. This marked a return to the crude and muddled propaganda that included accounts on the external enemy biding its time in the West. Unsurprisingly, these efforts proved counterproductive, thereby increasing the popularity of Western radio stations, and spurring the dynamic development of the underground press after 1981.

In 1989, with the collapse of the communist system, came systemic and economic reforms, which also impacted the mass media. Liberated from political oversight and institutional censorship, the media had to operate in a competitive and commercial world and under pressure from mass culture. Forced to adjust to the demands of the political world, albeit not that of ‘real socialism’, they could not ignore the expectations of the readers, listeners and viewers, who were now the controlling force on the market. The expectation that these challenges would be easy to overcome was shown to be far from the truth.