Page 181 - Communication and Citizenship Journalism and the Public Sphere

170 COMMUNICATION AND CITIZENSHIP

In a small way, this paper reflects the pace of change now
sweeping Poland. It was originally written in the spring of 1989
and presented at the seminar on ‘Journalism and the Public Sphere
in the New Media Age’, Dubrovnik, 8–12 May 1989 under the
title ‘A delicate balancing act: co-opting dissident public spheres
and journalists in Poland’. Then, at the beginning of August, it
had to be substantially revised and updated to be submitted for
publication in Media, Culture and Society under the title ‘Poland:
a clash of public spheres’. Just a month later, Poland’s political
system was changed so radically that the entire frame of reference
within which the earlier two versions were written no longer
obtained. Accordingly, it had to be rewritten once again.

NOTES

1 However, there was underground publishing also in the years 1944–9 (a
total of some 300 periodicals and several dozen pamphlets), when there
was still active opposition to the introduction of the communist system in
the country and prior to the imposition of the full Stalinist regime which
crushed all opposition and eliminated all opponents. Under Nazi German
occupation during the Second World War, the various factions and
organizations in the Resistance movement brought out some 2,000
periodicals and 1,500 books. In territories incorporated into the Soviet
Union under the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact, there appeared in the years
1939–41 and 1944–6 several dozen periodicals and books published by
the Polish underground (Turnau 1989).
2 The government actually offered to abolish pre-publication censorship
altogether. However, the opposition had no choice but to reject this idea,
pending the eventual abolition of censorship. With prices of newsprint
rising sky high, confiscation of the entire press runs of a couple of issues
of any opposition newspaper as a result of post-publication censorship
would bankrupt such a newspaper and force it to fold.
3 It was agreed at the round-table conference that during the campaign
before the June 1989 general election, all parties and movements would
receive regular time slots for the presentation of their candidates
(Solidarity received 23 per cent of airtime allotted for that purpose). Once
the election had been held, that form of access was stopped. However,
also in line with round-table agreements, journalists and broadcasters
representing the opposition have continued to broadcast weekly
programmes on radio and television (45 minutes in each case). It was also
stated that the same opportunity might be offered to journalists and
broadcasters representing other political, social, trade union and