Public Media in America and Poland

On Thursday, we attended an official conference "Public Media Funding in Poland" in Jagiellonskiego University. We had several scholars, professors and officers came to share their thoughts about public media with us.

First, our Professor Bozena Mierzejewska gave introductions on both American public media and Polish public media. As a tool serving democracy, American public media is there to inform and educate the citizens after it first appeared in 1967. And for a better understanding of the role of public media in America, the question of whether Public Media should exist or not was brought up and to answer that, we have to first figure out whether the market can deliver what is needed or not. While the answer is yes, a efficient delivery of products and flexible response to customer needs should be examined. Yet problem exists while market reproduces inequality and importantly, markets don't judge, they deliver whatever the customers want. 

Second, while there is a long tradition in promoting diversity in market, the federal provides funds to public media as we can see that 540 million was given in 2013. However, that was only 0.0012% of the total federal budgets of that year, which surprised me a lot. Except for the bad news,  in fact some figures are on the rise, for example, unique visitors to public media and downloads of podcasts. And what's interesting is that now more than half of public media content is viewed on mobile platforms. 

Compared to America, the media system in Poland and Europe, as several of the speakers have mentioned, is dated, insufficient and not even functional. Big problems exist especially in public media funding and license fee issues. As we can see, nowadays, there exists a mixed but highly fragmented system of public media funding, which includes subscriptions, commercials, copyrights issues and so on. And as professor Slawomir Rogowski said, public medias in Poland don't have to try to catch up with private medias, but it should be able to do what the private medias are unable to do. So, what exactly can be done to solve those problems and how to reach the goal? As all of the speakers have mentioned, a brand new funding system, a proper elected organizational structure and amended law concerning public media are in badly needs. Moreover, the resolving of the problem relies on an adequate interpretation of the definition of "public mission", which is to serve the public under the common good. 

Another challenge that polish public media is now facing is the digitalization of every media channels, especially for radios, which would "cease to exist", according to professor Andrzej Wyrobiec, if it doesn't go digital. 

I learned a lot since I have never had a chance to know about public medias in European countries. And it was an honor for us to have the opportunity listening to the speeches delivered by important  media seniors. 

Great Time in Krakow

The amazing Poland trip started with a welcome dinner on Sunday and I must say the Polish food is very good. I really want to have that traditional sour soup again before I leave. Then on Monday we had a lecture of Polish history and went sightseeing in the afternoon, which gave us a wonderful time experiencing Polish culture and architecture. The tour guide was humorous and knowledgeable. He explained the historic events and customs in storytelling manner. It was  impressive to see how Kevin was fettered by chain on the wall when our tour guide tried to explain how this ancient implements of punishment worked hundreds of years ago. I had a great time and hope I can have more opportunities in the future to explore this beautiful country.

The lecture time on Tuesday was a challenge to everyone because it starts from early morning to afternoon. But fortunately we got two lovely professors to give the presentation. One is a gentleman with good sense of humor and wit, introducing the history of media and technology industries in Poland. I learnt the iron curtain which he stressed, underground press of the late 1960s in Poland, fan video of how people were catching Colorado potato beetles in the past, etc. And I got to say his drawing is as good as his speech (lol). Then we have an elegant lady to explain the media market in Poland and the European Union. 

I found the Creative Europe program is really interesting and enlightening. The program consists of two sub-programs: the Culture sub-program to promote the culture sector, and the Media sub-program to support the audiovisual sector. Creative Europe aims are to help the cultural and creative sectors seize the opportunities of the digital age and globalization, enable the sectors to reach their economic potential, give Europe's culture and media sectors access to new international opportunities, markets, and audiences. There is no doubt that the Creative Europe program will strongly contribute to different creative industries' disciplines in so many ways, therefore contributing to sustainable growth in economy globally.

The schedule in afternoon was relaxing and lots of fun. We visited an innovation technology company. And I was surprised how a small media firm can develop so many amazing and sophisticated device and game. I will never forget how fascinating it was to experience the real-world roller coaster just with goggles and a computer in front.

We are going to visit more media companies in the following days and I am ready to get amazed and entertained. Best study tour ever!

We Are Not So Different After All.

I often wondered what it’s like to sit in on a general assembly meeting at the United Nations. I imagine all those people watching speakers and listening on earphones to interpreters. Today I had that experience as the class attended a conference of Polish dignitaries debating the challenges of content and finance in Polish Public media.

The distinguished speakers included professors from our host, Jagiellonian University, the Polish Minister of Culture, the head of of the Polish National Broadcasting Council, a Professor from the Ukraine where they just begat public broadcasting in April this year, and of course our honored Professor Mierzejewska. (She was an energizing and articulate breath of fresh air among a sea of powerful and serious men).

This discussion was a great example of how similar our cultures are.  The debates remain the same. What is the role and responsibility of Public Broadcasting in today’s Internet-on-demand society. Which is the priority, content or distribution? Both the heads of the Public Radio Stations and Public TV stations were resolved to make the best of the funding they have through austerity and creativity. Still, how do these institutions create relevancy? Sound familiar PBS and NPR?

While Poland is only beginning to see the broadband advances of technology, (Netflix and Roku have yet to arrive.) they are carefully watching the U.S. for signs of successes to emulate and disasters to avoid. Well at least they don't have Fox News breathing down their neck… yet. Turns out Murdoch tried a stint in Poland, lost money and left town wallet in hand 18 months later. Ahhh there is great hope for Poland!

Public Broadcast Financing

The main subject of our panel today was the need to alter the current system in Poland for paying a subscription fee to fund public media. Stawomir Rogowski called the current system "insufficient" and noted that the collection of the licensing fee was at the core of the problem.

He advocated for a new system that redistributed funds and noted that every 38th citizen paid the subscription fee, a stark contrast to Germany where every second citizen paid the fee. He stated that the German success was based on the "commonness" of the system; he stated that the Polish system needed stability. The major suggestion was to improve the content to make citizens interested in paying the fee, but that the issue was not addressed throughout the panel.

The Minister of Culture then took the stand and mentioned potential solutions. Among those solutions were the following:

1. Collecting via energy suppliers (ie: the electric bill collected alongside the AV fee)
    A. The problem with this solution was that it was difficult to organize
    B. It also cost more because the state must pay a renumeration to energy suppliers

2. He also suggested an additoinal pool of funds from the state

3. Collection based on personal declarations
    A. He said it existed based on free will but opened the door for misinterpretation
    B. He also noted that a database would be difficult to keep safe

4.Collecting taxes via tax offices
    A. It would be the easiest and cheapest means of collecting the tax
        I. Tax employees would be used to collect instead of using intermediaries
    B. Moreover, it would put the burden on citizens to do their duty. 

Tuesday, Day 3

The day started with a very knowledgeable and jolly professor talking about the Berlin wall, and his experiences with an organization called Glavlit, which monitored all media publications and releases under Communism.  There is no way I will ever forget him explaining the reigns of Communist leaders by giggling and drawing caricatures explaining how the level of censorship is directly related to the constantly reciprocating pattern of bald and non-bald leaders (hint - more hair equaled more censorship).

After managing to fall asleep in a six-minute cab ride due to a long night of contributing to the Polish GDP, we continued on with a presentation in a commercially zoned house run by a young, agile, and very successful media startup called BerryLife. Things I never thought id be doing in Poland?  Wearing oculus rift goggles to simulate riding a roller coaster or throw conex boxes across a commercial port loading area. Very interesting to hear about the scaling issues of a business such as his, where he has a virtually unlimited talent pool due to the 200,000 students in Kraków.

The day concluded with meeting some more Krakovian students. This time, in an underground cafe with low ceilings, dim lighting, and brick walls.  I will not forget talking about technological infrastructure, European Union programs to support entrepreneurial ventures in Poland, and trying to convince local undergraduate students that not everyone in NYC eats McDonalds for lunch, all while enjoying some fantastic local beer and listening to Led Zeppelin softly playing the background.

Closed Media Systems and Company Visit

One of the things I found most interesting about the mirning lecture was the professor's discussion of the changes in propaganda during the Soviet Era.  One aspect of media that I was surprised to learn about is that it was also a way for citizens to express themselves and their complaints to the government.  This was not, however in the traditional way we would expect actions to be taken after a scandalous investigative journalism piece.  It became another way for the leadership to closely follow public sentiment and a chance to take action on fixing "mistakes".

In the afternoon, we visited the company Berrylife and spoke to their founder and CEO about his company history and future plans.  The company spent it's early years at Kraków Technology Park, an office suite dedicated to fledgling start ups.  Some of the benefits of this office same were reduced office rent and the opportunity to network with other start ups.  He mentioned that this is how they have met some of their free lancers.  In talking to him about the future, he says the biggest concern is growing from a small firm to a larger one if they choose to work with venture capitalists.  They have worked really hard to create an open and relaxed company culture, something which may not be as feasible on a large scale.  He is currently aware of all on-going projects, if not actively involved, something he said he will not be able to do if the company expands rapidly.

One of the most discussed topics on the trip has been the number of Polish college graduates leaving the country in search of higher wages.  I asked him if his connections abroad had been useful for generating new business leads, he said yes, but this was still only a small portion of his customer base.  He also mentioned that his business would be able to develop more rapidly if he moved operations to Germany or Ireland, but that is not something that he is willing to do because he loves Poland.

It's so interesting to see the similarities of startups in the US and Poland, facing so many of the same challenges.  I would say what makes the company different is the leadership style, the willingness to learn from mistakes and the caution of expanding too rapidly, particularly given the aftermath of the financial crisis in Europe.

An Introduction to the History and Culture

Yesterday was a perfect introduction to Polish history and culture. During our first lecture with Marta Shaw, we walked through some important moments in Poland's history, giving us a good base of knowledge for topics to come. We learned some interesting facts, such as Jadwiga was a female king of Poland in the 1300's (girl power!) and that Poland had the first Democracy in Europe in the 1700's.

What I found most interesting was the discussion on Polish culture. We learned the saying "the nail that sticks out gets hit" which exemplifies the tendency toward sameness, an easy juxtaposition to the American sense of individualism. 

Also interesting was that there is an abundance of rules and laws within the country, but an aversion to strictly following them. This mindset was evident in stories we heard from our tour guide, who discussed jay walking and public drinking laws, and how people tended to get around them.

After a pieroji lunch (fun fact, that is the plural, pierojis is not a word), a walking tour, and a traditional dinner, a few of us ended the day with a nice little vodka tasting. Na zdrowie!