The Coverage of Regional and Local Elections ‘2018 in Public Regional Television in the Light of Public Service Mission (based on the Example of News Programme “Aktualności” TVP3 Katowice)

The public service mission of public media imposes a number of responsibilities on public broadcasters covering politics. These responsibilities were expressed in the article as three news media functions. First, information (dissemination of information about candidates, their programs and main issues in election campaign). Second, the “watchdog” role which focuses on the delivery of information about candidates’ abuses of law and ethical violations, as well as critical information about their offers. Lastly, mobilisation which focuses on the delivery of information encouraging voters to vote. To answer the main research question about how the requirements of public service mission were fulfilled by regional television in the period preceding regional and local elections in 2018, the above-mentioned functions were verified after the content analysis of news programme “Aktualności” TVP3 Katowice. The results of the qualitative and quantitative analysis exhibited the dominance of propaganda bias in television news regarding local elections. The overall conclusion was that the analysed medium did not respect the elementary rules of the public service mission (impartiality and internal pluralism) and it did not fulfil the functions of news media properly.

Radio News: Radio Coverage of Local Elections in 2018 in Selected Radio Stations in the First Hour After the Closing of Polls. Comparative Analysis

The article presents the results of a comparative analysis of radio coverage of local elections in Poland at the end of the first round of elections in October 2018. Four radio stations (RMF FM, Radio ZET, Polskie Radio, TOK FM) were taken under consideration in the comparative analysis of radio broadcasts which allowed the author to determine the most important differences in delivering the latest news, in the content of radio programs and in the way the radio stations approached the subject. The recordings of one-hour programs, broadcasted in four selected radio stations in the first hour after the polls closed, became the research material which allowed the author to accurately calculate the speed of the broadcasts, examine the journalistic and technical capabilities of each station, outline various models of coverage of elections, and specific categories as well. For example, presidents of the largest cities, regional councils, voter turnout, and radio reporters based in campaign offices to name a few. This allowed the author to demonstrate the main differences between various stations in their elections coverage.

Multi-Platform Content Promotion. Press, Radio and Television on the Fragmented Media Market

The contemporary media market is characterized by intermedia competition consisting of ways to gain the attention of the same viewers, listeners, readers and users through various media platforms. Although each medium differs in content and operates in its market, the similarity of their spheres of activity provokes competition between them. In order to achieve the market success, in the fight for the attention of the recipients, the content senders reach out for a wide range of available promotional tools. These activities are carried out on available and diverse content distribution platforms. This article is therefore aimed at discussing the activities of television and radio broadcasters as well as editorial offices in the field of multi-platform promotion of content within the realm of intermedia competition. The considerations were based on the analysis of selected activities in the field of content promotion used by television and radio stations as well as editorial offices. The undertaken analysis allowed the author to describe the ability of the content senders to reach the current and potential recipients with multi-platform promotional activities, which determine the ability of media institutions to build a competitive advantage and maintain the digitized content market. In the near future, traditional forms of promotion will gradually decrease in favour of interactive forms of promotion. The presence of broadcasters on digital platforms such as social media, along with the use of various applications and communication tools for promotional activities will soon determine the market position of the content sender.

The Radio Talks, but How? On the Art of Dynamizing the On-Air Statements. Tradition and the Present Day

Despite the fact that the term ‘voice dynamics’ has been used both by radio theorists and journalists, its meaning is still interpreted differently in the context of radio speech. This article addresses the question of voice dynamics and on-air speech anticipation and points out the most significant features. It aims to outline the dependency between given elements of voice emission and format and genres of radio broadcast. The method of analyzing sources through a historical perspective indicates, that the sound of radio is coherent with its evolution as a medium, which evokes to some degree of latitude of the ‘voice dynamics’ category. Spontaneous and not pre-arranged speech make the radio more attractive as an accompanying medium. In the face of de-personalization of subjects, which take part in the media discourse, radio still seems to be a space of audio interpersonal communication. The dynamics of communicating through voice features is one of the factors which authenticates the real-time communication in the eyes of the listeners. It also determines the radio format as accepted by the ones, who choose it.

Foreign Publishers of Women’s and Youth Press – a Threat to Polish Families?

Foreign publishers have been operating in the Polish media market since 1990. In early 90’s, the women’s and youth press were dominated by four concerns with German capital: Bauer Media, Burda Poland, G+J Poland and Axel Springer Poland. In media studies, they were known as ‘The Big German Four’. From 2001-2013, fusions and acquisitions took place which resulted in concentration of the press market. Research has shown, that Bauer Media became the most important publisher of highly circulated magazines in Poland. This concern dominated three press subsegments: tv-guides, yellow press and true story. This article is an attempt to answer the question whether Bauer Media as a women’s and youth press publisher threatens Polish families?

The article shows religious phenomena as a part of agenda setting performed by Polish-language portals. The research included the content analysis of 3 intentionally chosen websites (niezalezna.pl, wPolityce.pl, telewizjarepublika.pl) identified as right-wing or conservative both by journalists and media researchers in Poland. The study was based on the assumption that communication via media has an effect on the formation of public opinion by raising specific topics, assigning meanings to objects, people or events, and moving issues from one agenda to another (e.g. from the area of politics to religion). The author also assumed that users and journalists working for right-wing portals view religion as a natural element of their world-view and are interested in religious themes. This is believed to be the reason why they pay more attention to these themes than journalists and publishers of left-wing media. The aim of the research was to find the basic topoi organizing narratives concerning religion, social contexts in which religion was situated and functions assigned to it in media interpretations. A qualitative analysis of texts regarding religious phenomena was performed. The results of the study showed that during the examined period of fifteen months between 2017-2018, most statements were related to Islam. However, the analyzed texts did not concern Poland directly. The texts focused on Islam in western Europe or other parts of the world. These fundamental topics were highlighted throughout the analysis using the agenda setting theory: conflict and violence, the clash of civilizations, demography, rivalry among religious ideas, the political agenda. Throughout the research, two components were distinguished – the cognitive and the affective. The cognitive component was based on scientific sources (for example, in texts about demographic problems), but then again it was limited to very basic and generalized statements. In the affective layer, negative emotions prevailed.

From Egalitarian to Inclusive. Hate Speech as a Consequence of the Internet Commercialisation

Changes that took place after the commercialization of the internet resulted in a number of negative consequences. Online communication has significantly reduced the form of language in favour of increasing the degree of its pauperization. The hidden judgments and critical opinions resulted in the transformation of words into real acts of aggression that internet users encounter on a daily basis. The main goal of the article is to introduce hate speech in the context of the commercialization of the internet. Based on literature studies and her own observations, the author presents hate speech as a mediatised phenomenon. An overview of Polish studies on hate speech that was later followed by the analysis of the internet history, led to the conclusion that psychological factors and inclusivity is one of the reasons for the existence of hate speech. As a result of the widespread use of the internet and the commodification of its resources and controversial messages that went beyond generally accepted norms, hate speech increased in popularity. This contributed to the emergence of many negative phenomena in mass communication, hate speech among others.

Date as a Peculiar Communication Event? The New Quality of “Dating” in New Media

The aim of the article was to analyse dating as peculiar communication events. Using linguistic genology and textology, the author determines the components of that construct. Subsequently, she attempts to define the genre frame of the event and verifies its communication environment, while also considering the influence of modern technology on the development of dates and dating. The new media sites, represented by selected dating portals, which are increasingly often used to initiate those social contacts, served as a perfect space where the new qualities of dating, described in the article, manifested themselves. The final considerations reveal that the contemporary dating websites contain personal ads with clearly visible traits of dating-matrimonial advertisements. A strong desire to create the best self-image can be found in both cases.

Popular Science Magazine Nature and Technique (1922–2939) and its Authors

The article presents a popular science magazine Nature and Technique (Przyroda i Technika), published in the interwar period in Lviv. The description of this monthly magazine is based on the content analysis of the preserved yearbooks. The article describes the magazine’s program, layout, thematic profile, editorial staff and reception, especially among teachers. Special attention was paid to the authors who published popular science articles in Nature and Technique – scholars from various Polish academic centers and research institutions, as well as high school teachers, publicists and engineers. The article mentions only those who had the greatest impact. Many of the scholars mentioned above had already achieved a significant academic position in the academic environment. Among the authors, five rectors of Polish universities, professors of the Jagiellonian University, Jan Kazimierz University of Lviv, Poznań University, the University of Warsaw, AGH University of Science and Technology, after the war: the University of Wrocław and Medical Universities in Białystok, Lublin and Gdańsk can be noticed. A great number of acclaimed scholars who published popular science articles in Nature and Technique magazine perfectly illustrated the attitude that the interwar Polish academic environment had towards the popularisation of knowledge and reaching out with their message beyond strict academic circles.

Z życia naukowego

• Współczesne tygodniki opinii w Polsce (Ryszard Filas) 143
   
• Z rocznika Historii prasy polskiej t. XVIII (2015), z. 3 (39), z. 4 (40) (Adam Bańdo)145
   
• Konferencja „Prasa krakowska w 100. rocznicę odzyskania niepodległości” Kraków, 15–16.11.2018 (Agnieszka Wszołek) 149
   
• IX ogólnopolska konferencja metodologiczna „Człowiek hipermedialny. Komunikowanie w czasach gier video, social mediów i doświadczeń VR” Warszawa, 15-16.11.2018 r. (Anna Bielecka)152
   
• Konferencja naukowa „Wiedza–Komunikacja–Działanie” – 20-lecie Instytutu Dziennikarstwa, Mediów i Komunikacji Społecznej UJ, 25–26.10.2018 r. (Małgorzata Lisowska-Magdziarz (oprac.)) 155