According to both organisations, it would prevent the distortion of the social function of the press and violating the principles of competition on the local press market.
The statement was made after a conference that took place in Cracow: “Freedom of speech in local press. Local press and the norms of competence protection and media pluralism”. Its participants stress that the ban on publishing press by the organs of administration will serve “the improvement of well understood openness of actions of the administration and self-governments and increase the public trust in their actions”.
“At the same time it will contribute to strengthening the organisational function of the independent local press, helping it to build civil society, which is the task and indisputable merit of the local press and serves the Polish public interest” – claims the statement made after the conference.
According to the participants “the function of a newsletter – an organ of administration, should not be combined with the function of independent press, whose one of the most important tasks is wielding public control over the actions of the government”.
Usurping the role of press publishers by the publishers of newsletters, often results in obstructing the access of the independent press reporters to information. This undermines the fundamental principle of freedom of speech and the right of the citizens to access information” – the statement says.
The Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights and publishers also point to the formal and ethical aspects of combining the public functions and business activity by the publishers of self-government press.
“Taking advantage of public means and running business raises many doubts about its compliance with the principles of fair competition. Especially the acquisition of advertisements of companies dependent from the local authorities in the self-government press may lead to corruptibility on the local markets. It also exposes the self-governments to serious conflicts with independent press, for which the incomes from the advertisements are often fundamental for economic well-being” – as it was written in the statement.
“The participants of the conference postulate the introduction of such legal solutions, which will firmly stipulate the rules of publishing newsletters by the organs of administration and self-governments of all levels” – the statement says.
Polish Press Agency
The statement (in Polish) is available here.
