Almost 100 local journalists from all over Poland took part in the summing up of the first round of training held under the “Media Forum. Local Development” project. The special guests at the meeting, held in Warsaw on October 6, were Agata Passent, Jerzy Baczyński, Szymon Jadczak and Michał Rusinek.
Local media build social capital
In 2021 the Polish-American Freedom Foundation extended its offer with a new undertaking – “Media Forum. Local Development”. Its objective is to facilitate journalists’ professional development and improving their competence through training sessions conducted by experienced national and local journalists and experts in other fields. The project is managed by the Media Forum Foundation.
“Free, independent and professional local media help to form developmental aspirations and solving problems faced by local communities in the same way as effectively operating civil organizations’ and local leaders’ initiatives supported by us for years through programs run by our Foundation,” Jerzy Koźmiński, President of the Polish-American Freedom Foundation said.
Summing-up of the first round
The first round of the project means almost 300 hrs. of workshops, leading experts and lecturers, including Ewa Ewart, Magdalena Rigamonti, Andrzej Andrysiak, Jacek Pawłowski and Wojciech Bojanowski. Three pioneering Polish local media market surveys. Over 60 pieces of legal advice from Paweł Czajkowski. It also means an educational multimedia platform for the training participants, as well as study tours to TVN24.
“Today, all those activities and events are the source of our great satisfaction. But we are fully aware that the project turned out to be successful first of all thanks to its graduates – over 300 local journalists from all over Poland,” said PAFF President congratulating them in his address.
Challenges of journalism, not only these faced at the local level
Anna Kondraciuk of “Kurier” weekly published in Podlasie region and Argymir Iwicki who recreated a well-known “Czas Chojnic” weekly told how to establish a local newspaper and what challenges you will have to face. “The training encouraged me, I learned that I can be a good journalist. Three months after the training we registered “Czas Chojnic” anew. I have always dreamed about media that are close to each resident of Chojnice. It plays a very important role in the world where that closeness stops to be that important,” Argymir Iwicki explains.
Does independent, free journalism have any sense in today’s world? “I do very strongly believe it does. Only independent journalism has a social sense. It is a fundamental fuse for the community, democracy, functioning of institutions of the state,” “Polityka” weekly Editor-in Chief Jerzy Baczyński believes and says that journalism as a profession is a kind of a public mission.
Journalistic reliability and problems faced by media sector from all-Poland and local perspectives were the main topics of conversation between Andrzej Andrysiak, the publisher of “Gazeta Radomszczańska”, a local weekly, and Szymon Jadczak, two-time winner of Grand Press Award in news category, a journalist and feature writer for Wirtualna Polska portal.
“I don’t believe there are any boundaries between local and global nature. If I lived in Sokołów Podlaski, I would join a local media for sure. Subject that are interesting to me can be found everywhere – in a capital of a province and in a small town alike,” Agata Passent, a journalist and a columnist writing to local “Gazeta Żoliborza” and Polish public television TVP, who shared her experiences of work in various media.
In turn Michał Rusinek, Polish literary scholar, interpreter and writer, the President of Wisława Szymborska Foundation, presented his observations about certain phenomena in the Polish language, which he called “a pimple on the tongue”. “We start to remember about the tongue – both as a part of body and a means of communication only when we start to feel a kind of pimple on it, something that pinches, hurts, itches, disturbs, or just makes us laugh. As you can see, these feelings are diverse, but they have a common denominator: the language awareness,” Michał Rusinek explained, quoting some anecdotes based on infelicitously used phrase, like “We organize New Year’s Eve balls. At any date.”
Local Journalism In Practice – book launch
How to conduct investigative journalism at the county level? How to tell local stories? How to verify information effectively? You will find answers to these and many other questions in the Local Journalism In Practice book launched at that meeting. “The Authors – experienced journalists and lecturers at training sessions organized by Media Forum Foundation – share their experiences. (…) The book is not only a collection of practical advice but also an inspiration to act,” President of the Media Forum Foundation Maciej Starczewski explains. The book is already on sale.
The second round of training – enrollment already at the beginning of 2025
“The group of ‘Media Forum. Local Development’ graduates will get bigger as we are going to run that project for at least next two years,” Jerzy Koźmiński announced.
Maciej Starczewski and Jowita Kacik of Media Forum Foundation thanked the Media Forum. Local Development project participants for their engagement and determination in improving their journalism skills. “We knew we were working for outstanding people. First of all because they play a unique role in the civil society,” Katarzyna Sroczyńska of the Media Forum Foundation said.
