Press Club Polska awards handed out. List of winners

In his speech opening the gala, Bartosz Węglarczyk, chairman of the Polish Media Council, said that “the threat to the media are large technology concerns pretending to be media, but in fact being parasites feeding on content created by others.” He stated that this situation of unequal competition requires the support of the Polish government and the European Union. He also called for a real debate in the Sejm and Senate on the media market and the rules of profit sharing that should operate there.

– It is not the job of journalists to support any government or to overthrow governments. Our task must be to describe and explain reality in the fullest and most reliable way. Our task is to provide people with information so that they can make informed decisions – what to go to the cinema, what car to buy, or who to vote for in the elections. The only criterion for publication or non-publication must be the public interest. This is how we serve people and this is how we serve democracy. This rule applies to all journalists and all topics, emphasized Węglarczyk.

Awards Dariusz Fikus for journalism of the highest quality (finalists: Tatiana Kolesnychenko and Maciej Stanik, Andrzej Stankiewicz, Małgorzata Tomczak) received Tatiana Kolesnychenko and Maciej Stanik for a series of reports from Ukraine, published in Wirtualna Polska. The award is granted for journalistic text material published in print or on the Internet in the previous year. Special Award named after Dariusz Fikus was honored activists gathered in many organizations, who from summer 2021 until today, in addition to providing humanitarian aid, inform the public about the situation on the Polish-Belarusian border. The award was received on behalf of all activists by representatives of the Granica Group and the Ocalenie foundation.

The Press Club Polska Economic Journalism Award (finalists: Rafał Pikuła, Marek Szymaniak, Mateusz Ratajczak and Patryk Słowik) was awarded Marek Szymaniak for the publication “Buy now, pay later. Deferred payments are breaking popularity records, but this shopping paradise can be a swamp”, published in Spider'sWeb magazine. Award named after Jarosław Ziętary for investigative journalism (finalists: Katarzyna Włodkowska, Szabolcs Panyi and Anastasiia Morozova, Marcin Jakóbczyk, Michał Janczura, Anna Gielewska) received Katarzyna Włodkowska for the series of publications: Edited by Andrzej Skworz. “I'm counting down. Until you burst into tears and leave” and “There was no transformation. After the publication of a report about the work in Andrzej Skworz's editorial office”, published in “Duży Format” (“Gazeta Wyborcza”). She received the International Association of Press Clubs Freedom of Speech Award Ukrainian organization “Information resistance”.

The PCP Council awarded the Special Award Mariusz Szmidka and Krzysztof Zyzik, creators of independent regional editorial offices. “The award was granted for the courage to act and faith in independent journalism, the creation of strong regional media in difficult conditions, and then their maintenance and development – justified the decision by the chairman of the PCP Council, the editor-in-chief of PAP, Wojciech Tumidalski.

Press Club Polska is a creative organization of media people aimed at supporting and developing the professional skills of journalists and ensuring citizens' rights to obtain reliable information. It is a non-profit institution, operating as a foundation and supported primarily by income from members and donors. PCP was established on the initiative of journalists in 2008 in Warsaw. Its main goals are: raising and disseminating professional and ethical standards of journalism; protection of the legitimate professional and social interests of journalists; popularizing knowledge about journalistic work and the jurisprudence of national and international courts in matters relating to freedom of speech; promoting professional contacts between journalists and foreign media; integration of the professional community of journalists.