Economy, Communications

In 1946 Poland’s mass media were nationalized and made subject to supervision by the Communist government. This lasted until 1989, when the country’s new democratic government abolished censorship and eliminated subsidies to the Communist press. In 1998 Poland had 52 daily newspapers with a total circulation of 4.4 million. Gazeta Wyborcza (Electoral News), which was founded in Warsaw in 1989, is Poland’s largest and most respected daily newspaper. There are about 3,100 periodicals published in Poland. Many of the dominant publications of the Communist period have either collapsed or become less important.

In 1992 legislation was passed by parliament ending the Polish government’s monopoly over television and radio broadcasting. Poland now has 16 regional radio stations and 10 regional television stations; however, most radio and television programming still originates in Warsaw. In 1997 there were 522 radios and 337 television sets for every 1,000 Poles. Videocassettes and cable television have both gained in popularity. Although new telephone exchanges have increased the number of telephone lines in Poland, there is still a chronic shortage, especially in rural areas.