The open lecture on ‘Is media still for citizens?’ was held on 26^th January, 2013 at RAE.

The lecturer was given by the members of Palikota’s Movement such as Robert Kwiatkowski: the former director of TVP (equivalent of e.g. BBC1) and Andrzej Rozenek: the candidate for the member of Parliament.

The main topic of discussion was the detrimental effects of media on a people’s perception of the surrounding world. The guests have provided the audience with a variety of examples taken from real life indicating that media is not a reliable and an objective source of information. For instance, the lecturers presented the recent problem of increasing the number of traffic enforcement cameras on the Polish roads, which surprisingly aims at strengthening the government budget. However, the media has not disclosed that problem and justified the new policy by presenting only arguments for decreasing the number of casualties and improving  safety on the roads.

The lecture also embraced such problems as legislation of marijuana, which according to the lecturers does less harm than alcohol or cigarettes and has far less side effects. However, there is a tendency in media to mislead people and manipulate their way of thinking by distorting the truth. Such scenarios should not take place on the national arena, which implies that the role of media needs to change. The media should be with people, not against them. Everyone needs to possess the freedom of speech regardless of the race, nationality, religion, or orientation.

The audience actively participated in a debate by giving various examples, arguments, or expressing their opinions on the discussed matters. The meeting ended up in a positive atmosphere and the guests expressed their optimism and hope for a change of the position of media in the future.

The next lecture organized by Modern State Academy will take place in February, 2013 and the special guest will be professor Magdalena Środa. The details of the meeting can be found at www.wsh.pl.