You said that you’re afraid
Yesterday during the board conference you said that you’re afraid that many INPUT participants will forget about the whole conference and go back home remembering only a nice trip to Warsaw. Why did you say that?
Well, this year’s INPUT is surely a large, well-organized event that is very costly and on a high level, but I’m afraid that underneath all this people could forget about the goal of the conference. There are many new participants here from Western European countries, but I’m afraid that many of them are not the authors of the programs. They’re not the directors and producers who should be developing themselves, but simply people connected with public relations or foreign relations who wanted to take advantage of the invitation and see Warsaw. They didn’t want to participate in the workshops organized in Sarajevo. Many of the post-soviet country representatives didn’t send anything to INPUT, all they’re interested in is its prestige.
BUT not everyone can participate in INPUT.
Not everyone wants to. For Polish television this is not only an opportunity to host INPUT. I went to the opening of TVP’s new building, it’s a very nice building, beautiful, very modern, but who is it for?
Don’t get me wrong, I love Poland, I love Poles, and I appreciate your contribution, but this isn’t about showing off, using public television for political reasons and flashing money around. Public television is a serious service to people, not to the government, the Church, or political parties.
How do you assess the changes that have occurred in INPUT over the past 30 years?
I’m afraid they’re changes for the worse. The European Union is doing a lot to interfere in the work of public television. The idea that television is for people is being replaced by the constant commercialization. I’m also afraid of the blending of cultures, the ubiquitous Americanization, and the power of money and huge media companies, even in public TV. I’m afraid we may lose a lot.
Interviewed by Jakub Osiejewski
