This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/feb/10/poland-protests-against-bbc-putinisation-report
The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Poland protests against BBC 'Putinisation' report | Poland protests against BBC 'Putinisation' report |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| Poland has formally protested against a BBC report asking if controversial moves by Warsaw’s new right-wing government were “Putinising” the country. | Poland has formally protested against a BBC report asking if controversial moves by Warsaw’s new right-wing government were “Putinising” the country. |
| A foreign ministry letter addressed to a top BBC executive said a January report on the political crisis in Poland was “biased”, “inaccurate” and drew “unjustified conclusions”. | A foreign ministry letter addressed to a top BBC executive said a January report on the political crisis in Poland was “biased”, “inaccurate” and drew “unjustified conclusions”. |
| Titled “Is Poland being Putinised?”, the report on the BBC’s flagship Newsnight current affairs programme featured interviews with a government MP as well as Poles protesting controversial legal changes to the top court and public media. | Titled “Is Poland being Putinised?”, the report on the BBC’s flagship Newsnight current affairs programme featured interviews with a government MP as well as Poles protesting controversial legal changes to the top court and public media. |
| Despite the letter being published, the BBC is understood to have received no formal complaint. | |
| A BBC Spokesperson said: “This was a legitimate, well-sourced story that gave a fair and impartial examination of the situation in Poland. The film gave ample time to airing the government’s position but we would be delighted to explore the issues raised in it with a senior Polish minister at greater length.” | |
| Critics have accused the governing Law and Justice party led by former premier Jaroslaw Kaczyński of attempting to stack the constitutional court as well as public television and radio with loyalists since winning an October election. | Critics have accused the governing Law and Justice party led by former premier Jaroslaw Kaczyński of attempting to stack the constitutional court as well as public television and radio with loyalists since winning an October election. |
| The moves have triggered mass demonstrations and harsh criticism both at home and across Europe. | The moves have triggered mass demonstrations and harsh criticism both at home and across Europe. |
| The EU last month launched an unprecedented probe to see if the Polish government was violating the bloc’s democracy rules and merited punitive measures. | The EU last month launched an unprecedented probe to see if the Polish government was violating the bloc’s democracy rules and merited punitive measures. |
| “Putinisation” loosely refers to the tight grip on state power exercised by Russian president Vladimir Putin, a figure who has long drawn sharp criticism in Poland. | “Putinisation” loosely refers to the tight grip on state power exercised by Russian president Vladimir Putin, a figure who has long drawn sharp criticism in Poland. |