''Dziennik Telewizyjny'' ( en, Television Journal; DT), commonly simplified to ''Dziennik'' (lit. Journal), was the chief

news program News broadcasting is the medium of broadcasting various news events and other information via television, radio, or the internet in the field of broadcast journalism. The content is usually either video production, produced local programming, ...

Telewizja Polska Telewizja Polska S.A. (; "Polish Television"; TVP), also known in English as the public Polish Television is a Polish state media corporation. It is the largest Polish television network, although viewership has been declining in the 2010s. Sinc ...

between 1958 and 1989, in the

Polish People's Republic The Polish People's Republic ( pl, Polska Rzeczpospolita Ludowa, PRL) was a country in Central Europe that existed from 1947 to 1989 as the predecessor of the modern Republic of Poland. With a population of approximately 37.9 million nea ...

. It was Poland's second regularly televised newscast and the primary

propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded ...

tool used by the

Polish United Workers' Party The Polish United Workers' Party ( pl, Polska Zjednoczona Partia Robotnicza; ), commonly abbreviated to PZPR, was the communist party which ruled the Polish People's Republic as a one-party state from 1948 to 1989. The PZPR had led two other lega ...

during the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

. The final episode aired on 17 November 1989 and the program was replaced by ''

Wiadomości ''Wiadomości'' (''News'', ) is the chief Polish news program produced by Telewizja Polska and broadcast on the first channel, TVP1. The main edition is transmitted daily at 7:30p.m. CET. It premiered on 18 November 1989 and succeeded the '' Dzien ...

'' on the following day, 18 November 1989. ''Dziennik'' succeeded a previously run short-term news show on 1 January 1958. Every 30-minute episode was transmitted on the first channel,

TVP1 TVP1 (TVP Jeden, ''Program I Telewizji Polskiej'', ''"Jedynka"'') is the main public television channel of TVP (Telewizja Polska S.A.), Poland's national television broadcaster. It was the first Polish channel to be broadcast and remains one ...

, at 08:00 p.m

CET CET or cet may refer to: Places * Cet, Albania * Cet, standard astronomical abbreviation for the constellation Cetus * Colchester Town railway station (National Rail code CET), in Colchester, England Arts, entertainment, and media * Comcast Ente ...

(1958–1965) and subsequently at 07:30 p.m

from 1965 until the

fall of communism The Revolutions of 1989, also known as the Fall of Communism, was a revolutionary wave that resulted in the end of most communist states in the world. Sometimes this revolutionary wave is also called the Fall of Nations or the Autumn of Natio ...

in 1989. The program was infamous for its propaganda-like theme, manipulative approach, emotive or loaded terms, and extensive

political agenda In politics, a political agenda is a list of subjects or problems (issues) to which government officials as well as individuals outside the government are paying serious attention to at any given time. The political agenda is most often shaped by ...

. The broadcast greatly resembled other communist news programs of the period, especially

East German East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

Aktuelle Kamera Aktuelle Kamera (''"Current Camera")'' was the flagship television newscast of Deutscher Fernsehfunk, the state broadcaster of the German Democratic Republic (known as ''Fernsehen der DDR'' from 11 February 1972 to 11 March 1990). On air from 21 ...

''. The show had correspondents who were permanently based in several world cities such as

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, and

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. The show's 31-year legacy can be seen in Poland today among the older generation, who often refers to every contemporary news program as "Dziennik", including

newspapers A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, sports ...

and

popular media Mass media refers to a diverse array of media technologies that reach a large audience via mass communication. The technologies through which this communication takes place include a variety of outlets. Broadcast media transmit information ...

. At the height of its popularity in the 1970s, ''Dziennik Telewizyjny'' was continuously watched by over 11 million people, approximately in every third household in Poland at the time.

History

Background

The origins of Polish television date back to the late 1930s when numerous tests were carried out on top of the Warsaw Prudential building to transmit

monochrome A monochrome or monochromatic image, object or palette is composed of one color (or values of one color). Images using only shades of grey are called grayscale (typically digital) or black-and-white (typically analog). In physics, monochrom ...

images at a 20-kilometer radius. However, the beginning of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

interrupted further attempts at establishing regular receivers. The prime state television corporation, the

, was founded after the war in 1952. The foundation date corresponds to the time of the very first regularly televised broadcast which occurred at 07:00 p.m

on 25 October 1952. Initially, the auditions were broadcast to a limited number of viewers and at set dates, often a month apart. On 23 January 1953 regular shows began to appear on the first and only channel,

. Snippets of world and domestic events was given only spontaneously and at various times by different people. Most reliable sources of information in the 1950s were newspapers, most notably ''

Trybuna Ludu ''Trybuna Ludu'' (; ''People's Tribune'') was one of the largest newspapers in communist Poland, which circulated between 1948 and 1990. It was the official media outlet of the Polish United Workers' Party (PZPR) and one of its main propaganda ou ...

'' (People's Tribune). The first newscast was short-lived ''Wiadomości Dnia'', which aired on 30 April 1956 and lasted until the end of 1957. The first televised weather forecast also appeared on 4 September 1957. The

and the Polish Politburo announced that ''Dziennik Telewizyjny'', a government-controlled news program, will begin on 1 January 1958. The

abbreviation An abbreviation (from Latin ''brevis'', meaning ''short'') is a shortened form of a word or phrase, by any method. It may consist of a group of letters or words taken from the full version of the word or phrase; for example, the word ''abbrevia ...

for the program was "DTV" until the late 1970s (when it was shortened to just "DT"), but the show became widely known as the ''Dziennik'' (English: Journal) to the general public for the next three decades. The 55 km-range signal

antenna Antenna ( antennas or antennae) may refer to: Science and engineering * Antenna (radio), also known as an aerial, a transducer designed to transmit or receive electromagnetic (e.g., TV or radio) waves * Antennae Galaxies, the name of two collid ...

in the shape of a butterfly was situated on the

spire A spire is a tall, slender, pointed structure on top of a roof of a building or tower, especially at the summit of church steeples. A spire may have a square, circular, or polygonal plan, with a roughly conical or pyramidal shape. Spires are ...

of the

Palace of Culture and Science A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence, or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome which ...

in Warsaw, at an altitude of 227 meters. The antenna also appeared on the call sign ident (identification screen and

logo A logo (abbreviation of logotype; ) is a graphic mark, emblem, or symbol used to aid and promote public identification and recognition. It may be of an abstract or figurative design or include the text of the name it represents as in a wordma ...

) at the beginning of every broadcast until 1972.

Schedule and timing

Each main episode or edition of the program was originally transmitted at 08:00 p.m and starting from 1965 at 7:30 p.m. CET. Telewizja Polska continues to emit its contemporary flagship news show, ''

'', at 7:30 p.m. to this day. With the development of Polish television, other related

spin-off Spin-off may refer to: *Spin-off (media), a media work derived from an existing work *Corporate spin-off, a type of corporate action that forms a new company or entity * Government spin-off, civilian goods which are the result of military or gove ...

s and side shows accompanying the Dziennik were introduced. On 2 October 1970 the second channel,

TVP2 TVP 2 (TVP Dwa, ''Program II Telewizji Polskiej'', ''"Dwójka"'') is a Polish public mainstream TV channel operated by TVP. Launched in October 1970, its varied line-up contains a variety of programming (documentary, history, talk-shows, game-sh ...

, was launched. From 1965 until 1976, the evening edition of Dziennik was replaced by ''Monitor'', which was presented by Karol Małcużyński and Edmund Męclewski. On 26 June 1986, a second but shorter and more direct

newsflash News broadcasting is the medium of broadcasting various news events and other information via television, radio, or the internet in the field of broadcast journalism. The content is usually either produced locally in a radio studio or televis ...

called

Teleexpress Teleexpress is the second news program of the Telewizja Polska, TVP, broadcast daily on TVP1 and on TVP Info at 17:00 / 5:00PM. Until June 1992, it was broadcast at 17:15 / 5:15PM. It may broadcasts at different hours on TVP1 if the schedule of s ...

aired on TVP1. Since 30 March 1987, a third program also showing snippets, ''

Panorama A panorama (formed from Greek πᾶν "all" + ὅραμα "view") is any wide-angle view or representation of a physical space, whether in painting, drawing, photography, film, seismic images, or 3D modeling. The word was originally coined in ...

'', began airing on TVP2 as an alternative to Teleexpress. Under martial law in Poland, from December 1981 Dziennik was presented by officers of the

Polish Armed Forces The Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland ( pl, Siły Zbrojne Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej, abbreviated ''SZ RP''; popularly called ''Wojsko Polskie'' in Poland, abbreviated ''WP''—roughly, the "Polish Military") are the national armed forces of ...

or newsreaders in military uniforms and broadcast 24-hours a day. The running time has also been extended to 60 minutes. The program returned to its original form in 1983. The first coloured episode of Dziennik was transmitted on 6 December 1971. The final telecast aired on 17 November 1989.

Controversies and legacy

The program was highly controversial throughout its existence as it did not report news that could trigger anti-government sentiment. Furthermore, the communist authorities of the Polish People's Republic and the Polish United Workers' Party used it for its propaganda aimed at manipulating the audience. Similar newscasts used for identical purposes were present in all countries of the

Eastern Bloc The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc and the Soviet Bloc, was the group of socialist states of Central and Eastern Europe, East Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America under the influence of the Soviet Union that existed du ...

, most infamous being ''

'' from the

German Democratic Republic German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

and ''

Vremya ''Vremya'' (russian: Вре́мя, lit. "Time") is the main evening newscast in Russia, airing on Channel One Russia (Russian: , Pervy kanal) and previously on Programme One of the Central Television of the USSR (CT USSR, Russian: ). The program ...

'' from the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

. Dziennik was known to be strikingly objective about world affairs and, almost in every case, each episode featured a coverage from foreign countries where corruption, war and scandals were abundant. The goal was to minimize the effects of the issues that were occurring in Poland at the time, such as the

1968 Polish political crisis The Polish 1968 political crisis, also known in Poland as March 1968, Students' March, or March events ( pl, Marzec 1968; studencki Marzec; wydarzenia marcowe), was a series of major student, intellectual and other protests against the ruling Poli ...

1970 protests Year 197 ( CXCVII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Magius and Rufinus (or, less frequently, year 950 '' Ab urbe con ...

June 1976 protests The June 1976 protests were a series of protests and demonstrations in the Polish People's Republic that took place after Prime Minister Piotr Jaroszewicz revealed the plan for a sudden increase in the price of many basic commodities,

and the near-

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor ...

of the Polish People's Republic in the 1980s. The

newsreaders ''Newsreaders'' is an American television comedy that aired on Cartoon Network's late night programming block Adult Swim. ''Newsreaders'' is a spin-off of ''Childrens Hospital'', presented as the fictional television news magazine program ''Ne ...

often used emotive and loaded text with a pro-government and pro-

socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

bias Bias is a disproportionate weight ''in favor of'' or ''against'' an idea or thing, usually in a way that is closed-minded, prejudicial, or unfair. Biases can be innate or learned. People may develop biases for or against an individual, a group, ...

. The tone also used was very formal, serious and at times

nostalgic Nostalgia is a sentimentality for the past, typically for a period or place with happy personal associations. The word ''nostalgia'' is a learned formation of a Greek compound, consisting of (''nóstos''), meaning "homecoming", a Homeric word, ...

, particularly during national holidays. The anchors rarely smiled and addressed guests or referred to people as ''obywatelu'' ("citizen", equivalent to ''

comrade The term ''comrade'' (russian: товарищ, tovarisch) generally means 'mate', 'colleague', or 'ally', and derives from the Spanish and Portuguese, term , literally meaning 'chamber mate', from Latin , meaning 'chamber' or 'room'. It may also ...

'' in other communist states) instead of ''Pan/Pani'' (Sir/Mrs) –

T–V distinction The T–V distinction is the contextual use of different pronouns that exists in some languages and serves to convey formality or familiarity. Its name comes from the Latin pronouns '' tu'' and '' vos''. The distinction takes a number of forms ...

. On 28 October 1989, actress

Joanna Szczepkowska Joanna Szczepkowska (Polish pronunciation: ; born 1 May 1953) is a Polish film and theatre actress and writer. She appeared in more than thirty films since 1975. Life and career She made her debut on televion in 1975 by appearing in episode 1 of ...

was invited to the studio to discuss her theatrical career. Instead, she asked the host if she could deliver a message to the viewers. After being granted permission Szczepkowska stated "Ladies and Gentlemen. On 4 June 1989 communism has ended in Poland". This occurred shortly after

Tadeusz Mazowiecki Tadeusz Mazowiecki (; 18 April 1927 – 28 October 2013) was a Polish author, journalist, philanthropist and Christian-democratic politician, formerly one of the leaders of the Solidarity movement, and the first non-communist Polish prime min ...

was elected as the first non-communist Prime Minister of Poland. The situation was unusual as the TV anchor agreed to Szczepkowska's message on a communist-funded program, which glorified Marxism-Leninism and socialism for decades. The message was broadcast to millions across the country and became symbolic of the period of transition to

democracy Democracy (From grc, δημοκρατία, dēmokratía, ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation (" direct democracy"), or to choose gov ...

Numerous

epigram An epigram is a brief, interesting, memorable, and sometimes surprising or satirical statement. The word is derived from the Greek "inscription" from "to write on, to inscribe", and the literary device has been employed for over two mille ...

s and jokes about Dziennik surfaced in the 1980s; one suggesting that "the only factual aspect of the show was the date". Satirist

Jacek Fedorowicz Jacek Jan Fedorowicz (born 18 July 1937) is a Polish satirist and actor. Early life Fedorowicz was born in pre-war Gdynia, Poland to a family of Varsovians. His parents worked for the newly developed Polish maritime economy. As a 7-year-old ...

also parodied the program in the 1990s, often recalling the most infamous texts and lines from Dziennik. In contemporary Poland, the older generation tends to name every news program "Dziennik", regardless of the station or channel. The word "Dziennik" can also be synonymous with terms like propaganda and

disinformation Disinformation is false information deliberately spread to deceive people. It is sometimes confused with misinformation, which is false information but is not deliberate. The English word ''disinformation'' comes from the application of the L ...

, especially when referring to televised news.

Notable newsreaders

Bibliography