Gazeta Wyborcza

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Front page of an April 2006 issue.
Type	Daily newspaper
Format	Compact
Owner	Agora S.A.
Editor	Adam Michnik
Founded	1989
Political allegiance	Social liberal
Language	Polish language
Headquarters	Warsaw
Circulation	470,000
Website: www.gazetawyborcza.pl

Gazeta Wyborcza ("[ga'zεta vɨ'bɔrʧa]"; Polish for "Election Gazette") is Poland's second-largest daily newspaper (after the tabloid Fakt) aimed at left-leaning liberal readers. It is considered to be one of the most influential, opinion-forming and controversial newspapers in Poland. It covers the gamut of political, international and general news. Like most Polish newspapers, it is printed on compact/tabloid-size paper, and is published by Agora S.A., a multi-media concern

Contents 1 History of Gazeta Wyborcza 2 The Rywin affair 3 Journalists 4 Weekly thematic supplements 5 The electronic version of Gazeta Wyborcza 6 References 7 See also 8 External links

[edit] History of Gazeta Wyborcza

Gazeta Wyborcza began publication on May 8, 1989, under the rhyming masthead motto, "Nie ma wolności bez Solidarności" ("There's no freedom without Solidarity"). Its founding was an outcome of the Polish Round Table Agreement between the communist government of the People's Republic of Poland and political opponents centered around the Solidarity movement.

The paper was to serve as the voice of Solidarity during the run-up to semi-free elections to be held June 4, 1989 (hence its title). As such, it was the first legal newspaper published outside the communist government's control since that government's founding in the late 1940s.

According to the editors, the first edition was small (150,000 copies) and relatively expensive due to the limited supplies of paper available from the state. A year and a half later, the daily run had reached 500,000 copies. In September 1990, during the acrimonious breakup of the Solidarity camp following the collapse of the communist government, Lech Wałęsa revoked the paper's right to use the Solidarity logo on its masthead. Since then, Gazeta Wyborcza has been a fully independent newspaper which generally supports the values of the New Left.

Gazeta Wyborcza is now a massive multi-section daily newspaper.

The paper's editor-in-chief, since its founding, has been Adam Michnik.

The paper publishes daily local editions for the following cities: Warsaw, Białystok, Bydgoszcz, Częstochowa, Gdańsk, Gorzów Wielkopolski, Katowice, Kraków, Kielce, Lublin, Łódź, Olsztyn, Opole, Płock, Poznań, Radom, Rzeszów, Szczecin, Toruń, Wrocław and Zielona Góra.

Average circulation is 672,000.

[edit] The Rywin affair

In 2003, Lew Rywin, a prominent film producer, was accused by Gazeta Wyborcza of attempted bribery when he allegedly solicited a bribe of $17.5 million from editor Adam Michnik in exchange for amendments to a media bill. The passing of amendment in its primary form, which was suggested by the government, would have prevented Agora S.A. from buying Polsat, one of the Polish national TV stations. This case, called the Rywin affair, led to the establishment of the investigative commission by the Polish Parliament. Consequently, Lew Rywin was sentenced for the attempt to influence new law on radio and television in a way that would enable Poland's most successful media company to buy a national television station. Furthermore, the controversial draft act was rejected by the Polish Parliament.

[edit] Journalists

Notable journalists

[edit] Weekly thematic supplements

Monday: Gazeta Praca: classified advertisement, advertisements of career advisers and personnel consultants, price lists of advertisements, articles about jobs, addresses of personnel consultancy offices.
Gazeta Sport: the most significant sport events, coverages and scores of matches, commentaries, photos, interviews with famous sport stars.
Duży Format (first publication in March 1993, at the beginning called Magazyn): News, articles about sport, health, the automotive industry, film, music, art, etc.

Tuesday:

Kujon Polski: supplement for students, tests and exercises preparing for all kinds of school-leaving examinations, lists of school, universities, etc.
Komunikaty: reports on properties, competitive tendering, announcements of several offices and companies, law announcements, etc.
Gazeta Komputer (only in Warsaw edition)

Wednesday:

Gazeta Dom: how to build and furnish a house, how to renovate and decorate flats; legal professional advice, experts' opinions; property offers.
Gazeta Nieruchomości (in 13 local editions): property offers, current trends, information about new investments.

Thursday Wysokie Obroty (dedicated to men): about cars, and modern gadgets.

Friday:

Gazeta Telewizyjna: 130 TV programmes, sitcoms' descriptions, film reviews.
Gazeta Co Jest Grane: Cinema and theatre repertoires, film and book reviews, music events, etc.
Supermarket (only in Łódź and Trójmiasto editions)
Wieża Ciśnień (only Wrocław edition): news from the region, culture events, guides, repertoires, etc.
Komiksowo (published till 2004): supplement for children; included, among others, cartoons with Donald Duck, Mickey Mouse or Polish „Tymek i Mistrz”; offered also crosswords and puzzles.

Saturday:

Gazeta Turystyka: places worth visiting, short trips, abroad trips, plane tickets, travel agencies, useful tips and pieces of information.
Wysokie Obcasy (dedicated to women, since April 1999): various reports, women's portraits, recipes, fashion and beauty, etc.
Gazeta Książki (in Warsaw editions, once a month)
Zdrowie i Uroda (once a month): health and beauty, diets, disease prevention, attractive cosmetics, perfumes, vitamins, etc.

[edit] The electronic version of Gazeta Wyborcza

Nowadays, Gazeta Wyborcza can be read on the computer screen thanks to the web browser. The new website of the daily is also available now. Gazeta Wyborcza decided to “attack” the Internet. E-edition of Gazeta Wyborcza is the biggest attraction of the new website service. The electronic version of the daily newspaper is one of the international technological solutions. E-edition of Gazeta Wyborcza costs 1,50 zloty (newsagents offer the same price) or it can be subscribed. The website wwww.gazetawyborcza.pl has been expanded through rankings of articles which are most frequently read and commented on. Moreover, it presents history of Poland and the whole world from the angle of the most important covers of Gazeta Wyborcza. This website also includes new services: Twój głos (a page which allows the reader to contact with the editorial staff and express one's opinions), Fotografie, and Duży Format.

The reader has the opportunity to postpone reading chosen articles or send an e-mail with collected e-newspapers to other readers using the tool Twoja teczka. Furthermore, the reader can read blogs of Gazeta Wyborcza. Among the authors of the blogs are Ewa Milewicz, Dominika Wielowieyska, Jan Turnau, Bartosz Węglarczyk and Wojciech Orliński. The number of journalists who create their blogs is constantly increasing. Additionally, video materials will soon appear on the website. Waldemar Paś, the head of Gazeta Praca will be managing the service. He will be the leader of editorial staff working in Gazeta Wyborcza and Gazeta.pl. Finally, the team of Gazeta.pl and a “K2 Internet” company were responsible for creating the service.

Functions and opportunities of E-edition:

• 1-, 2-page view
• 5- level magnifying glass
• Managing of tabs
• Searching in the whole issue of Gazeta Wyborcza
• Offline reading through PressReader
• New useful functions:
  • table of contents (a list of articles in separate sections)
  • article preview
  • fast navigation of the article
  • article printing

[edit] References

This article does not cite any references or sources. (July 2007) Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.

[edit] See also

• Michnikowszczyzna

[edit] External links

• Newspaper homepage
• Gazeta Wyborcza's portal page
• Review of Stanislaw Remuszko's book about Gazeta Wyborcza
• Article on the electronic version of Gazeta Wyborcza