Tadeusz Rydzik's media empire. A giant with feet of clay, but subsidized

08/01/2024, 16:00

The director's father cannot dream that after PiS loses control of TVP and Polskie Radio, recipients of the propaganda produced there until recently will flow to his media (Photo: Jakub Kamiński/East News)

Law and Justice politicians still obey Tadeusz Rydzik – the founder of Radio Maryja and Telewizja Trwam – even though the audience of these media has shrunk to the level of small thematic stations. Before the transfer of power, PiS deposited hundreds of millions of zlotys into Rydzik's bank accounts. He hopes that his media will help them through their difficult time in opposition.

During the last parliamentary elections, Radio Maryja and TV Trwam did not play a significant role. It is true that the politicians of the United Right, as usual, went to Toruń to participate in the programs, but their statements were not published in other media. That didn't stop them from dancing and singing in December at a ceremony to celebrate Radio Maryja's 32nd anniversary, with Tadeusz Rydzik playing for them.

Terrible opinion about Ridzik's media

They need to face the truth: the audience that politicians can reach through Radio Maryja and TV Trwam is not that big. Radio Track Research by Kantar shows that in September-November 2023, the listenership of Radio Maryja was 2%. And only because of the upcoming elections, it was higher compared to the same period of the previous year (1.7%). If we assume that the number of Polish citizens is about 38.5 million, and the percentage of radio listeners is about 70 percent, it turns out that only about 770,000 people listen to Radio Maryja. people. These are similar results to the achievements of Polskie Radio 24 or RMF Classic. For example, news radio Tok FM had a much higher listenership – 3.3%. or anti-radio – 2.6 percent.

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TV Trwam has even worse results. In 2022, the share of this channel in the television audience (terrestrial broadcasting) was 0.42%. – According to Nielsen Media data provided by the National Broadcasting Council. This means that TV Trwam's average daily audience was 24.7 thousand. and was 23 percent lower than in 2021. TV Trwam has a smaller audience than Nowa TV – 0.37%. A list of average annual channel shares published by Nielsen Research, published by the National Broadcasting Council, shows that TV Trwam was in 37th position in 2022 and 30th in 2021.

Tadeusz Rydzyk's media preference has always been the audience. They reached social groups that were missed or undervalued by other broadcasters. According to a study by the National Media Institute – to add: Rydzik, who is criticized for supporting the media – the oldest listeners over 75 are more likely to listen only to Radio One (25.5%) than to Radio Maryja (13.1%). . Moreover, these are mostly the lowest-income students, poorly educated residents of small towns and villages.

Most Poles have a terrible opinion of Tadeusz Rydzik's media. According to last year's CBOS survey “Poles' Opinions about TV and Radio Stations”, Radio Maryja is the only station that receives more negative votes than positive votes among Poles. Almost a third of respondents (32%) expressed a critical opinion about the activity of this tool, while 19% evaluated it positively. respondents. In addition, compared to the 2022 survey, Radio Marija also had the largest increase in negative opinions (by 3 percentage points).

ZP politicians did not abandon the director's father

This is no longer the time when the statements of the “director's father” on Radio Maryja are generally quoted in the mainstream media and can influence the careers of individual politicians and even the results of elections. We remind you that in 2006 the ceremony of signing the coalition agreement by PiS, League of Polish Families and Samobrona was allowed to be broadcast only by TV Trwam. At that time – let's add – Tadeusz Rydzik's electronic media attracted a lot of attention because they were accused of spreading chauvinism, homophobia and anti-Semitism.

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After 2015, Polish television and Polish radio began to play the role of the main propaganda media. It was easier and more effective to spread party propaganda there – these media had a larger audience and were headed by completely accessible and predictable people.

However, the politicians of the United Right did not abandon the director's father. They knew that if they lost the election, they might lose their influence over TVP and Polish Radio. So they bolstered Rydzik, mostly financially, so that he and his media could survive even in difficult times – and provided them with a platform from which to speak to their constituents.

In October, Wirtualna Polska calculated that during the PiS government, Rydzik and his associates received at least PLN 380 million from the state. For example, within the framework of subsidies received from the Ministry of Justice, TV Trwam started a four-year project “Truth and History” with almost PLN 5.5 million. It was about the fight against the “harmful distortion of Polish history”. The Prime Minister's Office allocated almost PLN 590,000. PLN for establishing a spiritual connection with Poland and instilling a patriotic attitude in viewers from the United States and Canada. However, starting in 2020, the Ministry of Defense commissioned TV Trwam to produce and broadcast the program “Become a Soldier of the Republic of Poland”, for which the Ministry paid more than PLN 2.3 million.

A colossus with feet of clay

It is difficult to count all state subsidies for Tadeusz Rydzik, because He received money not only from ministries, but also from institutions and foundations that proliferated under PiS rule.. And not only for the media, but also for his other “works” that he carried out: for example, the Museum of Memory and Identity. St. John Paul II – a total of more than 218 million PLN – or the Academy of Social and Media Culture in Toruń – a total of almost 30 million PLN.

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Tadeusz Rydzik Media was previously called “Rydzik Media Empire”. Today we can call them “Colossus with feet of clay”. The director's father can't dream that after PiS loses control of TVP and Polskie Radio, most of the recipients of the propaganda produced there until recently will move to Radio Maryja and TV Trwam. Tomasz Sakievic fights for them by employing TVP stars at TV Republika. Older listeners and viewers of Rydzik's media are naturally leaving, but young people with radical national-right beliefs already have their media online.

PiS politicians who invest in Tadeusz Rydzyk know what they are doing. To declare the collapse of the Redemptorist media would be a gross exaggeration. Their strength cannot be measured by their reduced audience alone. Tadeusz Rydzik has combined his media with a network of various organizations that unite people who identify with the views he preaches.

The following were created: Radio Maria Family, Radio Maria Friends groups, including Radio Maria Friends youth groups and Children in the Children's Yard groups at Radio Maria. People belonging to these organizations will show up at every call of the director's father and will increase any demonstration organized against political rivals that Rydzik points them to.

Also read: “He helped me when Piotr Yakon insulted me. Interview with Tomasz Terlikowski

(MAK, 08/01/2024)

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