Title

The Media and Intra-Elite Communication in Poland: The System of Censorship

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

12-1980

Publisher

The Rand Corporation

Abstract

A detailed documentation of the structure and operations of the formal censorship system in Poland. The Main Administration for Control of the Press, Publications, and Public Performances (GUKPPiW) is formally responsible for all censorship; it must monitor every public word from name cards and obituaries to mass media and artistic performances. This Note describes the censorship process and the ways in which GUKPPiW and other, informal controls determine what information is made public. It traces the evolution of the system through mid-1980. It is based on interviews with individuals who have worked in various parts of the Polish media, including the censorship office itself, and it also uses internal documents of the Krakow branch of GUKPPiW which have been published in the West. This study is a portion of a broad study of Polish media, summarized in R-2627. Other parts of the study are reported in N-1514/1, N-1514/3, N-1514/4, and N-1514/5.

Share

COinS