Fakt
Polish tabloid daily, one of the best-selling papers in Poland.
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Fakt (Polish for "fact") is a Polish tabloid daily newspaper published in Warsaw, Poland, by Ringier Axel Springer Polska (a Swiss-German joint-venture subsidiary of Axel Springer SE and Ringier), and is one of the best-selling papers in Poland.
Lore & Background
Fakt was launched in October 2003 by the Polish outlet of the German publisher Axel Springer AG, and modeled on Springer's German tabloid Bild. It is characterized by down-market, often sensationalist journalism with a populist appeal, but politically it is by and large centrist. The paper supported policies of the former prime minister Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz, a regular commentator. Other op-ed writers include Tomasz Lis, Kamil Durczok, and Maciej Rybiński.
In the early 2000s, Fakt had a weekly supplement, Europa, featuring essays by scholars including Niall Ferguson, Francis Fukuyama, Jürgen Habermas, and Robert Kagan. In 2003, its circulation was 715,000 copies, making it the best-selling newspaper in Poland, replacing Gazeta Wyborcza as Poland's biggest-selling newspaper and putting pressure on the older national tabloid Super Express. In 2005, Gazeta Wyborcza publisher Agora responded with a failed middle-market paper Nowy Dzień. When Fakt launched at 1 złoty, Super Express publisher Media Express sued Axel Springer for dumping but lost, then leveled its price to match Fakt.
Reader's Guide
Fakt has been criticized for its style of journalism. The Polish Journalists Association awarded it twice with a "Hyena of the Year" award for unscrupulousness and neglect of journalistic ethics. In 2004, it published a photograph of a nude dead body of a murder victim. In 2005, it published a photo of Stanisław Piguła, editor-in-chief of an unspecified publication, with the caption "This sex offender is at large," though the story was about a different man.
The Warsaw-Praga District Court ordered editor-in-chief Grzegorz Jankowski to compensate Piguła and publish apologies in Fakt, Gazeta Wyborcza, and another unspecified newspaper for a week. In 2015, Fakt published a photo of a dying ten-year-old girl attacked with an axe. In 2018, it published an article about the suicide of former Prime Minister Leszek Miller's son; editor-in-chief Robert Feluś apologized, and Miller sued for gross violation of personal rights.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Fakt?
Fakt is a Polish-language tabloid daily newspaper published out of Warsaw. It is widely recognized for its sensationalist, populist editorial style.
Why does Fakt matter in Polish media?
It overtook Gazeta Wyborcza to claim the top spot in Polish newspaper circulation, cementing tabloid journalism as a dominant force in the country's press.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Fakt (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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