Fakt

Fakt (Polish language for "fact") is a Polish language tabloid-style daily newspaper published by German company Axel Springer SE through its joint-venture subsidiary Ringier Axel Springer Polska (owned with Ringier Axel Springer Media AG which belongs to Swiss publisher Ringier and German-American Axel Springer SE) and is one of the best-selling papers in the country.

Fakt
Front page of a September 2006 edition
TypeDaily newspaper
FormatTabloid
Owner(s)Ringier Axel Springer Polska
EditorKatarzyna Kozłowska
Founded2003 (2003)
Political alignmentCentrist, populist
HeadquartersWarsaw
Circulation215,508 (2019)
Websitewww.fakt.pl
Fakt logo

History and profile

Fakt was launched in October 2003 by the Polish outlet of the German publishing company Axel Springer AG,[1] Axel Springer Polska, and modeled on Springer's German tabloid Bild,[2][3] the biggest-selling newspaper in Europe. Like its German counterpart Bild, Fakt is characterised by its downmarket, often sensationalist journalism with a populist appeal. However, politically it is by and large centrist. Then the paper supported former prime minister Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz's policies; Marcinkiewicz also regularly contributes invited comments. Other regular contributors of op-ed pieces include Tomasz Lis, a prominent television journalist with political ambitions, TVN anchorman Kamil Durczok, and former Rzeczpospolita columnist Maciej Rybiński.

Untypically for a tabloid and in contrast to its usual content, Fakt has a weekly supplement entitled Europa which contains highbrow (non-original) essays by scholars and public intellectuals, which in 2006 have included Niall Ferguson, Francis Fukuyama, Jürgen Habermas, and Robert Kagan.

The headquarters of Fakt is in Warsaw[2] and the paper is published in tabloid format.[4]

The circulation of Fakt was 715,000 copies in 2003, making it the best selling newspaper in the country.[4] Its circulation was 373,700 copies in Germany.[5]

Response from competitors

Within a short time, Fakt replaced the upmarket to middle-market Gazeta Wyborcza as Poland's biggest-selling newspaper, also putting pressure on Super Express, until then the only national tabloid. Gazeta Wyborcza's publisher Agora S.A. responded with the (failed) launch of a distinct middle-market paper Nowy Dzień to compete directly with Fakt.

When Fakt was launched at a price of 1 Polish złoty, Super Express 's publisher MediaExpress accused Springer of dumping its daily at a cover-price lower than its production costs. Having lost the lawsuit against Springer, MediaExpress reduced the price of Super Express to Fakt's level.

Criticism

Like Bild and other tabloid press products, Fakt has been subjected to criticism concerning its style of journalism from media watchdogs. Twice so far, the Association of Polish Journalists awarded Fakt with its "Hyena Of The Year" award for "particular unscrupulousness and neglect of the principles of the journalistic work ethic": In 2004, Fakt had published a photograph showing the nude dead body of a murder victim; in 2005 it had published the photo of an innocent person with the caption "This sex offender is at large".

See also

References
  1. "Editor of Poland's leading paper says tabloids are friendly, independent and explicit". Editors Weblog. 1 June 2004. Retrieved 5 February 2015.
  2. "The press in Poland". BBC. 29 April 2004. Retrieved 10 November 2014.
  3. David H. Weaver; Lars Willnat (2012). The Global Journalist in the 21st Century. Routledge. p. 256. ISBN 978-0-415-88576-8. Retrieved 10 November 2014.
  4. "World Press Trends" (PDF). Paris: World Association of Newspapers. 2004. Retrieved 15 February 2015.
  5. "Annual Report 2012" (PDF). Axel Springer AG. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
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