David E. McCraw

- You spent the last couple of days in Poland visiting two of our biggest and most important cities: Warsaw and Krakow. You know a lot about the country about it’s law and media. What made you decide to come and do your lecture series in Poland precisely? 

David E. McCraw: Our State Department has a program that brings speakers who can talk about human rights and freedom of the press in Eastern Europe. They were looking for someone who could do that in Poland. And, because The State Department knew me from my previous meetings concerning human and press rights, they asked me if I would go to Poland and I agreed immediately. Why? Because I think that the current situation in Poland is quite interesting. In my mind, there is a great press and so much interesting journalism here, that I couldn’t miss the opportunity to visit this place. You know, many Americans think that Poland is still a very poor country, that people here drive Fiat 125’s and don’t have good jobs and that’s not true. I know this  because I was reading about the Polish situation. But there is much more to study. So I thought it would be a great opportunity for me to learn more about what’s going on in the Polish media, politics, and talk about the American media and our situation as well.

- You were meeting with university students from Poland. In Warsaw and in Krakow you were telling them about the situation in the U.S. about U.S. law and media. How do young people in PolandAmerica? know about

DMC: I was very impressed by how much the students knew about the U.S.. In Warsaw I met with law students, so they were familiar not only with Polish, but with American law as well. But even here in Krakow, where I met younger students of journalism, they obviously knew a great deal about the American media, also about the situation in the U.S. after September 11th,  the Bush administration as well. That shows how young people are interested in what’s going on between our two countries.

- How would you describe Polish and American relations?  Is Poland an important political partner for the U.S.?

DMC: As I said before, I think it’s unfortunate that many people in the United States don’t know a great deal about Poland. But also, I think in general, people in the United States are positive about your country. They know that Poles have supported the U.S. government in Iraq, and I think the American people are grateful for that. It is a very important thing. The other good thing is that there are many Poles in The United States and people who are Polish - Americans and are familiar with Polish culture. This helps to build good relations between people.

I’m sure that the U.S. president’s visit to Poland in June will be an opportunity for Americans to learn more about Poland (Note: the interview with David E. McCraw was held before the U.S. president’s visit in June of 2007)

There will be many, many reporters traveling with the President, and I think that it will be the first time that they have the opportunity to learn more about a topic as important as the missile defense issue. Then they will be able to write about it in the media and say good things. Journalists will meet Poles who are very concerned about missile defense, so this will be a very big chance for Polish politics to be in the American media and make a good impression of Poland.

- What do you think Americans can learn about Poland?

DMC: Definitely a lot. I can tell you what surprised me when I came here and I think it would probably be typical for a lot of people in America. Poland is a country which is growing very fast economically,  there seems to be a lot of prosperity, in large cities people live well, in Warsaw or in Krakow you can see a real potential for business. Also what is interesting here is that people have a great respect for history. Americans are often criticized for  not having  a sense of history. Poles are very proud of what they know about their past, and they are still learning from their history. Another interesting topic is that Poles take politics very seriously. For me it’s a great adventure to talk to people here, because every discussion is full of ama-zing information about Poland, I’m talking about the transformation that has taken place over the last eighteen years. This is worth liste-ning to and telling Americans about. 

- Don’t you think we have a problem with recent history? I’m talking about the last eighteen years and the new lustration law, which has divided Polish politics and the whole country. Many journalists think that the dividing lines run even among those who fought against communism in the past.

DMC: There is a fine balance between how much we remember about the past and how much we live in the present. I think history is not only a problem for the Poles, it’s also a problem for the Americans. We are constantly rethinking what the past was; we disagree about the past. It can be a problem and it is. But only if the past keeps us from the opportunities which we have now. We can see this in our newspapers, for instant. People are so sentimental about the traditional newspaper, that they don’t understand what we can do on the Internet. They think only about printed media and they can’t understand all the power the Internet has to offer. So history in every sense is a problem, but I think that can be dealt with quite well. 

- During your meetings with university students, you were talking about the freedom of press and the journalists’ rights in Poland and the U.S. Do you see many differences?

DMC: I’ve noticed that there are many things in Polish law that in The United States would be seen as restricting the freedom of press. Here there are laws against insulting the president or insulting the government. There are restrictions on hate speech against some groups of people. In PolandUS. But what is interesting and impressive to me, is that despite the more restrictive laws journalists here seem to be aggressive in finding stories, writing about the government and exposing corruption. you can’t reveal the surname of someone who is accused of a crime before he’s convicted. All those things are different in the

 And I think that’s very, very good. Because it’s easy to be a great journalist when the law protects you and harder when it doesn’t. However, in Poland, there is actually greater protection surrounding the reporter’s right to keep his sources confidential than in the United States. But this is something we hope will change.

- There is a discussion about journalism in Poland now. Who can be called a journalist and who cannot? How would you define journalist?

DMC: I think that the definition of a ‘journalist’ is more than someone who works in the traditional media. Clearly, if your publications appear only online that shouldn’t disqualify you as a journalist. There are publications in the U.S. that only appear online and those people who write them are real journalists. A lot of people in many small towns around where I live don’t have the possibility of working at a traditional local newspaper so they are creating web sites which cover local government. They are journalists because they are writing about public matters.
 
- We can hear the voices of criticism from Western Europe about our government. I’m interested to know, what does the average American know about Poland? What the  American media says about us?

DMC: Many people in the U.S. know that one of the most famous pair of twins in the world lives here in Poland. One of them is the president and the other is the prime minister. And some people find it weird. Some Americans are aware that your prime minister has problems with a bank account and lives with his mother. But seriously, I don’t think people in the U.S. know much about Polish politics, that Polish politics are sympathetic towards the Bush administration. That can change, as I said before, when the US president visits Poland. Also, when Polish president comes  to the United StatesPoland in the American press.  in July, there will be more articles about what is going on in

- So we have  a chance for increased interest in Poland by the American media?

DMC: Yes. But I have to admit, that it can be difficult to do that, because Americans can be sometimes very, very focused on themselves, on their own country. Our media likes news and controversy, and unfortunately for them and fortunately for you, things are going pretty well in Poland. And I’m sure that sometimes you should be thankful that you’re not being covered. I have a friend from the Congo and she is very unhappy about the article which covers the terrible things happening every day in Africa. So sometimes if you’re not very interesting for the media, it means that things are going well.

- Coverage by the US media could be a good starting point for the dialog you are talking about. In May there was a big article about Krakow in ‘The New York Times’. It covered the culture and history of our most popular city these days. Did Americans find it interesting?

DMC: Yes, very much. It was a very popular publication. About 1,5 million people bought that issue of the newspaper. There were a lot of voices saying that the article was very good. And I must admit that usually people call us to complain about what we have written.

There are a few reasons the story was popular. First, Krakow is a very beautiful and interesting city. And so, anyone who writes about it, has a good story. I also think that now, Americans are thinking about coming to Poland for a holiday much more often than a few years ago. When people travel and they are looking for some place to visit in Eastern Europe they consider other cities. They think of Budapest, or Prague. But many travelers have already seen those cities, so now they want to discover something new. One more important thing. There is a great deal of interest in Jewish history in America. And here in Krakow there is a wonderful Jewish district which is worth seeing. And memorable places - Auschwitz Birkenau for example - that is for many people, the most important point in their trip to Eastern Europe. To sum up, I think you will probably see more and more Americans here in Poland, especially in Krakow. 

- And what do you think about Poland from a tourist’s perspective?

DMC: It’s great country and you can quote me on that. The Polish people are so warm, accepting and so fascinating. You have a very interesting media here. And history. The  eighteen years since 1989 there have been such big changes here and it continues to change. I’ve met with university students in Warsaw and in Krakow, with professors too  and I think what makes them and us interesting to each other, is that in many ways we are dealing with the same problems. History, media, politics, freedom of press, government secrecy, and creating new opportunities for young people. I’m sure we have so much in common, the issues are familiar. However we are different in many ways, so we also have different solutions to these problems. That creates the opportunity to cooperate and help each other in many ways.

In Krakow I was a tourist for a while. I went to the Wawel Castle which is simply great, I went to the cathedral where the graves of Polish kings are. I went to a synagogue and that was also a very exciting experience. And every day I was at the Market Square, which seems to be one of the most beautiful squares I have ever seen. But obviously I couldn’t see everything that I wanted, so I would love to come back. Krakow is a very fascinating place. I’m impressed by Nowa Huta, which is an amazing product of socialism. I read about it, and I would like to see this part of Krakow as well.