The 4th Meeting of the Committee on Social Communication and Media Sciences of the Polish Academy of Sciences and the Presentation of the Karol Jakubowicz Award

On 10 June 2024, the 4th in-person meeting of the Committee on Social Communication and Media Sciences of the Polish Academy of Sciences was held at the Palace of Culture and Science in Warsaw. The meeting was chaired by Prof. Iwona Hofman. The central point of the proceedings was a debate entitled “Media in Democracy: Between Freedom and Responsibility”, devoted to the role of the media in democratic systems, the threats posed by disinformation, ownership concentration, and the erosion of social trust, as well as challenges related to digitalization and the development of artificial intelligence.

The debate brought together representatives of the academic and media communities, who emphasized the importance of media freedom as a foundation of democracy while also highlighting the need to strengthen social responsibility, industry self-regulation, and media education. The discussion highlighted the necessity of dialogue among scholars, media practitioners, policymakers, and civil society, particularly in the context of information instability and tensions characteristic of the contemporary public sphere. In concluding the debate, Prof. Iwona Hofman pointed to ethical codes, transparency of funding, and media education as key tools for strengthening trust in the media.

The second part of the meeting was the award ceremony for the Karol Jakubowicz Prize, affiliated with the Polish Communication Association. Prof. Iwona Hofman, as Chair of the Prize Committee, recalled the idea behind the award and its importance for research on democracy, public media, and journalistic ethics. The laureate of the 7th edition of the prize was Dr hab. Ewa Nowak-Teter, Professor at Maria Curie-Skłodowska University, while the special award was granted to Piotr Pytlakowski. The meeting confirmed the Committee’s significance as a forum linking scholarly reflection, public debate, and actions aimed at enhancing the quality of media democracy.