Image of the Community of Legal Professionals in the Television Coverage – a Case Study

Abstract

The aim of the study, which is of a scientific and research nature, is to present the mass media image of the community of legal professionals in Poland. It is a case study based on a specific television coverage in the form of a pseudo-documentary series titled Caste (Pol. Kasta) broadcast by Polish public television. This image is important for the correct organisation of social relations. The significance of the issue and the way it is presented deserve a closer insight, especially since lawyers have not been in high positions in public opinion polls on the prestige of professions for years. The pseudo-documentary was chosen as the research material for the study, because it falls within the broader concept of a documentary while being a certain novelty. For the purpose of the study, a test sample was selected. As a result of the research, it has been shown that the picture of the community of legal professionals presented in pseudo-documentary TV shows in Poland is negative. The usual plot of such shows is that as a result of various kinds of informal deals, unfair decisions are made which are harmful for the victims of the deal, for which the entirety of legal community is blamed, including primarily judges. Exceptions are very rare, and the only hope are young, idealist advocates who are presented as lawyer role models. The TV show Caste, operating unfair simplifications and stereotypes, was part of a series of actions aimed at discrediting the legal community in Poland and did not improve its image. The balance between facts and fiction has been disturbed, which served to support a presupposition that Polish realities are flawed due to the conduct of legal professionals, especially judges. Only those problems in the judiciary have been emphasised, which have helped to prove the need for reform, particularly corruption. Educational opportunities typical of this form of communication were not used, hence the level of legal awareness of Polish society was not raised. It can be hypothesized that the presented image from a medium that constitutes the main source of information and has the largest audience, could have affected the opinion about legal practitioners in Polish society. The TV series met a response from the public, which however requires a separate study.