"Wprost" weekly

General information

Its circulation and influence make the "Wprost" magazine one of the most important opinion-forming weeklies in Poland. In June 2009 "Wprost" was among ten most frequently quoted media and came second out of all opinion weeklies (according to Instytut Monitorowania Mediów). Over 2.6 million people read "Wprost" at least once a month (according to PBC GENERAL SMG/KRC survey conducted between July 2008 and June 2009).
Apart from the "Wprost" weekly Agencja Wydawniczo-Reklamowa Wprost publishes "Mój Pies" and "Wprost Light".
The President of the company is Amadeusz Król.

Readers

"Wprost" is read by 10.1% of Polish men and 7.3% of Polish women (according to SMG/KRC survey conducted between July 2008 and June 2009). Every fourth of our readers (24%) lives in a big city of over 500,000 inhabitants; half of them (49,7%) have a degree; every fifth (21%) is a director or owner of a private company. Almost two thirds of our readers are less than 44 years old.

History

A pilot issue was published on 24 October 1982 (the first issue on 5 December of the same year) in Poznań. It tackled mainly regional matters at the time and a vast number of issues was sold in the Wielkopolska region. In 1989 "Wprost" became a national magazine, gaining new readers and the position of the biggest opinion weeklies in Poland. In November 2000 "Wprost" moved to Warsaw.

Initially the circulation was 30,000 copies (in 1994 it exceeded 350,000 copies). The first issues contained 32 pages; since then, the number has increased to around 100 pages per issue. "Wprost" is read not only in Poland, but also in the USA, Canada and Western Europe. Readers highly appreciate our columns, analytical articles and ranking lists of politicians and political parties.

People

Editor-in-Chief is Stanisław Janecki, who replaced Piotr Gabryel. The magazine is created by over 50 journalists, graphic designers and photographers. Our feature writers include Antoni Dudek, Robert Gwiazdowski, Krzysztof Rybiński, prof. Witold Orłowski, Piotr Semka. In our over 20-year-old history such renown columnists have cooperated with us as Stefan Kisielewski, Leszek Balcerowicz, Lech Wałęsa, Wacław Wilczyński, prof. Jacek Kurczewski, Stanisław Tym. 

Famous graphic artists have also contributed to the style and character of our weekly – Edward Dwurnik, Rafał Olbiński and Andrzej Krauze to name only a few.

Man of the Year

Every year the editors of "Wprost" grant the Man of the Year title, which has become a very prestigious award. So far they have honoured:

•    1991 - Leszek Balcerowicz, the Father of Polish economic reforms, the Head of the National Bank of Poland
•    1992 - Hanna Suchocka, the first woman in Polish history to become Prime Minister
•    1993 - Aleksander Kwaśniewski, the former President of Poland
•    1994 - Jacek Kuroń, one of the most popular Polish politicians according to the all public opinion polls
•    1995 - Lech Wałęsa, legendary leader of Solidarity in Gdańsk’s shipyard, former Polish president and Nobel Prize winner
•    1996 - Wisława Szymborska, poet from Kraków, 1996 Nobel Prize winner
•    1997 - Marian Krzaklewski, leader of Solidarity Election Action party, which won the parliamentary elections in 1997
•    1998 - Jerzy Buzek, Prime Minister (1997-2001) in the Solidarity Election Action and Freedom Union coalition government
•    1999 - Bronisław Geremek, Man of State, former Foreign Affairs Minister, later the leader of Freedom Union
•    2000 - Andrzej Olechowski, runner-up in presidential elections in the year 2000, charter member of political group Platforma Obywatelska
•    2001 - Leszek Miller, Prime Minister, leader of post-communist Democratic Left Alliance
•    2002 - Leszek Miller and Günter Verheugen (for the first time the award was granted to two persons, to a foreigner (Günter Verheugen) and to a person awarded before. Leszek Miller was a 2001 laureate)
•    2003 - Jan Maria Rokita, chairman of the parliamentary club of Citizens Platform (Platforma Obywatelska)
•    2004 - Victor Yushchenko , Prime Minister of Ukraine (1999-2001), since December 2004 President of Ukraine
•    2005 - Jarosław Kaczyński, chairman of Law and Justice (Prawo i Sprawiedliwość) , former Prime Minister of Poland
•    2006 - Zbigniew Ziobro - Minister of Justice
•    2007 - Leo Beenhakker - coach of football national team
•    2008 - Donald Tusk - Prime Minister

The magazine organizes round table meetings, inviting well-known experts and famous persons to discuss problems concerning particular nations (there have been meetings devoted to Yugoslavian matters, as well as contact between Poles and Jews, Germans and Russians). Together with the American Embassy in Poland "Wprost" has organized several competitions for young journalists. The winners attend an American school of journalism and gain experience working as "Wprost" journalists.

One may disagree with articles published in "Wprost" or feel indignant, but it would be improper not to read the magazine at all, as one reader expressed it.

Wprost has been awarded many prizes. In 1990 it received the Bolesław Prus prize and in 1991 the Krajowa Nagroda Mediów and Tytan awards (the first prize for the best advertisement). In 1992 the magazine received an award for encouraging private entrepreneurship in Poland. The magazine is a member of Związek Kontroli Dystrybucji Prasy, an organization controlling press print-runs. Since February 1996 "Wprost" has been printing print-run information on its cover, the data being confirmed by independent auditing agencies. There is also an online version of the magazine. Such a wide offering results in www.wprost.pl being among the top ten Polish Web sites in terms of the number of unique visitors.

Every year in June, "Wprost" publishes a list of the 100 richest Poles. The ranking lists have been used several times by the national and foreign press. "Wprost" was also the first Polish magazine to publish ranking lists of universities.

Wprost24

Wprost24 was launched in 1995. Today we are visited by over 600,000 Internet users per month, generating around 3 million views per month (Megapanel PBI/Gemius report for June 2009).
Wprost24 provides daily news prepared by our journalists, updated news bulletin with our commentaries as well as editorials written by guest writers. Wprost online also gives access to the articles published in the paper edition of our magazine as well as the archive of all materials that have been printed since 1998. 

"Mój Pies"

Mój Pies is a monthly for pet lovers. Its circulation (45,000 copies) makes "Mój Pies" the largest magazine in this market segment. The magazine provides information regarding animal health, nutrition, grooming and training. Every month Polish or international celebrities present their animals and describe how pets enrich their lives. "Mój Pies" is filled with a lot of useful advice for pet breeders, trainers and vets. It is also the most popular magazine in Poland for placing small ads connected with selling and buying pets (mostly dogs). "Mój Pies" does a great deal to promote and support animal rights. The Editor-in-Chief of the magazine is Dorota Jastrzębowska.