The suspension was lifted after a meeting involving Tomasz Sygut, the general manager of TVP, and Jakub Kwiatkowski, the director of TVP Sport, the broadcaster's sports station.
The controversy began when Babiarz made remarks during a broadcast, interpreting John Lennon's song "Imagine," used in the opening ceremony, as promoting communism.
This led to his initial suspension, as the management decided his commentary was not in line with the impartiality expected of journalists.
The reinstatement followed discussions where all parties agreed that a fundamental rule of journalism is the separation of information from personal opinion, a standard that applies universally to reporters and commentators alike.
This agreement led to the lifting of Babiarz's suspension, just in time for him to cover the upcoming track and field events in Paris.
The decision to suspend Babiarz had sparked a broader debate on media freedom and ethics, prompting the National Broadcasting Council (KRRiT) to launch an inquiry to determine if Babiarz's freedom of speech was violated.
According to Maciej Świrski, the head of KRRiT, this investigation aligns with constitutional safeguards that protect the freedom of speech and the public interest in broadcasting.
TVP's statement emphasized that mutual understanding, tolerance and reconciliation are not just in the spirit of Olympic ideals but are also fundamental to the standards upheld by the broadcaster, which does not condone breaches of these principles.
(rt/gs)
Source: PAP