WNET, channel 13 (also referred to as Thirteen) is a non-commercial educational public television station licensed to Newark, New Jersey. With its signal covering the New York metropolitan area, WNET is a primary station of the Public Broadcasting Service and a primary provider of PBS programming. WNET's main studios and offices are located in Midtown Manhattan with an auxiliary street-level studio in the Lincoln Center complex on the Upper West Side. The station's transmitter is on the Empire State Building.

The license-holder is WNET,^[1] formerly known as the Educational Broadcasting Corporation. WNET is also the parent of Long Island-based PBS station WLIW (channel 21) and operator of NJTV. The current president and Chief Executive Officer of the two stations and the New Jersey network NJTV is Neal Shapiro, the former president of NBC News. WNET's Channel Thirteen is the most watched PBS station in the country; its sister station WLIW is the third most watched.^[2]

History[link]

Independent station[link]

WNET commenced broadcasting on May 15, 1948, as WATV, a commercial television station owned by Atlantic Television, a subsidiary of Bremer Broadcasting Corporation. Bremer also owned two northern New Jersey radio stations, WAAT (970 AM, now WNYM) and WAAT-FM (94.7 MHz., now WFME). The three stations were based in the Mosque Theatre on Broad Street in Newark. WATV was the first of three new stations in the New York area market to start up during 1948, and was also the first independent station. One unusual daytime program, Daywatch, consisted of a camera focused on a teletypewriter printing wire service news stories, interspersed with cut-aways to mechanical toys against a light music soundtrack.

On October 6, 1957, Bremer Broadcasting announced it had sold its stations for $4.5 million to National Telefilm Associates, an early distributor of motion pictures for television. On May 7, 1958, channel 13's callsign was changed to WNTA-TV to reflect the new ownership; the radio stations adopted these call letters as well. NTA's cash resources enabled WNTA-TV to produce a schedule of programming with greater emphasis on the people and events of New Jersey, in comparison to the other commercial television stations. NTA also sought to make channel 13 a center of nationally syndicated programming and produced several such entries, notably the anthology drama series Play of the Week; the talk show Open End, hosted by David Susskind; children's show The Magic Clown; and a popular dance program emceed by Clay Cole. But WNTA-TV continued to lag behind New York's other independent stations—WNEW-TV (now WNYW), WOR-TV (now WWOR-TV), and WPIX -- in terms of audience size, and NTA incurred a large debtload. National Telefilm Associates put the WNTA stations up for sale in February 1961.

Transition[link]

At least three prospective purchasers expressed interest in WNTA-TV. The most prominent was the New York City-based group Educational Television for the Metropolitan Area (ETMA). Composed of local businesspeople, cultural leaders, and educators, ETMA was focused on creating an educational television outlet for New York, and believed that the non-commercial frequency the Federal Communications Commission allocated to the city, UHF channel 25, would not be nearly adequate enough to cover a market that had grown to include large swaths of northern New Jersey and southwestern Connecticut, as well as southern New York state and Long Island. Prior to 1964, most viewers could not view UHF stations except with an expensive converter, and even with one the picture quality left much to be desired. Only a few manufacturers made sets with built-in UHF tuning. With assistance from the New York State Board of Regents and New Jersey officials, ETMA had attempted to purchase channel 13 and convert it to a non-commercial station in 1957, when Bremer Broadcasting first put the station on the block; this bid was later withdrawn. This time, ETMA was competing with Ely Landau, founding president of National Telefilm Associates, who had resigned from the company in order to head his own venture for this;^{[citation needed]} and by David Susskind, who received financial backing from Paramount Pictures.^{[citation needed]}

ETMA's initial bid of $4 million was rejected by NTA, but the citizens' group remained persistent. With the support and guidance of National Educational Television already in their pocket, ETMA later received an endorsement from newly appointed FCC Chairman Newton Minow, who established public hearings to discuss the fate of channel 13. The pendulum quickly shifted in favor of channel 13 going non-commercial, and the private firms withdrew their interest.

On June 29, 1961, ETMA agreed to purchase WNTA-TV for $6.2 million, and the FCC converted channel 13's commercial license to non-commercial. About $2 million of that amount came from the five of the six remaining commercial VHF stations (WPIX was the lone holdout), all of whom were pleased to see a commercial competitor eliminated by the conversion of channel 13 to public broadcasting. In addition, CBS donated a facility in Manhattan to ETMA and NET for production uses. Richard Heffner was appointed as the station's first general manager.

Outgoing New Jersey governor Robert B. Meyner, addressing state lawmakers' concerns over continued programming specific to New Jersey, and fearing the FCC would move the channel 13 allocation to New York City, petitioned the United States Court of Appeals on September 6, 1961, to block the sale of WNTA-TV. The court ruled in the state's favor two months later.

The unsettled deal almost caused National Telefilm Associates to reconsider its decision to sell the station altogether, and NTA made plans to go forward: WNTA-TV made a play to acquire broadcast rights for the New York Mets baseball team for its inaugural 1962 season. But faced with either consummating the transaction or seeing it cancelled, ETMA settled their differences with New Jersey officials on December 4, 1961. Almost simultaneously, the state withdrew its block petition, and the FCC gave final approval of the transfer of channel 13. After a few last-minute issues arose to cause further delays, the transfer became final on December 22. Later that evening, WNTA-TV signed off for the final time. ETMA and NET then went to work converting the station, which they said would return with its new format within three months.

Ten months later, channel 13 was ready to be reborn. With legendary reporter Edward R. Murrow at the helm on the maiden broadcast, ETMA—now the non-profit Educational Broadcasting Corporation -- flipped the switch to WNDT (for "New Dimensions in Television") on September 16, 1962. ([1]) (The rebirth of channel 13 was not without difficulty, however - after the inaugural broadcast, WNDT would go dark for two weeks, due to a dispute with union technicians.^[3]) The rebirth of channel 13 as WNDT gave the New York City market its first educational station, and with a dial position on the coveted VHF band. (In many other cities, including large ones, educational stations had to make do with UHF frequencies.) New York's non-commercial UHF channel, on the other hand, wouldn't make it to the air for another five years, when WNYE-TV signed on in 1967.

Educational station[link]

During the transition, and after the inaugural broadcast, WNDT faced an immediate crisis. The American Federation of Television and Radio Artists was concerned about the use of teachers—some of whom were AFTRA-certified performers—on non-commercial television, and how they would be compensated should their work be distributed nationally.

AFTRA called a strike the morning of WNDT's debut. Engineers and technicians who were members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers refused to cross the AFTRA picket line, leaving the station's management and other non-union employees to produce the three-hour inaugural broadcast. Immediately afterwards, channel 13 went off the air again, as the strike continued for nearly two weeks. The striking workers returned WNDT to the air after ten days, and on September 28 the labor dispute was settled. But the station's financial resources were drained, requiring an infusion of cash from NET to help keep the station running.

NET originally wanted to merge its operations with WNDT, which would have given WNDT a direct line of funding as well as make channel 13 NET's flagship station. However, the Ford Foundation, which supported both groups, stopped the proposed mergers on at least two different occasions (in 1962, and again in 1965).

Events that began in 1967 led the Ford Foundation to change its stance and push for a WNDT-NET merger. The newly formed Corporation for Public Broadcasting (created by an act of the United States Congress) initially supported NET's network role, while providing government funding for programming. But that move was followed two years later with the establishment of the Public Broadcasting Service as the CPB's own distribution system—a direct threat to NET's turf. It has been intimated that CPB's creation was an attempt to curb NET's production of controversial documentaries and replace it with a less controversial, government-friendly broadcaster, less hostile in particular to the Johnson, and later the Nixon administrations. (NET, ignoring the demand, refused point-blank to stop the production of the critically acclaimed documentaries.) At one point, President Nixon, frustrated with NET's documentaries criticizing his administration, especially its handling of the Vietnam War, almost managed to cut NET's $20 million funding grant in half.^[4] This led to both Ford and the CPB to threaten NET with funding withdrawal, unless it merged with the station. Not long after, Ford brokered the merger of WNDT and NET, which took effect on June 29, 1970. Channel 13's callsign was changed to the present WNET on October 5, 1970. NET ceased network operations, though WNET continued to produce some shows for the national PBS schedule with the NET branding until about 1972.

Channel 13's studios and offices were originally located in the Mosque Theater at 1020 Broad Street in Newark, with transmitter on First Mountain in West Orange, New Jersey. For a short time studios were located at the Gateway Center office building in Newark. The station eventually moved its operations to Manhattan in 1982 and was based on West 58th Street in the Hudson Hotel, while retaining the Gateway Center studios for a few more years. In 1998 it moved to 450 West 33rd Street straddling the railroad tracks going into Pennsylvania Station. The Associated Press and numerous other media groups have headquarters in the same building.

450 West 33rd Street, the current broadcast facility for WNET; also home to the New York Daily News and the Associated Press.

Channel 13's transmitter facilities, including a newly installed digital transmission system, were destroyed on September 11, 2001, when airplanes hijacked by terrorists crashed into the World Trade Center towers. Gerald (Rod) Coppola, channel 13's head transmitter engineer, was among those who perished when the north tower collapsed. For the next ten months WNYE-TV, headquartered in Brooklyn, became WNET's surrogate transmitter and airwave: for those without cable, repeats of WNET prime-time schedules were screened on WNYE. Some time earlier, in February 2003, WNET completed its merger with Long Island PBS broadcaster WLIW (licensed to Garden City and based in Plainview), combining the two stations into one operation. While most of the two stations' operations have been merged, they still have separate studio facilities, separate governing boards, and conduct separate fundraising efforts.

During 2009, WNET's parent company (formerly known as WNET.org) had sustained financial difficulties—in January, the company pared its workforce from 500 employees to 415, due to severe problems with its budget and fundraising. In October, WNET announced that its studios at 450 West 33rd Street would soon be up for sale, as it no longer needed the extra space. In November, WNET announced that all WNET.org employees would take an unpaid furlough for three to five days between Christmas and New Year's Day, with a skeleton crew of engineers remaining during that time to keep the stations on the air; however, they, too, would have to go on furloughs at the start of 2010.^[5] In 2011, WNET moved its operations to Worldwide Plaza).

On July 1, 2011, WNET took over the programming of the New Jersey Network, which was renamed NJTV. The network features increased coverage of news and issues pertinent to New Jersey, as well as programming from the WNET and PBS libraries. The transfer of programming to WNET was part of Governor Chris Christie's plan for New Jersey's exit from public broadcasting.^[6] As part of the deal, WNET airs NJTV's nightly statewide newscast, NJToday, to meet its local programming obligations since it still operates on a frequency allocated to Newark. Previously, it had aired NJN's newscast, NJN News, which it co-produced with NJN.

Out-of-market carriage[link]

WNET is carried in all of Mercer County, New Jersey (Comcast, Cablevision and FIOS) and portions of central Bucks County, Pennsylvania carrying Doylestown and New Hope programming. It is also carried in small parts of Connecticut.

Digital television[link]

Analog-to-digital conversion[link]

WNET discontinued regular analog programming at 12:30 PM on June 12, 2009.^[7] The station then returned to channel 13.^[8][9]

Original productions[link]

WNET has produced, created and/or presented a number of PBS shows. This includes, but is not limited to:

• Jakers! The Adventures of Piggley Winks (2003–Present)
• AFRICA (2001)
• The Africa American Journey (2002–2005)
• Aging Out (2005)
• Amato: A Love Affair with Opera (2001)
• American Masters (1983–present)
• The American President (2000)
• Angelina Ballerina (originally presented by Connecticut Public Television, with HIT Entertainment)
• Australia: Beyond the Fatal Shore (2000)
• Bill Moyers Reports: Earth On Edge (2001)
• Center of the Storm (2002)
• Changing Stages (2001)
• Colonial House (2004)
• Cucina Amore (1999–2002)
• Cyberchase (2002–2010, produced by Nelvana)
• Dickens (2003)
• DNA (2003)
• Echoes From the White House (2001)
• EGG, the Arts Show (2000–2003)
• Extreme Oil (2004)
• Freedom: A History of US (2003)
• Frontier House (2002)
• The Great American Dream Machine (1971–1972)
• Great Food (2001)
• Great Performances (1972–present)
• Heroes of Ground Zero (2002)
• Innovation: Life, Inspired (2004)
• In Search of Ancient Ireland (2002)
• Justice and the Generals (2002)
• Live from Lincoln Center (1976–present)
• Lord of the Universe
• Local News (2001)
• MasterChef USA (1999–2001)
• The Mind
• Monarchy
• Moyers on Addiction: Close to Home (1998)
• Nature (1982–present)
• New York: A Documentary Film (1999–2003); co-produced with WGBH-TV)
• NOW
• NYC-ARTS(2012)
• On Our Own Terms: Moyers on Dying (2000)
• Our Genes Our Choices (2003)
• Red Gold: The Epic Story of Blood (2002)
• Religion and Ethics Newsweekly (1997–present)
• Reel New York
• The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow (2002)
• Savage Earth (1998)
• Savage Seas (1999, co-produced with Granada Television
• The Secret Life of the Brain (2002)
• Secrets of the Dead (2000–present)
• Shining Time Station (1989–1993)
• Simon Schama's Power of Art
• The Six Wives of Henry VIII (2003)
• Slavery and the Making of America (2004)
• Sound and Fury (2000)
• Soul! (1967–1973)
• Srebrenica: A Cry from the Grave (1999)
• Stage on Screen (2001)
• The Story of English
• Sunday Arts
• Tavis Smiley (2004–present)
• Taxi Dreams (2001)
• That Money Show (2000–2001)
• Thomas and Friends (Originally produced by Connecticut Public Television, with HIT Entertainment)
• Thomas Hampson: I Hear America Singing (1997)
• The A Walk Through... series of historical walking tours of New York City: A Walk Through Central Park, A Walk Through Greenwich Village, A Walk Through the Bronx, A Walk Through Brooklyn, A Walk Through Queens, and A Walk Through Staten Island
• Warrior Challenge (2003)
• Who Cares: Chronic Illness in America (2001)
• Who's Dancin' Now? (2001)
• Worldfocus A program that Looks At International News Hosted By Martin Savidge and Daljit Dhaliwal
• Wide Angle (2002–Present)
• Wild TV (2002) PBS
• Verna: U.S.O. Girl

WNET has also produced programming for public televisions stations distributed outside of the PBS system, including:

• Planet H2O
• In the Mix: The New Normal, a co-production with In the Mix
• What's Up in Factories
• What's Up in Technology
• What's Up in Finance

WNET is also the co-producing entity of PBS NewsHour, along with Washington, D.C. PBS station WETA-TV and MacNeil-Lehrer Productions. The show started in 1975 as a local news-analysis program, The Robert MacNeil Report. Jim Lehrer, a frequent guest on MacNeil's show, became co-host the following year, when the show was picked up by the other PBS outlets.

This section requires expansion.

See also[link]

• Media of New York City

Notes[link]

External links[link]

• WNET Website
• Public Broadcasting Service
• WNET logos and screenshots from 1950s to the present day
• Query the FCC's TV station database for WNET

This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. It relies on references to primary sources or sources affiliated with the subject, rather than references from independent authors and third-party publications. Tagged since January 2009. It may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Tagged since January 2009.

Wojciech Cejrowski
Wojciech Cejrowski - 2005
Born	(1964-06-27) June 27, 1964 (age 48) Elbląg
Education	Wyższa Szkoła Teatralna Catholic University of Lublin University of Warsaw Santa Clara University
Occupation	traveler, writer, journalist
Parents	Stanisław Cejrowski

Wojciech Cejrowski - (27 June 1964 Elbląg) - is a Polish traveller, television and radio journalist, writer, Catholic publicist, satirist, photographer.

Education[link]

Wojciech Cejrowski graduated: the XVII High School by the name of Andrzej Frycz Modrzewski in Warsaw; Aleksander Zelwerowicz State Theatre Academy; Catholic University of Lublin, University of Warsaw, Santa Clara University.

Organizations[link]

Wojciech Cejrowski is a member of the following organizations:

• Royal Geographical Society
• CMA - Country Music Association (USA)
• ACMA - Country Music Association of Australia
• South American Explorers Club

Television[link]

His most widely known TV programme is called WC Kwadrans (WC Quarter) which was broadcast in Polish TV (1994–1996). This controversial, sharp, witty and funny programme was watched by three million viewers and nobody was left unconcerned.^{[citation needed]} But there also were other programmes. Wojciech Cejrowski started his TV career by cooperating with Wojciech Mann in his Non Stop Kolor show (Non-stop Color) broadcast on Polish TV (1992–1994). At the time he was conducting his own WC Kwadrans (WC Quarter). He also was the host of the Stajnia show (The Stable) that was broadcast by Polish TV and then by local TVs all over the country. During the 1996–1997 season he recorded a series of programmes (that consisted of 30 episodes) for the TV Niepokalanów (now called TV Puls). The cycle was about Wojciech Cejrowski's travels to South America. In 1997 Wojciech Cejrowski started his cooperation with channel RTL 7. First he was in the group of Polish satirists (Jan Pietrzak, Jan Tadeusz Stanisławski, Krzysztof Daukszewicz and others) that was commentating Polish reality and then (1999–2000) along with Alicja Resich-Modlińska he hosted a talk show Piękny i Bestia (Beauty and the Beast in which he was the Beauty). Lately Wojciech Cejrowski worked for Polsat - he was the host of his own show Z kamerą wśród ludzi (Among People with a Camera - 2003–2004) that was also broadcast by TV 4 and Polsat 2. The cycle had the fourth biggest public in Poland (2.5 million people).

In 2008 Wojciech Cejrowski started his Barefoot Around the World (Boso przez świat). This programme is very popular, and this is honored Gold World Medal - New York Festivals 2008 - Travel & Tourism.

He is known to be against the promotion of homosexuality, stating that "[gay people] should be pointed at, as the sin of sodomy evokes disgust" [1] and that he "prefers savages rather than gay parades" [2].

In April 2008 Cejrowski announced his intention to abandon his Polish citizenship and acquire the Ecuadorian one instead.[3]

Radio[link]

Wojciech Cejrowski started his radio career in 1991 - along with Korneliusz Pacuda he conducted the program Czy jest miejsce na country w Polsce? (Is There a Place for Country Music in Poland?). One of its results was a contract with American ABC Network - since 1992 all Polish local broadcasting stations had started to broadcast Polish version of American Country Countdown. Wojciech Cejrowski (at the beginning along with Korneliusz Pacuda) was hosting this broadcast for eleven years. The very last one (No. 519) was broadcast in January 2003. In 1993 Wojciech Cejrowski was offered the job by Wojciech Mann and Krzysztof Materna, owners of the private radio station Radio Kolor (Radio Color). First he hosted his own music programme then also famous Aeroplan (Airplane) together with Beata Pawlikowska and then his leading morning programme (every Saturday from 6 to 10 am - which later gave the beginning to WC Kwadrans). His cooperation with Radio Kolor ended in 1997 (soon after Mann and Materna left the radio station and some changes for worse were made). He worked for Radio WAW-a for next 3 years (1997–1999). These days Wojciech Cejrowski's radio broadcasts can be found in various public and private broadcasting stations in Poland. The best known is his traveler cycle Po drugiej stronie globusa (On the Other Side of the Globe) - it's more than 300 episodes that were broadcast by Radio Station 1, Radio dla Ciebie, Radio Koszalin, Radio Merkury, Radio PiK and Radio Network PLUS. He also works for Polish Radio Station 1. He sends his correspondences from foreign countries for Z pierwszej ręki (First Hand) and Radio Kierowców (The Driver's Radio) and his traveler's stories for Lato z Radiem (Summer with Radio). During 2005 winter season Wojciech Cejrowski hosted the Zima z radiową Jedynką (Winter with Radio Station One). In the meantime since 2003 he has been creating music broadcasts on the demand of Music Editorial Office - Muzyka na Molo (Music on the Pier) and Audycja podzwrotnikowa (Subtropical Broadcast).

Periodicals[link]

Wojciech Cejrowski writes and publishes quite a lot on social and political situations (he got his columns in "Gazeta Polska", "Tygodnik AWS", "Ilustrowany Kurier Polski") and on his many travels (humorous reports in "Newsweek", "Rzeczpospolita", "Poznaj Świat"and others).

Books[link]

Political humor[link]

• Kołtun się jeży (Mophead Stands on End)
• Młot na lewicę ( The Hammer for the Left)
• Sól do oka (Salt into an Eye)

Traveler[link]

• Podróżnik WC (Traveler WC)
• Na końcu Orinoko (At the Orinoco's End)
• Gringo wśród dzikich plemion (Gringo Among the Wild Tribes)
• Rio Anaconda

Journeys[link]

• 1985 - Cuba, Mexico - speleological expedition
• 1986 - Mexico - a documentary on the archeological stands of the Toltec culture
• 1986 - Mexico - Lacadonians - descendants of the Maya
• 1987 - Mexico - a documentary on the archeological stands of the Maya
• 1987/88 - Mexico - Tribes on the Borderlines Between the Aztecs and the Maya
• 1989 - USSR - Orthodox Monastery - the Capitals of the Orthodox Church
• 1989 - Mexico - The Lost Tribe - Modern Descendants of the Indians
• 1990 - Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico - Mundo Maya
• 1990 - USSR - Life in the Communes
• 1990 - Caucasus - excursion
• 1991 - Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, Belize - Guerrilla - Under-ground Army, Rebels and Ordinary Gangsters
• 1991 - Guatemala - unknown Maya's ruins; descendants of the slaves of Jamaica
• 1992 - Texas/Mexico - Tribes on the Border - Tarahumara, Raramuri
• 1993 - USA - POW WOW. Modern Indian Rituals
• 1994 - Honduras, Mexico - Mosquito Indians project
• 1995 - Colombia - Kogi Indians
• 1996 - Panama/Colombia - Crossing Darién on foot; Choco and Kuna Indians
• 1997 - Venezuela/Brazil - Yanomami, Curripaco i Piaroa Indians
• 1997 - Australia - From Adelaide to York Peninsula
• 1998 - Venezuela/Colombia - Carapana Indians
• 1998 - USA/Canada/Mexico - Mennonites, Amish and Mormones
• 1999 - Guyana/Venezuela/Brazil - Last Wai Wai Indians
• 1999/2000 - Morocco - Ramadan
• 2000 - Paraguay/Brazil - Mennonici, Ache, Ayoreo, Nivacle Indians - Gran Chaco
• 2001 - Peru/Ecuador - through the Napo River; Sekoya tribe
• 2002 - Colombia, Peru, Brazil - Marubo, Mayoruna and Yagua tribes
• 2003 - Suriname/French Guyana/Brazil - Bush Negros, Wayana, Tirio and Wai Wai tribes
• 2004 - Israel/Palestinian territories - In the Footsteps of Jesus
• 2004 - Costa Rica/Panama - Garifuna - An African Tribe of the Caribbean
• 2005 - Peru - Following the Incas - Machu Picchu, Cuzco
• 2005 - Bolivia - Jesuit reductions on the Bolivian Chaco, by the Rio Madre de Dios to Peru
• 2007 – Espaniol, Peru/Columbia/Brazil, Trinidad i Tobago
• 2008 – Mexico, Guatemala, Puerto Rico, Vanuatu archipelago, Tirol, Madagascar
• 2009 - Mexico, Venezuela, Thailand, Columbia/Ecuador/Peru, Brasil, Mexico, Guatemala
• 2010 - Japan / Australia / Fiji - "From the Indian Ocean to the Pacific"
• 2011 - Ethiopia 2011 - Israel / Palestine
• 2011/2012 - USA (Texas)

References[link]

• http://www.cejrowski.com/en/cv/

Persondata
Name	Cejrowski, Wojciech
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	27 June 1964
Place of birth	Elbląg
Date of death
Place of death

Janusz Ryszard Korwin-Mikke
Member of Sejm
In office 25 November 1991 – 31 May 1993
Personal details
Born	(1942-10-27) 27 October 1942 (age 69) Warszawa, Poland
Political party	Congress of the New Right
Other political affiliations	Democratic Party (1962–82) Real Politics Union (1987–2009) Freedom and Lawfulness (2009–11)
Spouse(s)	Ewa Mieczkowska Małgorzata Szmit

During the 2000 Presidential Campaign in Poland

Janusz Ryszard Korwin-Mikke (Polish pronunciation: [ˈjanuʂ ˈkɔrvʲin ˈmʲikkɛ]) often referred to by his initials JKM, born 27 October 1942 in Warsaw, Poland) is a Polish politician and political commentator. He is the leader of the Congress of the New Right, which was formed in 2011 from Freedom and Lawfulness, which he led from its formation in 2009, and the Real Politics Union (UPR), which he led from 1990–1997 and 1999–2003.

Life[link]

Janusz Ryszard Korwin-Mikke studied at the Faculty of Mathematics and Faculty of Philosophy of the Warsaw University. In 1965 he was detained by the communist authorities, while studying psychology, law, and sociology. In 1968 he was again arrested and relegated from the university for his participation in student protests. He passed the master's examination without attending a course of Philosophy.

In years 1969–1974 he was a researcher in the Institute of Motor Transport (Instytut Transportu Samochodowego), and then at Warsaw University. In 1978 he established "Liberal Publishing House" (Oficyna Liberałów), an underground publishing house.

From 1962 to 1982 he was a member of the Democratic Party (Stronnictwo Demokratyczne), a puppet party subordinate to the communist authorities. In August 1980 he supported the political strike of the Szczecin Shipyard workers, and later he was an adviser of NSZZ Rzemieślników Indywidualnych "Solidarność" (The Independent Craftsmen's Union). After the imposition of martial law he was interned but later released. In 1987 he was elected the chairman of a liberal-conservative political party called Ruch Polityki Realnej (The Real Politics Movement), which in 1989 changed its name to Unia Polityki Realnej (UPR, Real Politics Union). In 1990 he established a new weekly Najwyższy Czas! ("The Time is Now!"). Lech Wałęsa appointed him to become a member of Solidarity's advisory body – Komitet Obywatelski (The Civic Committee).

Korwin-Mikke was a Member of Parliament during the first term of Sejm (Polish Parliament) of the Third Republic of Poland. Originator of the vetting resolution. He was a candidate for the UPR in the Polish Presidential Election of 1995, obtaining 2.4% of the vote. He was also candidate in 2000 when he got 1.43% of the vote. In the senate by-election in Wrocław in April 2004 he got 18% votes, but finally did not receive the seat. In the presidential elections of 2005 he obtained 1.4% of the vote.

Janusz Korwin-Mikke's economic views are radically liberal, in the classical sense of the word; in the U.S. his views would be best described as libertarian conservative. He frequently refers to such figures as Frédéric Bastiat, Alexis de Tocqueville, Friedrich Hayek or Milton Friedman.

Politically, he is an advocate of monarchy and a member of the Conservative-Monarchist Club. He is known for his disdain towards democracy.^{[citation needed]}

In 2009 he left UPR and created a new party, Freedom and Lawfulness (Polish: Wolność i Praworządność, WIP).

Korwin-Mikke is a popular public figure in the mass-media and on the internet, mainly due to often unusual or eccentric ways of demonstrating his political stances. For instance, he protested against high taxes in Poland by eating his tax return together with a Polish musician Krzysztof Skiba in front of the Polish revenue service office.

He writes the most popular blog in Poland ^[1].

Janusz Korwin-Mikke has been a national champion in bridge, and a member of the national team.^{[citation needed]} He is also a skilled chess player^{[citation needed]}.

Polish presidential election of 2010[link]

Janusz Korwin-Mikke was a presidential candidate in Polish presidential elections of 2010. On 2 June 2010, an unscientific internet poll conducted by TVN24 news network's website^[2] showed 22% voter support for Korwin-Mikke, effectively placing him at the second spot next to Bronisław Komorowski (with 35% votes) and Jarosław Kaczyński (19% votes), with 431,000 total votes. In most opinion polls, however, his support was around 2–3%.

In the real voting, Korwin-Mikke received 2.48% of votes and didn't get into the second round.

Publications[link]

• Naprawić Polskę? No problem! (Fix Poland? No problem!) 2004
• Podatki – Czyli rzecz o grabieży (Taxes – about robbery) 2004
• Dekadencja (Decadence) 2002
• Ekonomikka (Economikks) 2001
• Rok 2007 (Year 2007) 2001
• Niebezpieczne ubezpieczenia (Dangerous insurances) 2000
• Vademecum ojca (Father's vademecum) 1997
• Wizja parlamentu w nowej konstytucji Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej (Vision of parliament in new Polish constitution) 1994
• Prowokacja? (Provocation?) 1991
• "Rząd rżnie głupa" – czyli mowy sejmowe (Government playing dumb – Parliament speeches) 1993
• Nie tylko o Żydach (Not Only About Jews) 1991
• Ratujmy państwo (Let Us Save the Country) 1990
• Bez impasu (Without impasse)
• Kto tu dymi? (Who is making smoke here?) 2007
• Rusofoby w odwrocie (Russophobes in retreat) 2009

See also[link]

• Liberalism in Poland

References[link]

• Sejm website on his first cadency

External links[link]

• Janusz Korwin Mikke's site (Polish)
• Janusz Korwin-Mikke's blog (Polish)
• Janusz Korwin-Mikke's blog (not updated)

v t e previous ←   Candidates in the Polish presidential election, 1995   → following Winner Aleksander Kwaśniewski Lost in runoff Lech Wałęsa (incumbent) Other candidates Leszek Bubel · Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz · Janusz Korwin-Mikke · Tadeusz Koźluk · Jacek Kuroń · Andrzej Lepper · Jan Olszewski · Waldemar Pawlak · Jan Pietrzak · Kazimierz Piotrowicz · Tadeusz Zieliński Withdrew Lech Kaczyński · Marek Markiewicz · Leszek Moczulski · Bogdan Pawłowski

v t e previous ←   Candidates in the Polish presidential election, 2000   → following Winner Aleksander Kwaśniewski Other candidates Dariusz Grabowski · Piotr Ikonowicz · Jarosław Kalinowski · Janusz Korwin-Mikke · Marian Krzaklewski · Andrzej Lepper · Jan Łopuszański · Andrzej Olechowski · Bogdan Pawłowski · Lech Wałęsa · Tadeusz Wilecki Withdrew Jan Olszewski

v t e previous ←   Candidates in the Polish presidential election, 2005   → following Winner Lech Kaczyński Lost in runoff Donald Tusk Other candidates Henryka Bochniarz · Marek Borowski · Leszek Bubel · Liwiusz Ilasz · Jarosław Kalinowski · Janusz Korwin-Mikke · Andrzej Lepper · Jan Pyszko · Adam Słomka · Stanisław Tymiński Withdrew Włodzimierz Cimoszewicz · Maciej Giertych · Zbigniew Religa Died before election Daniel Podrzycki

v t e previous ←   Candidates in the Polish presidential election, 2010 Winner Bronisław Komorowski Lost in runoff Jarosław Kaczyński Other candidates Marek Jurek · Janusz Korwin-Mikke · Andrzej Lepper · Kornel Morawiecki · Grzegorz Napieralski · Andrzej Olechowski · Waldemar Pawlak · Bogusław Ziętek Rejected from race Zdzisław Jankowski · Gabriel Janowski · Dariusz Kosiur · Bartłomiej Kurzeja · Krzysztof Mazurski · Paweł Pietrzyk · Roman Sklepowicz · Paweł Soroka · Bogdan Szpryngiel · Ludwik Wasiak · Józef Wójcik · Waldemar Urbanowski