{"id":6591,"date":"2026-04-29T21:41:01","date_gmt":"2026-04-29T19:41:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/whystory.pl\/en\/?p=6591"},"modified":"2026-04-30T06:30:25","modified_gmt":"2026-04-30T04:30:25","slug":"in-pursuit-of-culture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/whystory.pl\/en\/in-pursuit-of-culture\/","title":{"rendered":"In pursuit of culture"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

An intrview with Magda Mleczko, a journalist of Antyradio Katowice and Chillizet, about the behind-the-scenes of working at the microphone, her path to a profession that was supposed to be accidental, and why listening to others is paramount in journalism. It\u2019s also a story about the changes that time brings \u2013 both at work and in her personal life. She has just been nominated for the Charismatic Woman <\/em>award.<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

What are your memories of school time? Were you a straight-A student or rather a rebel?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

I had a bit of everything. I was only a straight-A student in the subjects I truly enjoyed, certainly not in science, which had always been my Achilles\u2019 heel. Instead, the humanities and art were my world. I was an artistic soul and excelled in those areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is it more painting or singing?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Definitely painting. After graduating from high school, I planned to study at the Academy of Fine Arts, but ultimately lacked the skills to get in. Looking back, I think it was a good thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And you went straight to radio?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

No, not yet. I studied and worked at the same time \u2013 at McDonald\u2019s, among other places, opening a restaurant in Katowice. It was a part-time job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What did you study?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I started journalism part-time, and later also advertising. Meanwhile, my mother became seriously ill, and my plans fell apart. Interestingly, I never dreamed of being a journalist \u2013 I didn\u2019t see that talent in myself. I absolutely didn\u2019t think I should pursue it, but luckily someone saw it in me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How did it happen?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

S\u0142awomir Herman, who still works as an editor at Radio Katowice, was a very good journalist. He was the husband of my mother\u2019s sister, Ania Herman, who was a trained musician. She wrote sheet music for Jerzy Milian\u2019s orchestra, among other things, but also worked at Radio Katowice. And they told me that S\u0142awek had been asked to found and host Radio Puls in Gliwice\u2019s W\u00f3jtowa Wie\u015b district. He suggested I come to an audition. Someone else was supposed to evaluate me \u2013 if they thought I was a good fit, they promised to help. That\u2019s what happened. I heard I had talent, and that\u2019s how I began my radio journey. I read my first broadcasts in pairs with Kuba Porada.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Were you commuting from Sosnowiec then?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

I was living with my mother\u2019s sister and S\u0142awek at the time. I was just over twenty years old. Gliwice is a city with a soul. It\u2019s alive both because of its history and because it\u2019s a student center. In the summer, all those cafes in the market square are packed. It\u2019s a beautiful city; I have fond memories of it. Although I had to wake up at a very draconian hour, because back then there was no Polish Press Agency (PAP) or cell phones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What was work like back then?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

It was completely different from today. I\u2019d wake up at 3 a.m. and record Radio Katowice\u2019s newscast on cassette so I could keep up with what was happening. Then, with that cassette, I\u2019d take the bus and then the tram to W\u00f3jtowa Wie\u015b. I\u2019d pick up newspapers at a small shop. With all that, I\u2019d go to the radio station. There, using a typewriter (because computers didn\u2019t exist back then), we\u2019d write down the information and browse the newspapers. We\u2019d also gather information by phone. We\u2019d call the emergency services, the police \u2013 whether something had happened or not. Today, we have systems that organize newscasts and act as prompters. It\u2019s a completely different world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How did you end up from Radio Puls to Radio Top?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

I saw a job posting and joined a huge queue. I met a friend there, Zbyszek Misek, who helped me move a bit, but I had to do the rest myself. Kamil Durczok and Bartek D\u0105browski interviewed me. They offered me newsreading instead of being a reporter \u2013 and that was a very good decision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Later, there was RMF\u2026<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Yes, it was a huge opportunity. The late Stanis\u0142aw Sm\u00f3\u0142ka called me and offered me a job at the Katowice branch of RMF. It was a true school of journalism \u2013 a nationwide station, high standards, and specific requirements. Initially, I had to spend two weeks in Krakow, where I had classes with a speech therapist and Ewa Drzyzga. They taught me to read in their specific style, because every radio station has its own style, so it was a learning curve. After two weeks, I returned to Katowice and started reading our local news, and on weekends, I did some reporting because we were on call. Those were the golden days of RMF \u2013 all the events, the famous \u201eInvasions of Power,\u201d the Olympics, the grand celebrations of RMF\u2019s 10th anniversary in Zakopane\u2026 RMF was the best school for news journalism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And then Antyradio?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

After changes in RMF\u2019s structure, I joined Adpoint radio, which eventually became Antyradio. I\u2019ve been here for 18 years now. At the same time, I also run the program \u201eIn Pursuit of Culture\u201d on Chillizet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Was that your idea?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

No \u2013 I received the offer and accepted it immediately. Today, I combine both worlds: news and culture. At Antyradio, I read newscasts, and I also produce the cultural program \u201ePe\u0142na Kultura.\u201d These air four times a day, one minute at a time. I also conduct interviews for \u201e\u015al\u0105ski Magel,\u201d which airs on Antyradio every weekend. We have a license to cover local news, so we cover Silesian affairs related to the region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Which of your interviewees made the biggest impression on you?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Definitely Marian Dzi\u0119dziel and Gra\u017cyna Bu\u0142ka \u2013 my conversations with them are etched in my memory for a long time. Meeting Wojciech Siudmak was also very important to me. One of my first interviews was with Jan Kanty Pawlu\u015bkiewicz \u2013 I was completely stressed out at the time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What did journalism teach you?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

It taught me that an interview isn\u2019t just \u201equestioning\u201d like in school. The most important thing is listening and being genuinely curious about others.<\/p>\n\n\n

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What are you most proud of today?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

That I\u2019m doing something I truly love. I enjoy getting up for work and feeling like I\u2019m in my element. Personally, I\u2019m proud of my son Jakub, who is studying English Philology and Geography. He\u2019s an artistic soul, but at the same time, organized, meticulous, and detailed. He\u2019s also smart and intelligent. He graduated from music school with a degree in accordion, but didn\u2019t pursue music further.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What do you do in your free time?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Professionally, I\u2019m simply happy where I am \u2013 and I\u2019d like it to last as long as possible. I have everything organized just the way I like it. I love what I do, and I hope it stays that way.
Personally? It\u2019s hard to say what the future holds. My husband passed away in November 2024. That changed my life significantly. Today, I\u2019m learning to draw more from it and live a little \u201emy way.\u201d For now, it\u2019s just the three of us \u2013 me, my son, and our Bengal cat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And what about your dreams?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019d like to see more of the world, be healthy and peaceful. And for my son to have a good education and build a life for himself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What advice would you give to young journalists?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Above all: don\u2019t be afraid of people. Talk, be open. Social media and phones have made direct contact increasingly difficult. And without that, there\u2019s no good journalism. You have to be able to listen and be truly curious about other people. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Szymon P\u0119czalski
Beata Seku\u0142a<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An intrview with Magda Mleczko, a journalist of Antyradio Katowice and Chillizet, about the behind-the-scenes of working at the microphone, her path to a profession that was supposed to be accidental, and why listening to others is paramount in journalism. It\u2019s also a story about the changes that time brings \u2013 both at work and in her personal life. She has just been […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6593,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1141],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/whystory.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6591"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/whystory.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/whystory.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/whystory.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/whystory.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6591"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/whystory.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6591\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6603,"href":"http:\/\/whystory.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6591\/revisions\/6603"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/whystory.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6593"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/whystory.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6591"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/whystory.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6591"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/whystory.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6591"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}