Jacek Żakowski is a writer, journalist, and teacher. He graduated from the Department of Journalism and Political Science at the University of Warsaw. He is one of the founders of “Gazeta Wyborcza,” in which he is now a commentator. “Gazeta” is often regarded to be the most influential liberal daily newspaper in Central Europe. He was the first president of the Polish Information Agency. He currently works for “Polityka,” Poland’s best-selling weekly magazine of opinion, as a journalist and commentator. He is the head of the Department of Journalism at Collegium Civitas in Warsaw and the author of numerous television programs, radio programs and books. In 1997, he became the first winner of the Grand Press Award for Journalist of the Year, awarded by the magazine "Press.” The same year, he received two Wiktor awards for outstanding personalities on television.