## I. INTRODUCTION The shape of the Polish radio broadcasting in the New York metropolis was largely influenced by the achievements of Poles who had been settling in this area for decades and were united by their national affiliation, sense of patriotism, common tradition and religion. By building churches, creating various institutions and media, they tried to demonstrate their distinctiveness among other ethnic groups, helped members of their communities and maintained Polish traditions and culture. Over the decades, the Polish radio broadcasting has evolved from broadcasting several-hour programs towards a professional radio broadcasting a 24-hour program. It is difficult to compare Polish programs with the model that was embodied by American radio almost from the very beginning, where, in addition to the extensive technical infrastructure, its quality was determined by a large professional staff of journalists and radio technicians. New York metropolis. Despite living abroad and the financial difficulties faced by Polish radio creators, they played a significant role for their own ethnic group in the United States. They played an important role in maintaining the national identity of Poles living in exile in America. The Polish language present on the radio, programs containing various journalistic genres, constant contact with the home country through information or interviews with outstanding Poles, conversations about tradition and history - constantly reminded listeners about their roots. The aim of the article is to present radio journalistic genres and analyze which of them appeared on Polish radio stations, based on the example of the New York metropolis. Another important issue is an attempt to answer the question: How have radio genres changed under the influence of technological changes? The research method was the analysis of secondary data as well as a comparative analysis of the programming offer of individual radio stations. The research covered hourly programs broadcast since 1927 as well as radio stations broadcasting 24-hour programs to Internet stations currently operating on the New York airwaves.[^2] ## II. POLISH ETHNIC GROUP IN THE UNITED STATES The history of the Polish presence in the United States dates back to the beginning of the 17th century. Poles who came to the American continent in subsequent centuries did so for economic and political reasons. Research on the Polish diaspora uses one of the divisions into "old" and "new" emigration. The first group included emigrants from before World War II who came to the United States primarily for economic reasons, their descendants and the emigration of the first post-war years, including soldiers of the Polish Armed Forces in the West. It is a fundamental part of Polonia, which shapes its traditional image and controls its basic organizational structures. The new emigration - primarily representatives of circles associated with the "Solidarity" movement and the democratic opposition in Poland (Kudras, 1998, p.1). The largest Polish community in the world lives overseas. It is estimated that approximately 10 million of our compatriots live in the United States (Szulim, 2023). Data from the American Community Survey (ACS) show that the group of people declaring Polish origin but born in the USA in 2010 numbered 8.9 million people and constituted over $2.9\%$. American society (Census, 2010). Table 1: People born in Poland and people of Polish origin born in the USA compared to the entire American population in 2010. <table><tr><td>The Polish community in the USA compared to the American population</td><td>Number</td><td>Percentage</td></tr><tr><td>People born in Poland</td><td>481 851</td><td>0,16</td></tr><tr><td>People born in the USA who reported Polish as their first nationality</td><td>5 830 401</td><td>1,88</td></tr><tr><td>People born in the USA who reported Polish as their second nationality</td><td>3 142 447</td><td>1,02</td></tr><tr><td>The entire US population</td><td>309 349 689</td><td>100</td></tr></table> The largest Polish communities in the United States are located in Chicago and New York (Szulim, 2023), which is one of the largest metropolises in the world and also the most populous city in America. The enumerated population of New York City's was 8,804,190 as of April 1, 2020, a record high population. This is an increase of 629,057 people since the 2010 Census (NYC, 2024). New York is considered the biggest melting pot city in the world. With over 800 languages spoken in the city, this city is considered home to many (Tanzil, 2022). There are hundreds of Polish organizations in America, the largest of them include: Polish American Congress, Polish National Alliance, Polish Roman Catholic Union, Polish Women's Alliance, Polish Falcons of America, Polish Army Veterans Association, American Council for Polish Culture, Jozef Płsudski Institute of America, Kościuszko Foundation. Polish immigrants, almost from the beginning of their presence in the USA, were active in social activities aimed at strengthening bonds between members of their ethnic group. Stephen H. Riggins points out that the term "ethnicity" is defined in various ways, but it can be assumed that it refers to people who perceive themselves as a community through common culture, origin, language, history, religion and customs. The group is unlikely to see itself as unique in all respects; one or two characteristics may be selected from the collective identity as the most symbolic (Riggins, 1992, p. 1). After arriving in the United States, Poles founded parishes, mutual aid societies, schools, libraries, dental and medical offices, bars and restaurants, agencies and nursing homes, wholesalers and stores, flower shops, hairdressers, funeral homes, opened editorial offices of Polish magazines and created programs radio. They created their own Polish community of this urban agglomeration, becoming a permanent part of its topography, culture and history (Piątkowska, 1997, p. 13). The most important challenge for radio creators was to interest listeners in their offer enough for the proposed program to become popular among emigrants, and thus attractive to advertisers - mainly owners of Polish companies. All Polish radio programs in the New York metropolis can be said to be unique. This was mainly determined by the personality of the creator, the adopted radio profile and the rich program offer. In order to maintain their position on the market, radio journalists had to notice changes in customs, technology or the economic situation and adapt their programs to them. ## III. POLONIA RADIO IN THE UNITED STATES Polonia radio in New York began broadcasting on January 26, 1927. It was thanks to the efforts of the "Nowy Świat"1 daily. According to J. Miga, in 1958 there were 85 Polish radio broadcasts in the United States. They were broadcast for 281 hours a week - which gave an average of over 3 hours per program. The results from subsequent years confirmed constant development. Already in 1969, the number of programs increased to 115, as did the total airing time during which they were broadcast - to 366.5 hours (Miga, 1987, p. 132), while the average time per one program remained almost changes. Data analysis2 allowed us to recreate the following radio programs on the New York airwaves: Kazimierz and Florentyna Jarzbowski, Bolesław and Zenobia Rosolak, "Polskie Dzwony", "Polish Radio Hour" and DsG Polonii (1934 -1991), "Radio Dwóch Edwardów" (1945-1990), "Radio Zblżenia" (1989-2004) and "Radio Most" (1991-2004). The 1980s and 1990s bring a generational change - the last distinguished and extremely experienced radio broadcasters, who began their adventure with this medium before the outbreak of World War II or immediately after its end, pass away. Their place is taken by young people with new ideas, trying to implement a new philosophy of creating radio programs. At the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries, 24-hour programs appeared, the permanent elements of which were cyclical news from Poland and America, music, mainly popular, press reviews and other items bringing these programs closer to the standards of professional public radio known from Poland. These included: "Nasze Radio" (1994/1995-2001), "Polskie Radio 910AM" (1999-2011) and "Radio Rytm" (2002-2010). It is worth paying attention to one more issue: the radio stations in question have been operating since the 1990s, when, especially in the United States, there was a rapid development of new technologies. This also influenced the development of online radio stations for the Polish community, examples include: "Radio Rampa", "Nasze Radio" and "Polskie Radio USA." ## IV. RADIO JOURNALISTIC GENRES In his work, a journalist has at his disposal a whole range of journalistic forms through which he can transmit information. These specific instruments are referred to as genres in the literature. According to Denis McQuail, a genre is a practical tool that supports any mass medium with consistent and published production that ensures that audience expectations are met. At the same time, it is a mechanism that organizes relations between producers and consumers (McQuail, 2005, p. 366). According to the definition found in the "Dictionary of Media Terminology", journalistic genres are a set of rules determining the structure of individual works or journalistic materials (Pisarek, 2006, p. 45). According to Zbigniew Bauer, the concept of journalistic genre is, by its definition, related to something permanent, like a frame that limits the field of the image (Bauer, 2015, p. 81). The system of genre features is something like a "grammar", specifying orders and prohibitions that apply when composing a given work in order to achieve the desired effect and fulfill its designated function (Furman et al., 2000). Individual genres are grouped into journalistic types, which are most often divided into informational and journalistic. The information type fulfills the basic task of the media, which is to inform about current events. It assumes the existence of an objective world of phenomena, figures and judgments that should be reported quickly and without any subjective evaluation. In this case, the journalist plays a servile role, he is obliged to be factual and extremely objective, and the language he uses is also subject to limitations - it should be as transparent as possible and devoid of any stylistic influences (Wolny-Zmorzyński et al., 2006, p. 11). The journalistic type is public information about socially important events, but unlike previously described, it is combined with the interpretation of reality, explanation, reference to broader contexts, as well as with a subjective but motivated assessment and forecasting based on facts. Punching points or asking questions are also allowed. The essence of this type is to deepen and problematize knowledge about reality (Wolny-Zmorzyński et al., 2006, p. 29). In the literature on the subject, we can also find another classification, according to which journalism is divided into three types. The third type includes borderline genres which, by presenting facts, reveal the views of people taking part in the conversation, create or enhance media phenomena, sometimes bear the hallmarks of a sensation or a staged scandal, and therefore partly play a typically informative role, and partly a journalistic one. Taking into account the development of the media, some researchers proposed a new typology. It is based on the assumption that the place of publication, the information channel and the medium significantly influence the poetics of genres. On this basis, individual journalistic genres were arranged according to their genres, and they are: press, radio, television and internet (Wolny-Zmorzyński et al., 2006, p. 31). Due to the topic of the article, those that are characteristic of the radio genus will be presented. The place of each, depending on its type, is shown in the table below. Table nr 1: Types of journalism on the radio <table><tr><td>Types of Journalism</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Informational</td><td>Journalistic</td><td>Informational and Journalistic</td></tr><tr><td>Credit line</td><td>Column review</td><td>Interview</td></tr><tr><td>Information</td><td>Commentary</td><td>Debate</td></tr><tr><td>Announcement</td><td>Serialized novel</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Coverage</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>News footage</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Correspondence</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Report</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Exclusive</td><td></td><td></td></tr></table> A slightly different division was proposed by Grazyna Stachyra. She divided radio journalistic genres into two main groups. The first one included those that are inextricably linked to radio, i.e.: radio drama, radio novel, radio theater and reportage, while the second one included those that have been the basic material used in a journalist's work for many years and are not exclusively of a radio nature: column, commentary, interview, discussion, survey and survey, press review and calendar. Next, she used a more detailed division into literary genres: radio play, theater and radio novel, journalistic genres: column, commentary, discussion, survey and survey, press review, information genre, which included calendar, and mixed genre, which is reportage (Stachyra, 2008, p. 122). For the radio schedule, the most important genres are those in which the information function dominates: mention, information, report, report and correspondence. The first of them - credit line - is the smallest of the information genres. It contains notification of a single fact, event or state of affairs. It answers the questions: who? What? Where? (Bortnowski,1999, p.37). Its author focuses on the most important specific events (Wolny-Zmorzyński et al., 2006, p.36). Information (note) is also a genre that notifies about an event, with the difference that it is enriched with additional details. They may include reminders of certain issues from the past, but it is not necessary to maintain the chronology of individual facts (Furman et al., 2000, p. 34). According to Marek Chyliński, what matters are events that are unusual, current and unusual (Chyliński, Russ-Mohl, 2007, p. 52). The next species listed is the report. It is a presentation of events of a unique nature that have already ended and are coming to an end. A characteristic feature of this genre is the presentation of facts in a dynamic way, in time order, as faithfully as possible, while maintaining the chronological sequence of events. The report does not characterize the people participating in the event, it is limited to indicating: name, surname or position held (Pisarek, 2006, p. 201). A coverage, unlike a report, is a genre that refers to events that have not yet ended. It occurs simultaneously with the development of individual phases of the event. The report must specify the date and location. A lively and colorful description as well as the emotions of the reporting person are important. Examples include reports from demonstrations or sports competitions (Wolny-Zmorzyński et al., 2006, pp. 43-44). According to Zbigniew Bauer, the report, due to its simultaneous time perspective with the events, is particularly appreciated in the electronic media, mainly the radio (Bauer, 2015, p. 156). Another genre appearing on the radio is correspondence, which is extensive information. It is characterized by the existence of a geographical difference between the place where the report is written and the place where it is to be published. In this sense, we talk about correspondence from abroad and various types of domestic correspondence. Another characteristic of this genre is the possibility of citing a larger number of facts, selected by the author, clearly suggesting to the recipient his point of view. The journalist's sympathies and antipathies towards the presented characters may be palpable (Furman et al., 2000, p. 44). A report is a very complex information genre (Bauer, 2015, p. 157). Its basic task is to present reality through a reporter who acts as a witness of the presented events, an observer, a reenactor or a listener. The author can therefore discuss current and past issues, placing them in contemporary contexts (Pisarek, 2006, pp. 186-187). According to Leon Cieslik, a reportage is a report about events, facts that occurred in reality, as well as about the people who are their heroes. This report is conveyed by the reporter using artistic means and skillfully arranging them (Cieslik, 1958, p. 4). A reportage is previously recorded and then broadcast by the radio station. It is characterized by the temporal and spatial duality of recordings and commentary (Bauer, Chudziński, 2000, p. 177). Reportage is distinguished by the presentation of facts in accordance with reality using artistic means of expression, i.e.: imagery, skillful reproduction of reality in a language typical of literary works, topicality, importance of the problems presented and communicative style (Bauer, Chudziński, 2000, p. 178). According to the outstanding Polish reporter Janina Jankowska, the topic imposes the rules that should be followed when creating a reportage (Chudzinski, 2007, p. 308). The basis of a reportage, in addition to recording it on an appropriate medium, is also the description of a situation that cannot be visually presented. It is also characterized by a different sensitivity, compared to written reportage, which is expressed in words heard directly (Bauer, Chudzinski, 2000, p. 180). An important person when discussing reportage is Melchior Wankowicz, who introduced reportage "to the great paths of non-fiction literature" (Ziolkowska-Boehm, 1999, p. 49; Mazierski, 1966; Siembieda, 2003). An important place among radio journalistic genres is occupied by: commentary and serialized novels. A commentary is a journalistic statement of the highest degree of topicality and a clearly outlined position of the author. It is a genre dominated by the persuasive function, and its goal is to provide the recipients with a certain interpretation of the facts. There is no room for ambiguity (Bauer, 2015, p. 159). According to Bolesław Garlicki, a comment is a presentation of the sender's subjective opinion about a given event, phenomenon or person (Garlicki, 1974, p. 141). Comments direct the audience's attention to current issues, shaping their point of view. They inform how to perceive reality, explain the processes taking place there, and at the same time guide the commentator's way of thinking. He, in turn, tries to convince the recipient of his arguments. The comment does not have to be large; it can be a short, factual response to the problem (Wolny-Zmorzyński et al., 2006, pp. 94-95). The serialized novel gained popularity thanks to press publications. Initially, they were written in full and then divided into parts. Over time, the authors, in accordance with the publishers' suggestions, wrote them on an ongoing basis, referring to current events. On the one hand, it was about the interest of the magazine, and on the other hand, it was about bringing its problems closer to the recipient (Wolny-Zmorzyński et al., 2006, p. 108). When preparing a novel in episodes, the following rules should be applied: each part should have an attractive plot and appropriate poetics: contain a central event, a solution to the problem created in the previous episode and a new story that would encourage reading. The episode should end at the most interesting moment to create tension in the viewer. At the end of these considerations, it is impossible not to refer to two genres of information and journalism: interviews and debates. The first of them is the basic method of obtaining information by a journalist. It involves asking questions and obtaining answers (Garlicki, 1974, p. 50). An interview has a specific pattern, which consists of two participants (journalist and interviewer) and a dialogue created by a series of questions and answers (Kita, 1998, p.167). For others, the interview is a form of interrogation. It involves elements of the psychology of witness testimony, and therefore the role of a journalist is active (Magdon, 2000, p. 88). There are usually three basic types of interviews: revealing - in which facts are sought, informational - which gives the recipients knowledge on a given topic, and emotional - which focuses on the interlocutor's opinions. However, this classification is general in nature. If we detail it, we can indicate as many as twelve types of interviews: hard news interview, interpretive interview, entertainment interview, informational interview, Vox populi (street poll), interview without a journalist, investigative interview, personal interview, telephone interview (remote), confrontational interview, emotional interview and forced (Boyd et al., 2011, p. 129). Regardless of the type, the interview must meet certain general rules. They mainly concern questions asked by the journalist. They should be accurate and specific. They cannot suggest an answer or be long-winded. Moreover, they should force the interlocutor to think, and at the same time they must be presented tactfully but firmly. The interviewer is also responsible for directing it so that it is original. The presenter cannot avoid asking difficult questions. A journalist should point out negative phenomena, but cannot violate human dignity (Wolny-Zmorzyński et al., 2006, p. 112). Radio journalistic genres also include debate. It involves more than two specialists in a given field, as well as a journalist as the host of the program. Debates are most often conducted "live". Their goal is to present a given problem from different points of view. We can encounter three types of debates on the radio: persuasive - where participants try to convince listeners of certain positions, e.g. new legal provisions, problem-based - the task of which is to comprehensively illuminate an issue that concerns everyone, will require social decisions or acceptance and analytical - with the participation of experts who explain little-known issues or completely unknown aspects of a generally known case. The debate should involve experts presenting different views on a given problem. The moderator plays an important role in the debate. On the one hand, he should not be overbearing, and on the other hand, he cannot allow the debate to turn into an argument (Wolny-Zmorzyński et al., 2006, p. 118). Radio genres have developed as technology has progressed. Recently, this development has been influenced by the phenomenon of convergence, which involves the interpenetration of various media. The most popular creative genres on contemporary radio include: - Call-in (or phone-in): Telephone participation of listeners in the broadcast, - Phone-out: Consisting in the sender initiating telephone contact with the recipients, sometimes taking the form of a call-joke described below, - Talk-Joke (Call-Joke): Fake dialogue with a clearly humorous character, prepared from recordings available at the station or based on a telephone conversation, - Game Show: On-air games, competitions, quizzes with the participation of listeners, - Jingles and Liners, Antenna Inputs: Statements of the hosts that bind the program together, - Kickers: light stories given by the presenter, often taken from the press or the Internet (Godzic, Bauer, 2015, p. 33). G. Stachyra, Contemporary radio genres as conglomerates and collections [in:] W. Godzic, Z. Bauer, E-genres. ## V. CONCLUSIONS It can be said that all Polish radio stations were unique. This was mainly determined by the personality of the creators, the format of the radio and the journalistic genres appearing in radio programs. In order to maintain their position on the market, radio broadcasters had to notice changes over the years in the customs, tastes and economic situation of recipients and adapt their programs to this (Leja, 2022, p. 271). The programming offer of all stations was dominated by news programs. They related mainly to local issues affecting the Polish community. They talked about celebrations organized by the Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in New York, meetings of Polish diaspora associations, concerts, theater performances, smaller and larger events and charity campaigns. The listener could also learn about current events affecting the inhabitants of the United States and Poles. Very often, for this purpose, articles published in the Polish and American press were used, drawing the latest information from there. The radio schedule often included a press review, usually longer articles were discussed, encouraging people to buy and read a given issue of the newspaper. Interviews with representatives of Polish organizations and representatives of the Polish consular office were also a regular feature, and guests from Poland were especially expected. After World War II, radio broadcasts featured representatives of the government of the Republic of Poland in exile: General Tadeusz "Bór" Komorowski and General Władysław Anders. The political changes in Poland that began in 1989 made it much easier for artists to travel to the United States. The change that occurred in Polish foreign policy, an important element of which was rapprochement with the USA, meant that representatives of Polish state authorities began to regularly visit this country. This was also reflected in radio programs, which, in addition to regular items, featured interviews with: Lech Wałęska, Aleksander Kwaśniewski, Jan Krzysztof Bielecki, Józef Oleksy, the Primate of Poland, Cardinal Józef Glemp, and countless groups of Polish singers, musicians, athletes and actors. Visits of such personalities increased the prestige of radio programs and constituted a strong argument confirming the need for a Polish radio station and its role as a transmitter of important information for the local community. After the fall of communism in Poland in 1989, Polish Radio productions began to appear on Polish stations, including: reportages, serialized novels and radio plays. They were broadcast on: "Radio 910 AM", "Nasze Radio" and "Radio Rytm". More complex genre forms such as report, correspondence, report, report or reportage appeared in the programs of "Radio Zblzenia" or "Radio Most". With the development of technology, listeners took part in on-air discussions and expressed their opinions on current events or the functioning of the radio itself. This development also enabled the emergence of new forms, including: call-in, i.e. telephone participation of listeners in the broadcast, or game shows - on-air games, competitions, quizzes with the participation of listeners. Polish radio stations presented a whole spectrum of news genres, including those with more complex form. Due to limited airtime, radio program creators could not afford to conduct constant debates. Each station through which the Polish program was broadcast was a specific center of social and cultural life, a source of information and entertainment. But not only that - it was proof of the Polish presence in New York, it brought much-needed support and a sense of community to people in emigration, and finally it was the proverbial last resort in crisis situations. [^1]: "Nowy Świat" (The Polish Morning World), a Polish diaspora daily addressed to the Polish community in the eastern states. Founded in New York in 1919, and closed on January 16, 1971. (Piątkowska-Stepaniak, 2000). _(p.2)_ [^2]: The data was collected based on the analysis of the "Nowy Świat" daily and interviews with 61 people: journalists, collaborators, people responsible for technical matters, as well as financial supporters of individual programs and radio stations. The data obtained were used to write a doctoral thesis titled: Polish radio broadcasting in the New York metropolis. In 2022 it was published under the same title. _(p.2)_

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