1
Translation & interpretation
On-camera, on-record, and document translation. Consecutive interpretation for interviews and press briefings.
WARSAW, GDYNIA, POLAND
Reporting from
Poland.
I'm Alicja Ptak, a multimedia journalist, writer, researcher and fixer. For the past ten years, I’ve been telling stories about Poland for international audiences — through text, video and audio.
Now, I help journalists and production teams report from Poland, bringing local knowledge, research, contacts and on-the-ground support to their stories.
WARSAW · KYIV · VILNIUS · PL–BY BORDER · BUDAPEST · KRAKÓW ·
Live from @alicjaptak.bsky.social
01 — About
Stories with insight. Reporting with rigour.
For the past ten years, I have been telling stories about Poland for international audiences — combining a deep understanding of the country with a sense of the stories that matter beyond its borders.
I started my career at Reuters, working for several years from its Warsaw bureau. It was an old-school journalistic education, with a strong emphasis on research, speed and accuracy, as well as the discipline of working to the highest standards of journalistic integrity.
I later joined Notes from Poland, now one of the leading English-language news services covering Poland. There, I had the opportunity to tell more in-depth stories for an international audience with a particular interest in understanding the country.
Over the years, I have covered Poland through elections, the Covid-19 pandemic, Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and its aftermath, and waves of protests. I have reported extensively on migration, abortion, the energy transition and the economy, as well as on the political and social changes shaping the country.
I have also worked on investigative projects. In 2019, I was part of the team that won the Business Beat Coverage category at the Reuters Journalists of the Year Awards for our coverage of Huawei.
- Based inWarsaw and Gdynia, Poland
- LanguagesPL · EN · FR · UA
- CoversPoland,
business, economy,
energy, politics,
society - Current positionDeputy editor-in-chief
Notes from Poland
02 — For visiting press
Fixer & field production support
For correspondents, producers, and crews reporting in Poland.
2
Access & contacts
Local sourcing, interview bookings, and introductions: officials, NGOs, affected communities, experts.
3
Logistics on the ground
Route planning, transport, permits, and scheduling so a shoot day runs on time and on budget.
4
Safety & risk awareness
Briefings on local conditions, border zones, and sensitive locations, with contingency planning built in.
03 — For academics & research teams
Fieldwork support for research in Poland
For university teams, think tanks, and independent researchers conducting fieldwork in Poland.
1
Interview & survey translation
Translation of interview guides, consent forms, and survey instruments. Live interpretation during interviews and focus groups.
2
Recruitment & access
Identifying and reaching interview subjects, gatekeepers, and institutions — ministries, NGOs, academic bodies, local experts.
3
Fieldwork logistics
Travel, scheduling, and coordination across multiple sites in Poland, plus support navigating local paperwork and permissions.
4
Context briefings
Political, social, and media-landscape grounding for researchers new to Poland, before fieldwork begins.
04 — Selected dispatches
Recent work
Poland is building a line of defence along its border with Russia
I helped Dutch broadcaster NOS report from the Polish border, arranging access to a military fortification near the border with Russia and translating interviews.
Why Poland’s labour market is not as bad as it looks
Together with Notes from Poland, I have published a series of explainers, each accompanied by an episode of my Warsaw Wire podcast. The series explores some of the key stories shaping Poland that are often misunderstood or overlooked abroad — from the roots of Poland’s economic miracle and its energy transition to public debt. The most recent instalment focused on Poland’s labour market.
Read the piece →European Press Club: Turkey, Spain, Poland – elections with crucial implications for the EU
As a French speaker, I have appeared several times on French public radio RFI, providing a Polish perspective on European affairs.
Meet the Poles: a nation of paradoxes that perplex foreign visitors
I wrote an essay for the 2024 edition of Lonely Planet’s Poland guide, one of the world’s best-known travel guide series. The publisher also kindly allowed the piece to be republished by Notes from Poland.
Read the piece →Dispatch from Poland
I am a contributing author to Clean Energy Wire’s newsletter, which keeps journalists and other professionals informed about the energy transition across several European countries, including Poland.
Read the dispatch →Special Report: How Poland became a front in the cold war between U.S. and China
In 2019, I was one of the authors of a Reuters special report investigating the arrests of a Chinese Huawei executive and a former Polish special services officer, amid growing US pressure on Chinese technology companies. The investigation was part of Reuters’ broader coverage of Huawei. For this work and other reporting on the story, our team received the Reuters Journalists of the Year Award.
Read the piece →05 — Podcast
Warsaw Wire
The Warsaw Wire brings deep-dive conversations and sharp analysis on the forces shaping Poland's business, economy, and energy sector — hosted by Alicja Ptak.
EU climate policy nobody cared about for two decades just became a political flashpoint in Poland
Energy reporter Patryk Strzałkowski unpacks the ETS dispute that could shape the 2027 election.
Listen →How Poland is preparing its power grid for potential war with Russia
With Louisa Naks of The Wall Street Journal, on hybrid threats to Poland's grid operator PSE.
Listen →Poland enters offshore wind and is catching up faster than anyone in Europe
With Marianna Sobkiewicz of the Polish Economic Institute, on Poland's fast-scaling offshore market.
Listen →These three refresh automatically from the show's RSS feed on page load — see RSS_FEED_URL in script.js if you move hosts.
06 — References
What people I've worked with say
Alicja is a journalist through and through. She is professional, meticulous, creative and never spares herself when it comes to her work. Even reporters with extensive experience working in Poland benefit from collaborating with Alicja.
I had the privilege to work with Alicja during the realisation of a half hour documentary for French-German culture channel ARTE. We made a film about Polands biggest fundraiser WOSP. It was a very demanding job, with lots of unforeseen obstacles and challenges. But Alicja never gave up, and thanks to her incredible support and engagement, we were able to make a beautiful film, against many odds. Beside her talent to organise and doing impeccable research, she does a great job in mediating and translating between cultures. She manages to help people from outside to understand people and country better.
Work published / produced with
07 — Get in touch
Reporting in the region?
Let's talk before you land.
Fastest way to reach me
Email
[email protected]
Based in
Warsaw and Gdynia, Poland (GMT+1/+2)