The media policy of television stations treats attracting viewers’ attention as the primordial principle of their operation. The use of pathological content that crosses the boundaries of the normative system on screen has become a new media practice and a strategy for increasing viewership. An example of such production is tv programme “Chłopaki do wzięcia”, described as ‘documentary’. Its protagonists are men and women from Polish villages and small towns who are looking for love. The author attempts to examine the ‘reality’ presented in the programme “Chłopaki do wzięcia” by means of content analysis, which is the starting point for the analysis of social representations. He uses theoretical categories concerning new media practices, such as: humiliation culture, victim show theory, stereotypes and media voyeurism. The aim of this article is an attempt to identify media images and specific interpretations of reality in the programme “Chłopaki do wzięcia”, which, in the author’s opinion, contribute to maintaining a negative image of rural inhabitants by transmitting social pathology to television. Moreover, the author makes an attempt to outline the policies followed by the producers of “Guys for the Taking” to explain its popularity and the reasons behind its creation.

Challenges of the 21st century of the Far East countries

Far East countries are mentioned around the world almost every day. It happens either because of their economic and political importance (including China, Japan or South Korea), or because of fears that they will become the cause or pretext for a  major military conflict. Each of these countries faces a number of challenges that can create risks, but also, with the right decisions, can provide opportunities for rapid development. This article highlights selected and important in the author’s opinion, challenges facing the countries of the Far East. Overcoming them will be important not only for the countries affected by these challenges, but will also have impact on the politics and economies of many other countries around the world. The discussed economic challenges of the People’s Republic of China, challenges related to China’s internal and foreign policy, Japan’s energy and financial challenges, the challenges of Taiwan and both Koreas indicate the author’s research and discussion of issues that are less known but pose big problems for the Far East. Social pathologies that significantly impede the functioning of states have been added to the catalogue of typical challenges. The challenges described concern the period after 2020 and are very current.