Poland’s diverse media is being quieted. A US-owned TV network may go next.

When journalist Jacek Pałasiński moved to Warsaw about 15 years ago in the heyday of private Polish television network TVN, Poland was laying down the foundations of a diverse media landscape.

“The atmosphere was phenomenal,” says Mr. Pałasiński of the network’s TVN24, Poland’s first native news channel. “We had a sense of mission; we were creating this station for society. It was a dream place to work.”

The mood has changed.

Today, TVN is in the crosshairs of the Polish government, dominated by the conservative Law and Justice party (PiS), which came to power in 2015. A media reform bill – under consideration this week by the Senat, Poland’s upper house of parliament – would ban foreign possession of media, like TVN’s U.S.-based ownership. Dubbed Lex TVN, it could force the network to divest its ownership and cost the TVN24