From 1981 to 1989 he was the Press Secretary of the Communist government under the People's Republic of Poland, and the Head of the Polish Radio and Television Committee in 1989.

His father, Jan Urbach, was an activist of Polish Socialist Party and the General Jewish Labour Bund in Poland.

Following the outbreak of the Second World War and the German–Soviet occupation of Poland, a Soviet official mistook the last two letters of the family surname and incorrectly transcribed it as "Urban".

From 1955 to 1957, he was a journalist - reporter and commentator - for the weekly Po prostu, which started during the rehabilitation of Władysław Gomułka, who became communist party leader.

He met with a Washington Post reporter and told him that a Polish spy for the CIA, who was later identified as Ryszard Kukliński, was aware of the plan to install martial law in 1981 and had passed that information on to the United States government.

Urban ran for office as an independent during the semi-free elections in 1989 (he was never a member of the Polish United Workers' Party PZPR).

In court, Magdalena Bajer, the leader of the Media Ethics Council, testified as a witness that Urban "brutally mocked the suffering of a man who was a head of state".

The court argued, "Jerzy Urban intentionally caused a scandal by publishing an article about John Paul II at the moment when the Pope came to Poland".

He was a staunch socialist throughout his life; he described the Solidarność movement as the "worst thing to happen to Poland"[7] and maintained this stance even after Polish government was overthrown during 1989 revolutions.

[7] He is remembered as an intelligent, skillful writer and satirist,[2] as well as successful owner and editor-in-chief,[7] however he remains a widely negatively received figure with a troubled reputation.

[7] His close friendship and support of General Jaruzelski and the decision to impose martial law in 1981, as well as his criticism, often using profanities, of Lech Wałęsa, Solidarność, John Paul II and Father Jerzy Popiełuszko – all highly revered in Poland[dubious – discuss] – made him a widely commented figure, more so after death of Popiełuszko.