International


Hungary opens up


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The new government is loosening control over journalism in a major media overhaul. Rob Hyde reports


H


ungary’s new prime minister has begun dismantling Viktor Orbán’s vast media machine.


Reforming state media was one of


the flagship promises of Péter Magyar’s centre-right, pro-European Tisza party after its landslide election victory over Orbán’s nationalist-conservative Fidesz movement, which ruled for 16 years. Parts of the media empire built under


Orbán’s Fidesz-Christian Democrat coalition are showing signs of strain. Freelance investigative journalist


Tamás Boros has worked for print, online and broadcast media. He tells Te Journalist: “Some former


pro-government newspapers have already collapsed, firing a large percentage of staff and moving entirely online, and one of the oldest and most prestigious dailies, Magyar Nemzet, is switching to a weekly format. “I’ve been a journalist since 2014, and


I’ve seen how the sphere for independent media had been shrinking and how the pro-government media had gained more and more ground. “Fidesz and Viktor Orbán mainly tried


to influence public opinion by taking control of different media outlets. Pro-government media relied heavily on state advertising and advertising from state-owned companies, which made the competition very unfair.” “If the government saw a company


was advertising in what they called the ‘independent’ media, they risked being left out of important public contracts or other business opportunities.”


Te long-term consequences of life


as a journalist under Orbán are still being felt says Dóra Laborczi, the journalist and theologian who founded Lutheran public affairs platform Kötőszó. “Te polarization, the weaponization


of state advertising, the monolithic structures like KESMA, and the transformation of public broadcasting into a political tool are undeniable facts,” she tells Te Journalist. KESMA is a is a giant pro-Orba


´n


media foundation that controls hundreds of newspapers, websites, radio stations and television channels. “Te biggest challenge is, without a


doubt, sheer economic survival and systemic underfunding,” Laborczi says. “Te financial asphyxiation of


independent journalism has forced many brilliant professionals out of the field. Te toxic environment and financial deprivation have literally broken and bankrupted many excellent professionals.” A similar bleak picture is painted by


Alexandra Bólyi, online editor of the health and pharmacy publisher Patika Tükör Lapkiadó, whose flagship title is said by its publisher to be Hungary’s second most-read monthly magazine. Speaking to Te Journalist, she says


life as an independent journalist under Orbán was often ‘a struggle to survive’. “Media outlets have practically been


ruined in recent years because it was impossible to get ads.” She spent almost a year working for


government-controlled media. “We were under constant scrutiny,” she says.


“If I interviewed well-known people who weren’t pro government, I received letters of reprimand and penalties.” One of the new government’s most


ambitious proposals is to abolish MTVA, the state body responsible for financing public broadcasting. Te plan is replace it with a new Press Fund to support independent journalism, community media, public-service programming and local reporting. “Te biggest question right now –


and the one both parliament and media professionals are debating – is what public service media should look like in the future,” said Bólyi. “Tere seems to be broad agreement


that Hungary should continue to have public service media, but the goal is that it should no longer serve the interests of a single political party.” Te changes have made journalists


cautiously optimistic. Zsófia Fülöp, a journalist at fact-


checking body Lakmusz, says ministers are taking questions from independent reporters, and there seems to be a more open approach to media access. “Te members of the new


“


We have to be cautious and stick to our watchdog role as independent press, no matter what


government talk to the press, journalists have access to press conferences, we can conduct interviews… under the old government, this was unthinkable.” Even so, she warns: “We have to be


cautious and stick to our watchdog role as independent press, no matter what. “I think the trust in journalism is


quite low in the country. Society is divided and a lot of people don’t think independent media can exist. “Many journalists only worked under


the Orbán regime. Now it’s time to find our voice in the new political era, when fighting for our existence is not the top priority any more.”


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