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Szabolcs Tóth opinion média journalism press Hungary

Hungary: Western Investors Damaged Our Free Press

2014. december 01. 12:35

The most popular online news sites in Hungary, and around half of the main newspapers and broadcasters, are vehemently critical of the government. Something you cannot really call a totalitarian media landscape.

2014. december 01. 12:35
Szabolcs Tóth

„If Hungary’s news industry is drifting towards the Putinist model of a controlled state media it has a long way to go. The most popular online news sites in Hungary, and around half of the main newspapers and broadcasters, are vehemently critical of the government. Something you cannot really call a totalitarian media landscape. However, they are all struggling with vanishing advertisers and are financially overexposed to their owners’ business interests and government PR spending.


This story is about how foreign media ownership distorted a small market and left it highly vulnerable when search engines hijack ad revenues, and social media demolish traditional news distribution. (...)

Western media conglomerates bought up Hungarian newspapers like cheap candy in 1989 and 1990, before, during and immediately after the first free democratic parliamentary elections. For example, in the very final hours of Hungarian communism, in 1990, the German company, Axel Springer, the WAZ group, an Austrian and an English investor struck hasty deals with the communist party (or its successor, MSZP), to buy regional newspapers (with a combined daily circulation of at least 1.2 million people at that time).

Since news publishing is no longer a profitable business, and in the face of falling circulation, these very same grocers have recently been seen »restructuring their portfolios« or fleeing their Hungarian  investments altogether.

Any independent and free press in a democracy (and Hungary is still one, contrary to popular assumptions in the western media) needs sound financial foundations, a viable business model of quality journalism. This is something that the news industry does not have any more, not only in Hungary but in the whole western world.”

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Sorrend:
Charlie Chan
2015. augusztus 11. 15:36
As for US charges, if this media is "intimidated" and "self-censored" I dare not think what the level of public hate speech and swearing would be like without this "terror".
Válasz erre
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kulalak
2015. augusztus 11. 15:36
Oh, I remember those times:) The Dunántúli Napló (DN) changed overnight its title to New DN, its staff remained but with new owner, new tax id, Axel Springer essentially offered them a new job and payed nobody nothing for the ownership of the paper. There was a "hole in the law" they said as the paper was put out by the MSZMP KB which did not have any "legal" papers to show that it is really the owner. You don't need that in a "socialist" oppressive system :) Then the VICO by Mr Fenyo, which "offered" help to the weekly TV guide ran by the Hungarian Radio Station then in a few months VICO changed the ISBN of the magazine and had half the country fooled into buying his TV guide until the Radio Station took it back but by then the market share was taken. For a few weeks everybody got 2 TV guide delivered then had to choose between the fancy shiny good looking one and the shabby one. Then the "Helyzet", then the TV3 (télen-nyáron:) the New Hungary (új Magyarország) and the story goes on. In essence, they did not let the local media to develop on its own effort/merit/money. The internet helped a lot but now I have the feeling that currently the @index.hu is in a very similar situation as the Nepszabadsag was in the 90-s. Only they have the structure, the staff and the heavy hand and everybody missed the boat creating another corner of similar weight. Good times, fun times, try that in any other country.
Válasz erre
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