Far-right PM given virtual control of country’s news media
BERLIN— Hundreds of private Hungarian news outlets have been simultaneously donated by their owners to a central holding company run by people close to far-right Prime Minister Viktor Orban, cementing Orban’s grip on the Hungarian news media.
If approved by Hungary’s regulatory authorities, which are led by an official appointed by Orban, the deal will place most leading private Hungarian outlets under the control of a single, state-friendly entity, in a move that is unprec- edented within the European Union, according to Freedom House, a global rights watchdog that analyzes press freedom.
It is the latest broadside against pluralism under the increasingly autocratic Orban. Since taking power in 2010, he has steadily chipped away at Hungary’s checks and balances, stacking the Constitutional Court with loyalists, reshaping the electoral system to favour his party and placing dozens of watchdog institutions — including the judiciary and prosecution service — under the leadership of his allies. In co-ordinated announcements Wednesday, more than a dozen media owners declared the transfer of — or intention to transfer — over 400 news websites, newspapers, television channels and radio stations to the Central European Press and Media Foundation, a group founded in August that had previously played little role in the Hungarian media. Most of the owners, pro-government business moguls, said they would receive no compensation.
The foundation is chaired by a former lawmaker from Orban’s party, court records show.
The government has systematically starved independent outlets of state advertising revenue and squeezed their owners’ other business interests — encouraging most private media companies to either censor their coverage or sell to allies of Orban.
“It’s a massive change, but it’s more about the symbolism,” said Zselyke Csaky, research director for Europe and Eurasia at Freedom House. The Hungarian media is now “beginning to resemble state media under communism because of the level of control and consolidation,” Csaky added.