EMFA Monitor Hungary

Who we are

We are a group of independent researchers, lawyers, and economists working on various fundamental issues related to media freedom and media pluralism in Hungary. The EMFA Monitor Hungary is hosted by Mertek Media Monitor.

Bea Bodrogi, human rights attorney, media lawyer of Telex, Radio Free Europe Hungary, Direkt36 Investigative Journalism Center, expert advisor at Stanford Law School Rule of Law Lab 

Katalin Cseres, Associate Professor in EU law, Amsterdam Centre for European Law & Governance, University of Amsterdam, Co-director of the Good Lobby Profs initiative.

Gábor Polyák works as a professor for media law and media policy and as the head of the Media and Communication Department of the Eötvös Loránd University. He also works for the Institute for Legal Studies of the Centre for Social Sciences as a senior research fellow. He is lead researcher of Mertek Media Monitor.

Ágnes Urbán is the director and a co-founder of Mertek Media Monitor media watchdog organization. She is also Associate Professor and chair of the Infocommunications Department at the Corvinus University of Budapest. Her main research areas are changes in media business models, trends in media consumption, evolution of the Hungarian media market and analysis of policy issues concerning media markets. 

What we do

The “EMFA Monitor Hungary” project acts as a platform of expertise for implementing and enforcing the new European Media Freedom Act in Hungary.  

The EMFA Monitor Hungary provides independent scholarly input and expert opinions and facilitates discussions regarding implementing and enforcing the Act, focusing on Hungary. The EMFA Monitor Hungary focuses on fundamental issues arising from the specific legal, economic and political context of media freedom and pluralism in Hungary. We formulate priorities and related concrete tasks for institutions enforcing the EMFA, such as the European Board for Media Services and the European Commission. We advocate these priorities in partnership with independent media outlets, civil society organisations and independent monitoring organisations in the region and at the EU level. 

The emerging implications for implementing and enforcing EMFA necessitate a careful assessment of fundamental (legal and economic) rights and democratic values to reign in power asymmetries in Hungarian media markets and across the EU.  

Launched in November 2024, the EMFA Monitor Hungary will closely follow the implementation of EMFA in the coming years. It will engage with relevant stakeholders in the Hungarian media market and bring together a broad network of media freedom and pluralism experts from academia, civil society, and government. 

The project monitors relevant developments and generates regular analyses of the implementation of the EMFA in Hungary. It will publish policy reports, academic papers, blog series and short videos. In addition, we organise events, including expert workshops, panels, and conferences and will participate in strategic litigation to enforce the EMFA. 

 

Contact: EMFAMonitorHungary@mertek.eu