Published in Hungarian on 25th February 2015 Author: Attila Mong The pronouncements of government politicians on the work of journalists are disconcertingly unisonous: media BDSM going from verbal violence over intimidation all the way to harassment by the authorities. By Attila Mong. “You were maltreated by the police? Oh, do you now how often I’ve […]
Published in Hungarian on 20th January 2015 Author: Attila Mong The coming round of changes at the public service media institutions, along with major adjustments in the distribution of state advertising, will result in major transformations in the media market. Official support for a journalistic self-understanding that had prevailed for several decades will now come […]
Tudatos médiahasználat Az elmúlt években erősödő tendencia, hogy egyre nagyobb arányban jelennek meg a hírfogyasztásban a közösségi médiafelületeken megosztott hírek, növekszik azok száma, akik a közösségi médián keresztül tájékozódnak. A jelenség miatt felértékelődik az a kérdés, hogy az emberek tisztában vannak-e a közösségi média azon működési mechanizmusaival, azokkal a jelenségekkel (például: szűrőbuborék, algoritmusalapú személyre szabott […]
Author: Gábor Polyák In the past weeks, several important international analyses have dealt with Hungary, including, among other things, the media situation here. Apart from a superficial press statement or two, the media and the public paid them no mind. By Gábor Polyák The Venice Commission, which operates alongside the Council of Europe and is made […]
Mérték Media Monitor first compiled a Press Freedom Index (PFI) in 2012. The comprehensive PFI is made up of the results collected from three parallel research projects. We surveyed three groups: journalists, media managers (a group comprising media owners, executives of media companies and the management of media enterprises) and, using a representative national sample, […]
Press freedom in Europe is facing a widespread and growing threat by “soft” censorship that includes governments’ use of financial power to pressure news media, punish critical reporting and reward favourable coverage. While Europe’s press is not generally threatened by the jailing of journalists or the closure of media outlets, “soft” censorship is a more […]
The adoption of the new media laws in 2010 not only laid the foundation for the complete overhaul of the Hungarian media system but at once represented one of the current administration’s first measures to scale back constitutional democracy. Fitting in comfortably with the broader arsenal of media policy, the new regulation provides a clear-cut […]
The European Union (EU) is premised on the respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law, and human rights – including the rights of persons belonging to minorities. EU Member States share these values: they are societies committed to pluralism, the prohibition of discrimination, tolerance, justice, solidarity, and gender equality. Lately, these fundamental values have been systematically disrespected […]
Everything that could possibly be said about the media law was said over and over again in this chamber since their birth. All that was said then remains true to date. Neither the letters nor the spirit of these laws are suitable for serving as the basis of a democratic public discourse, an open and […]
The European Commissioner for Digital Agenda, Neelie Kroes, whose portfolio includes media affairs, has once more summed up the problems surrounding the Hungarian media system. Fidesz politician Gergely Gulyás has publicly responded to Kroes’s criticisms, seeking to refute her arguments. Our own assessment, however, is that Gulyás is wrong, as our research on the subject has shown in some […]