The frozen media system
Mertek Media Monitor has produced its soft censorship report for 2022, which provides a comprehensive picture of developments in the media system over the period under review.
The problems of the Hungarian media situation have been well known for years, with systemic changes having already taken place in the 2010s. The contours of the system have now been outlined, and a kind of freeze has set in, even if there are shifts in emphasis. At the same time, it is worth continuing to document further changes in the media system in Hungary, because it is a different matter if we can back this up with facts.
The report focuses on the situation of fact checking in Hungary. This is a particularly important issue because, like in other countries, Hungary is experiencing a rise in disinformation, but the situation is all the more difficult here because the pro-government media actively disseminate a number of disinformation narratives. Fact-checking is an effective tool against disinformation in many countries, but in Hungary the low level of trust in the media and the high degree of social polarisation also make the work of fact-checkers difficult.
The analysis of the media market clearly shows that after the 2022 elections, the ruling party media establishment also faced declining funding, which immediately led to cutbacks and closures. The fourth two-thirds majority of the Orbán government in a row probably sent a message to policymakers that the ruling party’s dominance in the public sphere is so stable that cost-effectiveness is now a factor to consider. Public spending on advertising remains the main instrument of market distortion, and the low market weight of independent media is also clearly visible. The tender system for radio frequencies shows that the media authority is clearly working against market diversity. Investors close to the government and church radio are the clear beneficiaries of the tenders.
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