The Incredible Challenge Of Independent News Media

Michael Hedges September 30, 2020 - Follow on Twitter

Control is an interesting concept. It is often quite elusive. There are those who will do anything to get it, use it and keep it. But sometimes, when control seems firmly in hand a new event can pry it away. As physicists - smart people - know: objects at rest tend to fall apart.

A new online independent news portal is soon to appear in Hungary. Given the country’s rulers disdain for independent media the arrival of telex.hu is something of a surprise. The story of the Telex arrival has transfixed the country’s media watchers and beyond.

Telex has risen from the ashes of Index (index.hu), which came under the stern hand of a right-wing Fidesz party supporter a few months ago. Over several years Index had been pulled editorially back and forth but survived to become Hungary’s leading online news portal, eclipsing even the plethora of pro-government outlets. That rise of Index through the years has also attracted attention. After taking control over the vast majority of the country’s traditional media, the digital sphere was in the government’s sights.

After it was learned that Fidesz supporter Miklós Vaszily had acquired control last March over Indamedia, the ad saleshouse for Index, tensions rose. Through a financial slight of hand, Mr. Vaszily had control over the foundation that had published Index, established by former owner Lajos Simicska to specifically prevent attacks on its independence. Different managers and executives, over time, claimed any operational changes would be minor.

That turned out to be a mirage. In mid-July employment contracts for editorial workers became independent contractor agreements. New managers announced that Index content would become, then, native advertising for anybody with the cash, interpreted by staff as Fidesz party supporters. Mr. Vaszily already owns Fidesz-supporting TV2 and news portal Origo. Executives unwilling or unable to control any of this started spinning out the door.

They were followed by nearly the entire editorial staff, which attracted a fair amount of local media attention. Several “Indexers,” as the former Index staffers are known, began organizing. Demonstrators at Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s residence, numbering in the thousands, chanted “We have had enough.”

Leading it as managing director is former Index deputy chief editor Marton Karpati. A crowdfunding effort began, 33 thousand contributing by last week. And, too, a plan. Telex will be a multimedia platform, a first free access. Subscriptions will be sought and, once technical processes are in place, a paywall for much of the content. It seems there is no faith in advertising revenue, pro-Fidesz supporters controlling major businesses. There is a Facebook page on which Telex reporters already published a report about Hungarian embassies abroad being asked to spy on reporters.

Last week Czech publisher Economia offered a €200,000 donation to support “costs associated with the launch,” reported news agency TASR (September 21). Economia publishes daily newspaper Hospodarske Noviny and weekly magazine Respekt in the Czech Republic. The publisher’s principal, Zdenek Bakala, is known for supporting civil liberties and media freedom. Pro-Fidesz news media - notably Magyar Nemzet - erupted with comparisons with George Soros, long a target of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

Some Indexers did not rush off to Telex. A different opportunity opened up as US-operated RFE/RL relaunched service to Hungary. About a dozen joined Szabad Europa Radio. Good jobs are hard to find and RFE/RL pays well. RFE/RL discontinued the Hungarian service after the Cold War 27 years. After a month in service, Hungarian media watchers no longer expect the same sort of critical news coverage bestowed on eastern European dictators of the past. The US agency governing RFE/RL (and VOA) is now directed by a right-wing propagandist appointed by President Donald Trump. And president Trump and prime minister Orban comprise a mutual admiration society.

A week ago, European Commission (EC) vice president Vera Jourova unloaded on PM Orban in German news magazine Der Spiegel (September 25) for flouting the rule of law and specifically noting media freedom, referring to Hungary as a “sick democracy.” Unsurprisingly, PM Orban demanded from EC president Ursula von der Leyen the immediate dismissal of commissioner Jourova. That, say Brussels sources, is extremely unlikely.

"The Hungarian citizens need to have the first and last word,” said commissioner Jourova to Deutsche Welle (September 30) on the release of the EC Rule of Law Report, which excoriated Hungarian and Polish governments. "It's for them to have a free choice in elections and that we need to make sure that in all the member states, not only in Hungary, there are conditions to guarantee the free and fair elections for the citizens who are the sovereign power in every member state."

See also...

• Hot Topics - Media in Hungary

• Hot Topics - Press/Media Freedom

• Hot Topics - Online News