The so-called “Transparency Law”, currently pending approval, significantly undermines freedom of expression in Hungary — and its impacts are unlikely stop at the country’s borders.
[Hungary PM] Orbán is often accused of having installed an Orwellian system in which his government controls the majority of the media landscape. But taking over control of the media wasn’t done overnight. It involved weakening of oversight bodies, such as the Constitutional Court and the Ombudsman’s office, and manipulating market resources. Take, for example, Heinrich Pecina, an Austrian businessman with Fidesz ties, who acquired major Hungarian media assets in 2014, including the opposition newspaper Népszabadság, which was then controversially shut down in 2016 after it published investigations into government corruption. But it was in 2018, with the creation of KESMA, a media conglomerate controlling over 470 outlets, when Orbán further consolidated media control in the country …
Behind the scenes, Hungary’s advertising market has also been skewed by political interference, with state funds funnelled to pro-government outlets. For example, in 2018, the pro-government broadcaster TV2 received 67 percent of state advertising in the broadcast sector, whereas the independent RTL Klub, with a similar reach, got just one percent, according to a report from the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom.
"The advertising market is completely distorted. The state is the biggest advertiser and they only advertise in what they consider to be friendly places,” explains Kárpáti, arguing that some advertisers don’t even dare advertise in independent papers for fear of being “blacklisted” by the state.
[Independent] outlets like 24.hu and Magyar Hang have shifted toward a subscription model — although they still rely heavily on advertising and sales …
Described as a predator of press freedom by RSF, Prime Minister Viktor Orban has built a true media empire subject to his party’s orders. While independent media outlets hold significant market positions, they are subject to political, economic, and regulatory pressures.
As someone who knows very little about Hungarian media, I found that article very interesting on Hungary’s independent media — ‘A battle of the wills, but worth the struggle’
Addition:
Hungary ranks 68 (out of 180 countries, and down from no 40 a decade ago) in Reporters Without Borders 2025 Press Freedom Index.