Hungary: At The End of an Era

In-Focus
Written By

Hungary’s only left authentic news organization has been shaken by an ordeal that stinks of censorship.

More than 70 journalists, 20 of them women, walked out of the Index headquarters on Friday, July 24 en mass resignation to protest the arbitrary dismissal of editor-in-chief Szabolcs Dull. The decision was taken by the president of the board of Index.hu, László Bodolai. We hear from our sources, there has been political intervention.

Index had expressed concern about their independence a few months ago when Miklos Vaszily, a pro-Orban businessman, bought 50% of shares of Index's advertising and revenue. It was then that the team under Szabolcs moved their status as “in danger” from “independent” in their “press freedom barometer”.

”I believe this is the reason that made it very urgent for the political influence needed to fire Szabolcs Dull. We have seen this trend across the board in countries where governments chose to stifle the press. This is a the vivid form of intervention into a democratic institution called the press. We are proud of the journalists who are saying no to this kind of pressure in Hungary, and we stand in solidarity with them,” says CFWIJ founding director Kiran Nazish.

 

Index

 

Statements

Featured
Hungary: The Guardian’s Flora Garamvölgyi Ousted From CPAC Event Mid-Interview – CFWIJ Condemns Attempts To Silence Press
Hungary: The Guardian’s Flora Garamvölgyi Ousted From CPAC Event Mid-Interview – CFWIJ Condemns Attempts To Silence Press

Security removes The Guardian’s Flora Garamvölgyi from US conservative’s annual political event CPAC in Budapest, Hungary.

Read More →
Hungary: Hungarian Politician Publicly Discusses The Hanging Of Journalist Boróka Parászka
Hungary: Hungarian Politician Publicly Discusses The Hanging Of Journalist Boróka Parászka

Barna Bartha, a politician, publicly discussed the hanging of journalist Boróka Parászka saying that it was a shame that Hungarians could not “hang” or “eliminate” the journalist.

Read More →
Hungary: CFWIJ Condemns The Wrongful Conviction Of Journalist Julia Halasz
Hungary: CFWIJ Condemns The Wrongful Conviction Of Journalist Julia Halasz

Julia Halasz, a correspondent for the news website 444, was convicted of criminal defamation charges on May 6. The appellate court in Budapest upheld the earlier verdict of a lower court issued on November 12, 2020. The journalist alleged that a city district councilor, Laszlo Szabo, violently attacked her in May 2017 during event coverage. The journalist was accused of taking unauthorized pictures of the event.

Read More →
Hungary: CFWIJ Condemns The Attempt To Smear Journalist Franziska Tschinderle
Hungary: CFWIJ Condemns The Attempt To Smear Journalist Franziska Tschinderle

The national TV broadcaster, Magyar Televízió (MTV), ran an entire segment questioning the professional integrity of journalist Franziska Tschinderle. The channel made private correspondence between Franziska and a government official public during the segment in an attempt to mock Franziska’s journalistic work. The attack received backlash from several media freedom groups.

Read More →
 

How This Affected Women Journalists?

The Orban government and its predecessors have been playing a rather “unique” way in silencing the media in Hungary for nearly a decade. Instead of blatantly shutting down opponent news outlets, like we see in much of Eastern Europe, dissolving the critical nature of independent media through economic pressure has been their tactic.

Viktoria Serdült, a journalist for HVG.hu, one of the remaining independent news outlets explained this to the CFWIJ during an interview: “Independent journalism in Hungary in the last decade has been a job that comes with much unpredictability. The newsrooms of public service radio, TV and the state news agency MTI long ago gave up any pretence of impartiality. However privately owned businesses too have been pushed to succumb to government’s wishes through ownership of shares, or in Index’s case taking over the main revenue source, advertisement of newspapers. It is impossible to say when your news outlet will lose financial independence, which comes with losing its independence in reporting. That is why we see many young journalists burnt out not only because of the hard work that they do but due to unpredictability towards the future. I know journalists who gave up on reporting and became gardeners, I have colleagues who express they would rather move to the UK and wait tables. This pressure on the media in a way has not only affected the industry alone but also the aspirations of the public. That is why the Orban government didn’t dare shut down Index via legal pressure, because that would mean a huge decline in their popularity, so they went about it rather sneakily.”

 

Concerned Voices

 

List Of 20 Resigned Women Journalists

CFWIJ extends solidarity to over 70 journalists at Index, who have resigned to protest the sacking of their editor-in-chief Szabolcs Dull. Among them, 20 are women journalists and we want you to meet them. All these journalists have taken a stand against the arbitrary decision by the management that impedes the liberty and independence of free press. We stand with them in solidarity.

Hollik Ágnes
Beat at Index:
Technical Assistant

Ajpek Orsolya
Beat at Index:
Photography

Arnótszky Janka Judit
Beat at Index:
Proofreader

 

Biró Marianna
Beat at Index:
Politics

Bozsó Ági
Beat at Index:
Politics

Egyed Anna
Beat at Index:
Social Media

 

Demeter Ági
Beat at Index:
Back Office

Előd Fruzsina
Beat at Index:
Economy

Csatári Flóra
Beat at Index:
Politics

 

Pintér Luca
Beat at Index:
Politics

Janecskó Kata
Beat at Index:
Politics

Molnár Réka
Beat at Index:
Culture

 

Presinszky Judit
Beat at Index:
Politics

Marjanovic Mira
Beat at Index:
Video

Hudak Hajnal
Beat at Index:
Newsroom Reporter

 

Szücs Ágnes
Beat at Index:
Editorial Blogger

Cser Ildikó
Beat at Index:
Editorial Secretary

Veronika Munk
Beat at Index:
Deputy Editor-in-Chief

 

Rostás Bianka
Beat at Index:
Image Editor

Thüringer Barbara
Beat at Index:
Newsroom Editor

 
 

Twitter Campaign

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Previous

Beirut Blast: Solidarity with Lebanon
Next

Belarus Protests