In brief
Hungary’s public television channel M1 stopped broadcasting news in a bid to end 16‑year Orbán control of state media, joining a suspension of the state‑run Kossuth radio station. The move was announced by Prime Minister Péter Magyar, who pledged media reform and called the pause “the end of propaganda broadcasts”. A black screen displayed an apology for lying and promised a new editorial team. Although the government says the channels will resume in an independent format, former PM Viktor Orbán criticises the step as tyranny and urges viewers to switch to a party‑affiliated station. The reforms signal a shift toward media independence but also raise questions about political influence and press freedom.
Hungary’s main public television channel, M1, stopped broadcasting news in a move announced by the country’s new Prime Minister, Péter Magyar. The decision came alongside the complete suspension of the state‑run radio station Kossuth.
Viktor Orbán’s 16‑year rule was heavily intertwined with state media control. Magyar had pledged media reform as a key promise of his administration and described the suspension as "the end of propaganda broadcasts".
The brief pause was marked by a black screen that read, "Public media should not lie. We are sorry for doing it for so long" and announced that news programmes would be re‑introduced gradually under a new editorial team.
Kossuth’s frequencies were repurposed to broadcast Bartok Radio’s classical music, while the M1 and Kossuth websites went offline for the same interruption.
MTVA, which runs M1, said the channel would resume in a "new format" without regular news bulletins for the time being.
Despite the reforms, Orbán criticised the move as "another example of Tisza tyranny" and urged followers to switch to the Fidesz‑aligned HIR TV station.
Magyar, who won the landslide election after breaking away from his former party in March 2024, has emphasised that he aims for a "regime change" and that state media should serve the public rather than political interests.
