Hungary Public Broadcaster Suspends News, Apologizes After Orbán Era Ends (Worthy News In-Depth)
Interim leaders say the move will rebuild independent public media after years of propaganda, while news bulletins are replaced by films and radio simulcasts.
- On Tuesday at 4:00 PM, Hungarian news channel M1 suspended all programming, displaying a black screen with an apology: "Public media should not lie. We are sorry for doing it for so long."
- Prime Minister Viktor Orban's 16-year rule reshaped Hungarian public media into what critics called a "factory of lies," characterized by systemic propaganda and exclusion of independent voices from broadcasts.
- Sweeping personnel changes accompanied the suspension, including the removal of M1 director Zsolt Nemeth; the channel resumed at 7:56 PM with the symbolic 1969 political satire "The Witness."
- Interim CEO Andras Horvath P. took office Tuesday, leading a new management team tasked with auditing the public broadcaster and rebuilding an independent, professional news service.
- Fulfilling a central campaign promise, Prime Minister Peter Magyar declared "Today marks the end of propaganda broadcasts on public media platforms," signaling the Tisza Party's commitment to democratic reform.
24 Articles
24 Articles
The news service has been temporarily suspended. The broadcast resumed with cultural and film programming. More information: The first Council of Ministers of Magyar erases 'Orbanism': condemns Russian attacks on Ukraine and promises free press
Hungary's state television temporarily halted news broadcasts on Tuesday and aired a message of apology to viewers, which the country's new prime minister, Peter Magyar, hailed as a "historic day" for the country after 16 years of Viktor Orbán's rule.
Hungarian state television hasn't said anything like this in 16 years. Hungary's largest state television channel, M1, has suspended its news broadcasts and apologized to viewers for years of lies. This was reported by RBC-Ukraine, citing the Hungarian publication Telex. What was shown on the screen At 4:00 PM, M1's broadcast was suspended. An on-screen message addressed to viewers appeared. "Public media cannot lie. We apologize for doing so fo…
Hungary Public Broadcaster Suspends News, Apologizes After Orbán Era Ends (Worthy News In-Depth)
by Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Europe Bureau Chief BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – Hungary’s state-owned public news broadcasters, long criticized for their close ties to former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, went off the air Tuesday after apologizing for what they described as years of lying to the public in an unprecedented move launched under the current government. Instead of its regular programming, the M1 public television channel replaced its broad…
On Tuesday, Hungary’s public radio and television listeners and viewers saw their apparatus suddenly stop broadcasting at four o’clock in the afternoon. On TV, after the blackcast, a message appeared: “The media cannot lie. We asked for forgiveness for having done it for so many years!” On social media, the new prime minister, Péter Magyar, described the cut of the broadcast as a “historic” event: “Today, Hungary’s public media propaganda broadc…
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