Hungarian government suspends public broadcaster's newscast as part of sweeping state media reform

Hungarian public broadcaster has temporarily suspended its main newscast as part of a reorganization of the public service media initiated by the new government led by Peter Magyar. The government says the move is aimed at transforming public media institutions into independent and credible bodies, while the opposition led by former Prime Minister Viktor Orban accuses political interference in the press, Reuters reports.

• Unprecedented message on public broadcaster M1

The main public broadcaster, M1, interrupted its regular broadcast and displayed a message on a black screen: "Public service media cannot lie. We apologize for having done this for many years." The broadcaster later announced that the news services were temporarily suspended while the institution was reorganized. "The public media is currently being reorganized to be independent and credible in the future. News broadcasting is temporarily suspended. Please stay with us!” reads the message broadcast by M1. Local media reported that, with the installation of an interim management, several editors of the public television and radio were dismissed.

• Reform promised by Peter Magyar

The suspension of news broadcasts is one of the first major measures adopted by the government led by Peter Magyar, whose party, Tisza, defeated Fidesz and ended Viktor Orban's 16-year rule following the April elections. During the election campaign, Peter Magyar promised to reform public institutions, including the state media, which he said had been transformed into a propaganda tool during the previous administration. After taking office, the prime minister ordered a sweeping and immediate overhaul of the public media system and its financing. "This is a historic day, because the broadcast of propaganda has stopped in the public service media,” said Peter Magyar in a Facebook post. He later said that M1 would resume broadcasting in the evening, but without a news bulletin, and would instead broadcast films and other programs.

• Viktor Orban accuses an act of "despotism”

Former prime minister Viktor Orban criticized the new executive's decision, calling it "the latest move of the Tisza party's despotism.” The Fidesz leader urged Hungarians to watch the conservative private broadcaster HirTV instead. The change in the leadership of the public media marks one of the most visible breaks with the policy promoted in recent years by the Orban administration, a period in which, according to numerous international organizations, political control over the public press has increased.

• Challenges of rebuilding credibility

However, analysts believe that transforming public radio and television into independent institutions will be a difficult process. Gabor Polyak, a professor at the Department of Media and Communication at Eötvös Lorand University, believes that the priority is to restore public trust. According to him, public media should focus their activity on producing cultural and informative content in the Hungarian language, operating in a transparent and financially efficient manner.

• Press freedom, at the center of the debate

During Viktor Orban's government, several legislative changes were adopted regarding the functioning of the media, and numerous private media institutions were closed or came under the control of businessmen close to the former government. In this context, Hungary dropped from 23rd place in 2010 to 74th place in the world press freedom ranking published in 2026 by the organization Reporters Without Borders. The former government consistently rejected criticism regarding the limitation of the independence of the press, claiming that Hungarian legislation complies with European Union standards on media freedom.

The reform initiated by the current executive is being closely followed both domestically and at European level, given that the reorganization of public press services raises both expectations regarding increased editorial independence and questions regarding the way in which this transformation will be achieved.