Left-wing mayor ignores pro-government journalist
November 10th, 2022A liberal and a right-wing journalist offer diametrically opposed takes on the decision of Budapest 9th district Mayor to ignore questions by a pro-government interviewee on ATV.
Last Friday in an interview session with journalists from various media outlets on ATV, the 9th district left-wing Mayor Krisztina Baranyi refused to answer questions from Sziliárd Szalai, journalist of the radically pro-government Pesti Srácok. Mayor Baranyi criticized the left-wing ATV for inviting “government propagandists” and ignored Szalai. In a debate on the same channel on Monday, Ms Baranyi showed an excerpt from a video in which Pesti Srácok commentators openly discussed whether it was preferable to copulate with a goat or with her. Pesti Srácok dismissed her explanation calling it ‘awkward self-justification.’
On Telex, Hanga Zsófia Aradi blames ATV for inviting journalists from Pesti Srácok to the interview. The liberal commentator recalls that Krisztina Baranyi announced earlier that she would not give interviews to those she called ‘government propagandists’.
On Mandiner, Károly Nagy, manager of the right-wing For Transparent Journalism Foundation defends ATV’s decision to invite journalists from across the political spectrum. The inclusion of journalists with different political views facilitates meaningful public debate and reduces polarization, Nagy argues.
Tags: media