A centrist blog claims that the government is openly using theNational Tax Authority in its war against RTL Klub. A pro-government weekly says the commercial television channel finally showed its true colours when it started targeting the government as a reaction to the new tax on advertisements – and now it is the government’s turn to reveal why this tax is necessary. READ MORE
Commentators agree that RTL Klub, the leading commercial TV channel has launched a harsh anti-government reporting campaign in retaliation for the new advertisement tax. READ MORE
A left-wing columnist accuses the government of introducing censorship through a selective media advertisement tax. A pro-government commentator, on the other hand, welcomes the taxation of commercial media outlets with little added social value. READ MORE
The leading pro-government daily says a proposed new law would endanger media freedom without aubstantially benefiting the budget. READ MORE
A pro-government analyst rejects an OSCE report according to which the media is biased in favour of governing Fidesz. A left-liberal daily complains that its election panel discussion was banned because the Kúria (or Supreme Court) and the National Election Comittee (NEC) found them in violation of the principle of balanced coverage by excluding Jobbik. READ MORE
An independent conservative commentator wonders why Fidesz is not content with its comfortable lead in the polls and bothers to flood the media with government advertisements. A liberal commentator complains that the opposition’s only strategy seems to be to wait for major mistakes on the part of government, and has now even begun to blame its coming defeat on the LMP. One centrist analyst suggests that it is time for the MSZP to disappear from the scene because of its endemic corruption
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A left-wing commentator accuses the government of manipulating the election through gerrymandering and domination of the media. A columnist in the leading left-wing daily contends that the public media distorts even reports on events on Ukraine in order to save PM Orbán’s face. A pro-government pundit, on the other hand, accuses former PM Gyurcsány of having manipulated the 2006 elections. READ MORE
A liberal think tank claims that commercial media decided not to run campaign ads both because this would eat up valuable slots, and because they are afraid of alienating their audience with unsavoury political messages. READ MORE
A right-wing columnist lambasts a video clip on censorship by the organization Reporters Without Borders, and suggests that despite all the controversies around media freedom in Hungary, it is ridiculous to liken PM Orbán to authoritarian dictators. READ MORE
A conservative columnist believes that left-leaning Hungarians are becoming paranoid as a result of the left-wing media’s efforts to spread fear by constantly accusing the government of dictatorial politics. READ MORE