A moderate right-wing weekly suspects that the media multinationals may take the risk of supporting opposition forces in their quest to win next year’s election. Népszabadság, meanwhile, may be bought back by a Socialist foundation. READ MORE
While a pro-government daily speculates that Sanoma plans to launch an anti-government TV show, a left-liberal weekly accuses the authors of Stalinist style paranoia. READ MORE
The leading left liberal daily contends that the government wants to silence its critics by imposing an advertisement tax on media outlets. A right-wing blogger wonders why the government is punishing Hungarian media companies rather then helping them. READ MORE
A left wing daily claims that Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is bound to win the sympathy of the voters whether Brussels waives the excessive deficit procedure or not. A pro-government daily suggests that the EU has run out of excuses to keep a punitive measure in place, which in any case had more to do with anger with a country that defies orthodoxy yet remains successful. A business daily focuses on the new taxes to be introduced to meet the deficit target, and maintains that the planned tax on commercials and advertising revenue guarantees further control over the commercial media. READ MORE
A conservative columnist fears that the apology of WJC chairman Ronald S. Lauder for his earlier criticism of PM Orbán’s speech will not be as widely reported in the international media as the original communique blaming Orbán for not being specific enough in distancing his party from the anti-Semitic far-right. A left-wing columnist, on the other hand, criticizes PM Orbán’s labelling of the Jews as a minority. READ MORE
In their comments on the Tavares report on the Hungarian Basic Law, both left and right-wing pundits deem it highly unlikely that the EU will indeed sanction Hungary. READ MORE
A former advisor to the public media conglomerate, MTVA, thinks the much reviled media law has brought essential improvements to the regulatory framework, and regulators were unprepared for the vehement of the attacks against it – despite the warning signs. READ MORE
Left-wing commentators criticize the government’s reaction to German public media reports which claim that undemocratic trends are the order of the day in Hungary. A conservative liberal blogger, on the other hand, believes that the German media habitually paint a distorted and biased picture of Hungary. READ MORE
Left-wing columnists welcome a court decision which opens up the possibility for Klubrádió to keep its frequency. They suspect, however, that the Media Authority will try once again to find a way to silence the opposition radio station. READ MORE
Liberal and left-wing commentators contend that Fidesz wants to entrench itself in power by adding new elements to the Electoral Law. Even some conservative columnists find the bill controversial. READ MORE