Hungary's public broadcaster halts news as new leader reshapes media landscape

A month after Hungary's state media organization MTVA halted its news broadcasts, journalists are still waiting for details on a possible comeback and the shape of future programming. The suspension followed the passage of a media reform law in parliament, a key promise of new prime minister Peter Magyar, who defeated Viktor Orbán in the April elections. Staff members report feeling both liberated by the end of overt political direction and uneasy about their employment prospects, with some unable to quit for financial reasons.

Conservative Mediaworks, closely linked to the former ruling party, has dismissed 200 workers and lost generous state ad funding, while the centre-left newspaper Nepszava stopped printing after accruing debt to Mediaworks. Interim management, led by ministerial commissioner Judit Grosz, has offered little concrete information, though insiders expect news programming to resume on Aug. 20, coinciding with a national holiday. The reforms also involve selecting a new CEO through an open tender and addressing concerns about the independence of public media, highlighted by a recent controversy over a rejected appointment of a news head with ties to Orbán's circle.