A new report by the International Press Institute (IPI) and the Media and Journalism Research Center (MJRC) confirms that Hungary continues to represent “the most sophisticated model of media capture” within the EU and that “rather than take any steps to implement the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA), the Hungarian government has framed it as a tool of foreign interference and legally challenged the regulation before the European Court of Justice seeking to have elements annulled.”
The study examines four key areas: the political takeover of public service media, governmental control over the Media Council, the discriminatory distribution of state advertising funds, and the concentration of media ownership through the creation of KESMA.
“Although the legal framework appears to safeguard the political independence of public broadcasters and media regulators, these institutions have become fully captured by the governing party,” the report states.
The report is part of an annual monitoring series that assesses the media environments of seven EU member states in the context of the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA).