The Mediaforum Association, the successor of the Editors’ Forum announces the relaunch of the Quality Journalism Award. The award aims to recognize and celebrate Hungary’s most outstanding media content. The prizes are awarded by a professional jury delegated by organizational members of Mediaforum. Submissions are open until February 15, 2026, for Hungarian-language content published between … Quality Journalism Award
On 11 December 2025, the European Commission decided to initiate an infringement procedure against Hungary for failing to comply with the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA) and the Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMSD). This is the first case in which the EMFA serves as the legal basis for an action against a Member State. The … Infringement Procedure Initiated Against Hungary Under the EMFA and AVMSD
Médiafórum welcomes the first-instance ruling of the Budapest Metropolitan Court, which found that the Sovereignty Protection Office (SPO) had violated the reputation of Átlátszó’s journalists. The lawsuit concerned a 2024 report published by the SPO, which accused the outlet—among other things—of intelligence gathering and spreading disinformation on behalf of foreign actors, without providing any supporting … Átlátszó Wins First-Instance Lawsuit Against Sovereignty Protection Office
Szabad Európa – the Hungarian service of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty – ceased operations on November 21 after the Trump administration halted its funding. This represents a significant loss for high-quality journalism in Hungary. Radio Free Europe was created during the Cold War to provide reliable news to people living behind the Iron Curtain. The … Szabad Európa, The Hungarian Service of Radio Free Europe Has Ended
The undersigned Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) partners and Médiafórum today raise alarm about the recent acquisition of Hungary’s most-read tabloid newspaper by a pro-government media group and calls on the newly established European Board for Media Services to launch an assessment of the merger and its potentially negative impact on media pluralism in Hungary. … MFRR and Médiafórum Call for New EU Media Board to Assess Blikk Merger With Pro-government Media Group
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 … IPI Report: Hungary Represents the Most Sophisticated Model of Media Capture
In November 2025, Kari Lake, CEO of the USAGM (United States Agency for Global Media), announced that the Agency would terminate funding for the Hungarian-language publications of Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), effectively ending the service itself, according to a summary by 444.hu on November 6. The justification stated: “The Trump Administration’s position … Trump Administration Freezes Funding for Szabad Európa
Ringier is selling almost its entire Hungarian portfolio—including one of the most visited news portals and several women’s magazines—to the Indamedia Group. The transaction is particularly significant because it transfers ownership of the tabloid Blikk, one of Hungary’s most widely used news sources, to Indamedia, a company closely aligned with the government. Indamedia owns, among … Government-aligned Indamedia Buys Blikk
“The International Press Institute (IPI) and International Media Support (IMS) announced that Hungary’s independent media have been named the recipient of the 2025 IPI-IMS Free Media Pioneer Award, in recognition of their innovation, adaptation, and endurance under sustained political and economic pressure. On October 23, 1956, Hungarian students in Budapest marched to the headquarters of … Hungary’s Independent Media Honoured With 2025 IPI-IMS Free Media Pioneer Award
The Médiafórum Association elected a new leadership at its general assembly on October 1, 2025. The current board (Balázs Weyer, President; Péter Nádori and Péter Szigeti, board members) had agreed to serve only until the new operations of the association were up and running. As this has now been achieved, it was time to elect … New Leadership