Business
Opimus examines if Népszabadság could be relaunched
At the end of October, Opimus Group acquired 100% of Mediaworks Hungary Zrt., the publisher that had 60-year-old left-wing daily newspaper Népszabadság shut down earlier that month.
Opimus Group said that at a request by its single-member subsidiary, Opimus Press Zrt., the Board of Directors of Mediaworks Hungary Zrt. has examined the possibility to relaunch daily newspaper Népszabadság.
He said there was never a “rational possibility" to relaunch the paper, considering “the Board of Mediaworks comprises the management of Magyar Idők; the ownership structure of the company - according to press reports - is hardly independent of the Hungarian tycoon and/or his circles most preferred by those in power; a daily becomes discredited and irrelevant even if it is not published for a single day." The tycoon Murányi was referring to is most likely Lőrinc Mészáros, a former gas fitter and now mayor of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s hometown, as well as a billionaire businessman with various interests in real estate, media and the hotel business.
Murányi stressed, though, that Népszabadság had 30,000 subscribers and was sold by 7,000 vendors on average, which made it the largest cash generating daily newspaper on the local market, with annual revenues of over HUF 1.5 billion.
He also reminded that the paper’s operating profit - primarily as a result of the permanent cost cuttings over the last decade - was manageable for the publisher, and that advertising revenues were permanently behind plans. He stressed that the last large-value asset of Népszabadság Zrt., namely its refurbished headquarters on Bécsi street, is now owned by the publisher.
Liszkay is currently managing publisher of Magyar Idők (Hungarian Times), an openly pro-government daily, who was Editor in Chief at right-wing and also government-biased daily newspaper Magyar Nemzet earlier. Lóczi is managing director of Magyar Idők.
Péter Pető, Deputy Editor in Chief of Népszabadság told commercial broadcaster ATV late on Tuesday that "a lot of my colleagues in the political section will not be willing to write articles, under any circumstances, in a paper managed by Gábor Liszkay." He also noted that Pintér, a lawyer by profession, started working at Mediaworks only a few months ago and now she is already member of the BoD, which raises suspicion that the transaction was in the making for months now. He also pointed out that the competition watchdog approved the takeover of a company with HUF 25 billion annual turnover in a matter of days, which is also odd.
The abrupt closure of Népszabadság, one of the last remaining opposition papers in Hungary, "reignited criticism of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who has limited press freedoms with a media law and whose associates have built a sprawling network of news outlets, taking over old titles and starting new ones," Reuters reported.
The suspended journalists of Népszabadság wrote on their Facebook page that the Board of Directors of the parent company Opimus Nyrt. includes Gábor Mátrai, who was Deputy Chairman and right-hand man of the late Annamária Szalai, Chair of the media authority.
The takeover consummated a win-win move by Orbán, Mertek Institute media analyst Gábor Polyák told Reuters.
"The premier got rid of Népszabadság and secured a friendly media network," he said.
He said Mészáros, who had not held a media portfolio before, joins several other business magnates in building a media foothold after Orbán's falling-out with media tycoon Lajos Simicska. "Now there are several oligarchs and they all owe their power to Orbán. None more so than Mészáros."
Hungarian entrepreneur Gábor Széles told his own daily newspaper Magyar Hírlap earlier this month that he has sold pro-government Echo TV to Lőrinc Mészáros, a friend of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.
Opimus Group said that at a request by its single-member subsidiary, Opimus Press Zrt., the Board of Directors of Mediaworks Hungary Zrt. has examined the possibility to relaunch daily newspaper Népszabadság.
On the basis of the assessment, the Board of Directors of Mediaworks Hungary Zrt. does not see either a rational possibility or an economic justification for the relaunch of daily newspaper Népszabadság, the statement said.
Népszabadság Editor in Chief András Murányi contested both of these arguments on his Facebook page, since he does not have a paper to write into anymore.He said there was never a “rational possibility" to relaunch the paper, considering “the Board of Mediaworks comprises the management of Magyar Idők; the ownership structure of the company - according to press reports - is hardly independent of the Hungarian tycoon and/or his circles most preferred by those in power; a daily becomes discredited and irrelevant even if it is not published for a single day." The tycoon Murányi was referring to is most likely Lőrinc Mészáros, a former gas fitter and now mayor of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s hometown, as well as a billionaire businessman with various interests in real estate, media and the hotel business.
Murányi stressed, though, that Népszabadság had 30,000 subscribers and was sold by 7,000 vendors on average, which made it the largest cash generating daily newspaper on the local market, with annual revenues of over HUF 1.5 billion.
He also reminded that the paper’s operating profit - primarily as a result of the permanent cost cuttings over the last decade - was manageable for the publisher, and that advertising revenues were permanently behind plans. He stressed that the last large-value asset of Népszabadság Zrt., namely its refurbished headquarters on Bécsi street, is now owned by the publisher.
Who are on the BoD?
Opimus Press appointed Gábor Liszkay, János Lóczi and Andrea Pintér into the Board of Directors of Mediaworks.Liszkay is currently managing publisher of Magyar Idők (Hungarian Times), an openly pro-government daily, who was Editor in Chief at right-wing and also government-biased daily newspaper Magyar Nemzet earlier. Lóczi is managing director of Magyar Idők.
Péter Pető, Deputy Editor in Chief of Népszabadság told commercial broadcaster ATV late on Tuesday that "a lot of my colleagues in the political section will not be willing to write articles, under any circumstances, in a paper managed by Gábor Liszkay." He also noted that Pintér, a lawyer by profession, started working at Mediaworks only a few months ago and now she is already member of the BoD, which raises suspicion that the transaction was in the making for months now. He also pointed out that the competition watchdog approved the takeover of a company with HUF 25 billion annual turnover in a matter of days, which is also odd.
The abrupt closure of Népszabadság, one of the last remaining opposition papers in Hungary, "reignited criticism of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who has limited press freedoms with a media law and whose associates have built a sprawling network of news outlets, taking over old titles and starting new ones," Reuters reported.
The suspended journalists of Népszabadság wrote on their Facebook page that the Board of Directors of the parent company Opimus Nyrt. includes Gábor Mátrai, who was Deputy Chairman and right-hand man of the late Annamária Szalai, Chair of the media authority.
Mészáros branching out
Local media reported that Opimus is under the influence of an important Orbán ally, a businessman named Lőrinc Mészáros. A Reuters review of documents supported that perception, the news agency said.The takeover consummated a win-win move by Orbán, Mertek Institute media analyst Gábor Polyák told Reuters.
"The premier got rid of Népszabadság and secured a friendly media network," he said.
He said Mészáros, who had not held a media portfolio before, joins several other business magnates in building a media foothold after Orbán's falling-out with media tycoon Lajos Simicska. "Now there are several oligarchs and they all owe their power to Orbán. None more so than Mészáros."
Hungarian entrepreneur Gábor Széles told his own daily newspaper Magyar Hírlap earlier this month that he has sold pro-government Echo TV to Lőrinc Mészáros, a friend of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.
