Hungary's leading news portal index.hu says its independence is in "grave danger"

Index is under such external pressure that could spell out the end of our editorial staff as we know it. We are concerned that with the proposed organisational overhaul, we will lose those values that made Index.hu the biggest and most-read news site in Hungary

, said Szabolcs Dull. bit did not specify the nature of this external pressure. Index.hu's editorial team, however, has complained since 2018 that a change in the ownership of an organisation that handles its advertising had threatened its ability to report independently.

In mid-September 2018, Index created a barometer with three settings (independent, in danger and not independent) where anybody can check if Index.hu works freely or not. The gauge was moved to signal "in danger" on Sunday for the first time.

Less than two years ago, the staff of Index made a unanimous statement saying that there are two basic prerequisites for its continued operation: its editorial independence and that there is no outside interference in its staffing decisions.

"We wanted to cut through the fog of rumours and conspiracy theories and have a way to unmistakeably let our readers know when we think there is trouble," Dull reminded.

"now there is trouble. the staff and independence of index are in grave danger," he said.

The statement was signed by dozens of Index.hu reporters. 

Dull said "we are not sure that we will be able to keep working this way for long", adding that the fate of Index could be decided in the next couple of days.

"We will keep you updated on the developments here on the site as long as we can, as long as we are allowed. As long as we are free."

Over the last few years, the government has extended control of the local media - most news outlets are either under government control or under the control of pro-government business executives - leaving only a handful of news outlets operate freely, without political steering. 

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's "government has systematically starved independent outlets of state advertising revenues and squeezed their owners’ other business interests — encouraging most private media companies to either censor their coverage or sell to Orbán allies, The New York Times reported in late November 2018.

"Since 2010, the Hungarian government has overseen the creation of a vast pro-government media empire and deliberately manipulated the country’s media market to favour those following a pro-government narrative," the International Press Institute (IPI) reported a month ago.

"When the crisis hit, state-owned companies and industries were in a position to channel advertising revenue to prop up outlets supportive of Orbán’s Fidesz party. With no emergency support package on the horizon, independent media on the other hand are struggling more than ever financially."

According to investigative journalism site Atlatszo.hu, nearly 500 media outlets (weekly and daily newspapers, journals, news outlets, blogs, radio and TV stations, and outdoor advertising companies) were incorporated into the Central European Press and Media Foundation (KESMA) after the owners of a vast majority of pro-government media outlets donated them to KESMA led by a newspaper publisher known for his loyalty to Viktor Orbán in November 2018. It found that 112 of these outlets belong to the news media serving the government.

News outlets committed to watchdog journalism have been struggling for survival for over a decade mostly due to constant political pressure from the government and the distortions of the advertising market

, Sándor Orbán, head of the Center for Independent Journalism (CIJ) in Hungary, told IPI. 

“The government do not want to save the independent media at all”, Agnes Urban, a media expert at Corvinus University in Budapest, told IPI.

“No one can predict the nature and length of the economic crisis, but it could be absolutely tragic for [them]”.Those fears are backed up by a recent report which found that the collapse of the advertising market was having a significant effect particularly on smaller, independent media outlets.

Even the largest remaining independent outlets in the country, such as 444.hu and HVG, have been forced to ask for special financial contributions from readers. (For more information you might also want to check out an analysis by investigative journalist Tamás Bodóky 'This is how Fidesz reintroduced one-party rule over the media system in Hungary' published by OKO.press last November.)

Index.hu reporters said they want a news site:

• the existence and operation of which does not depend on the unpredictable and ever-changing tastes of political and economical powers
• where politicians and messengers of the government or economic actors have no power to pull a story
• where headlines and cover pictures are selected by the authors and editors
• where the members of the staff decide what headlines, videos, and photos get real estate on the front page
• that is not afraid to cover scandals, abuses of power, and where no hands tremble if they have to write down names of politicians and public servants when they get involved in uncomfortable stories. Not even if those concerned get mad
• where the editors and journalists are thinking together to determine if something is newsworthy, and if so, in what way it should be covered.
• where external advisors with shady political backgrounds, appearing out of the blue, have no say in the structure of our editorial staff
• that readers can depend on to cover the stories and tips they send us, be it about an authority pushing them around, the antics of a power-drunk local petty monarch, or any abuse of power
• that can do that while protecting the anonymity of the sources