Back to the future
Authoritarian media policy in Hungary
Péter Bajomi-Lázár, Dalma Kékesdi-Boldog
Deutsche Fassung
Abstract
During the 1990s, Hungary was a pioneer of democratisation in eastern Europe. Twenty years later, the country is again at the forefront of a trend, but this time one that is heading towards authoritarianism. Media policy plays a key role in this regard. In 2010, the state already passed new laws that put a tight rein on public broadcasting companies. Since then, they have been transformed into government propaganda tools. The print media market is now also dominated by publications owned by oligarchs close to the government. In many ways, the situation is similar to that of the 1980s.
(Osteuropa 3-5/2018, pp. 273–282)