A team of European experts studies the situation of freedom of the press for three days in Budapest and in the countryside.
Seven international journalist organizations jointly map the space the independent media has in Hungary. Experts see media control as a strategic issue for the Hungarian government. This makes it very difficult for the public to access the information they need to play a role in society.
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According to Scott Griffen, deputy chief of the International Press Institute, this is not an opinion, but a factual matter, supported by statistics.
“One of the biggest problems is the government is biased regarding state advertising. Government institutions use it to keep the pro-government press alive, while the independent media are cut off from this source. This is one way of fazing out the independent press, and it sometimes goes as far as pushing a particular medium out of the market.”
The team of experts will also meet with the government’s international spokesperson and the new mayor of Budapest. They will publish a report and send to all relevant EU institutions. According to the press freedom index of one of the seven organizations, the Reporters Without Borders, the situation has worsened significantly during this decade. In 2010, Hungary ranked 23rd , while last year, it was 87th on the list.
The mission consists of Article 19, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF), the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), Free Press Unlimited (FPU), the International Press Institute (IPI) and Reporters Without Borders (RSF).
