Hungarian state television temporarily suspended its news broadcast while the government overhauls public service media to make it “independent and credible”.
State television’s main M1 channel posted the announcement on Tuesday on a black screen, with the message: “Public service media cannot lie. We apologize for doing this for many years nonetheless.”
Earlier on Tuesday, local media reported that some state TV and radio editors had been dismissed, although that could not be immediately independently confirmed.
Prime Minister Peter Magya who won elections in April promised to overhaul state media and stop what he described as “propaganda” under former Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
Magyar, whose party ousted Orban’s nationalist Fidesz party after 16 years in power in an April election, has started to overhaul Orban’s key bastions of power, including the state media. He has said he will restore checks and balances, and clamp down on corruption.
“It’s a historic day, as the broadcast of propaganda has ended on public service media,” Magyar said in a Facebook post on Tuesday, adding that state Kossuth Radio has also stopped broadcasting.
Magyar said after the election that he wanted to create “a truly balanced, objective news service.” In one of his first decrees as prime minister, he ordered a “comprehensive and immediate” review of public service media and its financing.
However, creating a genuinely balanced public service media will be a major challenge, analysts predict.
Under Orban, state media came under increasing government control as new media laws were enacted, and several private outlets were either shut down or taken over by pro-government businessmen.
Hungary fell to 74th place in 2026 from 23rd in 2010 in Reporters Without Borders’ press freedom index.
Orban’s government denied it had put pressure on the media, claiming it met EU standards on media freedom.
“Public media is now being revamped, so that it can be independent and credible in the future. News broadcast is temporarily suspended. Please stay with us!” the announcement on M1 read.
