Magyar Hírlap

Magyar Hírlap
Type Daily newspaper
Format Broadsheet
Owner(s) Széles
Founded 1968
Political alignment Conservative
Language Hungarian

Magyar Hírlap (meaning Hungarian News in English)[1] is a Hungarian daily newspaper owned by oligarch Gábor Széles. It is known as a supporter of political parties of Hungary with conservative and traditional values, whereas it was formerly known for a liberal stance.

History and profile

Magyar Hírlap was started in 1968 as a newspaper of the Hungarian government. It was privatized after the political changes in 1989,[2] and quickly became known for backing liberal causes. In 2000 it was bought by Ringier AG. Due to falling circulation and an investigation by the Economic Competition Authority which found Ringier to have an excessive share of the Hungarian newspaper market, the title was axed in 2004. It was quickly relaunched by its editorial staff, and purchased by Széles in 2005.

Attempts to change the paper's political direction were resisted until September 2006 an audio recording surfaced in which the then Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány admitted to having concealed the true state of the nation's public finances during that year's election campaign. This fatally weakened the MSzP - SzDSz coalition government, of which the paper had been a supporter. Széles then made his move, replacing the entire editorial staff with right wingers.

The paper is regarded as part of conservative media which intensified in the country in 2010.[3] It is published in broadsheet format.[4]

Circulation

The circulation of Magyar Hírlap was 107,000 copies in January 1989 and 78,000 copies in January 1991.[5] The paper had a circulation of 75,000 copies in July 1992 and 65,000 copies in March 1993.[5] Its circulation was 41,000 copies in 1998.[6] The paper had a circulation of 27,769 copies in 2009, making it the sixth most read daily in the country.[7]

Controversial publications

Magyar Hírlap has faced sharp criticism for allowing anti-Semitic propaganda in their printed paper as well as on their webpages. The Magyar Hírlap columnist Zsolt Bayer has, among other things, called Jews "stinking excrement".[8]

In January 2013, Zsolt Bayer, co-founder of Fidesz and a friend of Viktor Orbán also wrote in this far-right newspaper: "A considerable proportion of the gypsies is not fit to live among people. They are animals. These animals should certainly not exist. The problem must be solved - immediately and no matter how." The article generated reactions in Hungary and in Europe, but the party replied that Bayer was "stating his own view." The communications chief of Fidesz, Máté Kocsis affirmed that anyone who protested against the article "was putting himself on the side of murderers" - meaning the Roma.[9][10]

Political activity

The publicist of Magyar Hírlap, Zsolt Bayer, was one of the leading figures in the pro-government march held in January 2012 in Budapest, which was attended by more than 400,000 people.[11]

References

  1. ↑ Miklos Vamos (30 September 1991). "Eastern Europe's New Press Lords". The Nation 253 (10). Retrieved 6 December 2013. – via HighBeam (subscription required)
  2. ↑ Marina Popescu; Gábor Tóka (April 2000). "Campaign Effects in the 1994 and 1998 Parliamentary Elections in Hungary". ECPR. Retrieved 26 November 2014.
  3. ↑ Daiva Repeckaite. "Independent Journalism under Increasing Threat in Hungary". Equal Times. Retrieved 11 October 2014.
  4. ↑ Péter Bajomi-Lázár. "The Business of Ethics, the Ethics of Business". Centrul pentru Jurnalism Independent. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Marina Popescu; Gábor Tóka (2000). "Campaign Effects in the 1994 and 1998 Parliamentary Elections in Hungary" (Conference paper). ECPR. Retrieved 15 February 2015.
  6. ↑ Mihály Gálik; Beverly James (1999). "Ownership and control of the Hungarian press". The Public 6 (2). Retrieved 12 November 2014.
  7. ↑ "Communicating Europe: Hungary Manual". European Stability Initiative. December 2010. Retrieved 26 November 2014.
  8. ↑ Anti-Jewish tirades at Hungarian newspaper provoke outrage The Jerusalem Post. 8 April 2011. Retrieved 6 December 2013.
  9. ↑ Deutsche Welle. Moving right in Hungary
  10. ↑ Der Spiegel. Blurring Boundaries: Hungarian Leader Adopts Policies of Far-Right
  11. ↑ Al-Jazeera news; January 2012