On Tuesday, July 7, news broadcasts on Hungary’s main state-owned television channel, M1, were unexpectedly suspended. Instead of the usual programming, a text message with an apology from the public media appeared on-screen.
In the captions, the channel stated:
“Public media cannot lie. We apologize for doing so for many years. State-owned media are currently restructuring themselves to become independent and trustworthy in the future. The news service has been temporarily suspended. Stay tuned!”
This event occurred several months after the election victory of Péter Magyar and his TISZA party, who had promised radical reform of state-owned media, accusing them of turning into a “lie factory” under the previous Prime Minister, Viktor Orbán.
The suspension was part of a major reshuffle at MTVA (the Media Assets Support and Management Fund), which had recently undergone a leadership shakeup. M1 resumed broadcasting later that evening, but exclusively with film broadcasts and no news content.
The new Magyar government claimed that the suspension of news broadcasts was temporary and necessary to ensure the future objectivity and independence of public television and radio.
This event caused a wide stir both in Hungary and abroad, becoming a symbol of the promised changes in the country’s media policy following the change of power.