Hungary: as national television resumes news programming, RSF calls for independent, pluralistic and transparent public media

The interim management of Hungary's main public TV channel, M1, chose August 20, 2026 - a national holiday commemorating the first Hungarian king - to broadcast its first news bulletin after a hiatus of more than six weeks. The news programme covered the swearing-in ceremony of the new Hungarian president who had been elected by Prime Minister Peter Magyar's ruling majority, but also included statements from the opposition and critics of the government. Such balanced coverage had not been seen during the previous government of Viktor Orban, which transformed the country's public broadcasters into propaganda outlets.

However, the return of impartial public news marks the beginning rather than the end of public broadcasting reform. August 20 was also the day the government closed public consultations on the subject. Based on the consultations, the Ministerial Commissioner in charge, Judit Grósz, will submit a report to the Independent Public Media Board, the supervisory body for public broadcasting, and to the public media outlets' new directors who will be elected by the Board this autumn.

RSF hailed the law, adopted by the parliament in June, which revamped the governance and funding model of public broadcasting. But the NGO also criticised the suspension of news broadcasting on 7 July, which occurred in the absence of a transparent roadmap that set out clear benchmarks and assigned responsibilities.

In its contribution to the public consultation submitted in Hungarian on 19 August 2026, RSF drew on the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA), its own expertise and proven public service media models across Europe.

RSF's proposals

Drawing on the recommendations set out in RSF's 2025 report on public media which presents Czechia as a model for Central Europe, RSF proposes the following recommendations which are included in its submission to the Hungarian government and to leaders of public media:

• Safeguard the mission, editorial independence and pluralism of public service media. The principle of "journalistic diligence" should be incorporated into collective agreements, and an independent administrator should be appointed with a mandate to protect editorial freedom. Governance and national legislation must fully align with the EMFA. Performance should be assessed through indicators such as public trust, the diversity of guests and pluralism - not audience reach alone.
  
• Rebuild investigative journalism and local reporting. Public media should restore permanent investigative teams and establish regional newsrooms to ensure better coverage across the whole country and provide local, on-the-ground reporting. Their remit should reflect the diversity of Hungarian society, while digital formats such as podcasts and social media explainers should help reach younger audiences without compromising standards for fact-checking.
  
• Produce and promote trustworthy public-interest journalism online. The Journalism Trust Initiative (JTI) - an international standard spearheaded by RSF that helps digital platforms and search engines identify reliable news sources - should be used to assess and certify editorial processes of public media organisations. Any use of artificial intelligence (AI) must remain under mandatory human editorial oversight and be governed transparently, in line with RSF's Paris Charter on AI and Journalism.
  
• Guarantee financial transparency and sustainable funding. Contracts, procurement decisions and executive remuneration should be published in detail. Funding must be adequate, stable and predictable, and shielded from short-term political decisions. Hungary should consider a universal licence fee for public service media or a levy on major digital platforms instead of relying directly on allocations from the state budget.

RSF also reiterated its call on the Tisza-led government to withdraw Hungary's legal challenge to the EMFA before the Court of Justice of the European Union. This would send a strong signal that the reform is intended to restore the rule of law and the right to reliable information.

Hungary ranks 74th out of 180 countries and territories in the 2026 RSF World Press Freedom Index.