Hungary's media law really hit different after I visited Budapest

I was there in 2018 before they tightened it. Last month went back and saw newspaper stands had way fewer independent papers. Like 3 titles versus 12 before. Has anyone else noticed the physical change in what's available on the street?

2 comments

2 Comments

wren_carr9d ago

Oh yeah, I remember reading a report from Reporters Without Borders about this! They said Hungary went from like 70th to 85th in press freedom rankings after those changes. It's wild how fast things shifted on the ground. Your observation about the newspaper stands matches what I heard about the government buying up all the ad revenue for pro-government papers, making it impossible for independent ones to compete.

baker.ben9d ago

My buddy saw his local paper get bought up overnight. Wild stuff, @wren_carr.