Nezopont: More media outlets critical of government than at any time since 2010

Compared with 36 critical domestic media outlets opposed to the government in 2010, there are now 61, the report said, adding that 34 critical websites were established in the past ten years.

“Whereas it is often said that press freedom is under attack in Hungary and that opposition media are being impeded, the precise opposite is the case,” the think-tank said.

Out of 15 print media, 7 are critical of the government while 8 favour it, the report said. Meanwhile, 12 out of 33 electronic media are opposed to the government and 21 are friendly. Further, 37 out of the 53 online platforms are against the government while 16 are for it, the think-tank added.

Fully 71 percent of the adult population (5.6 million people) get their information from sources critical of the government, while 64 percent (5.1 million people) get theirs from pro-government sources, it said, adding that the proportion of those who only obtain information from one type of media is low.

Media are easily accessible to anyone throughout the country, regardless of their attitude towards the government or political affiliation, it said.

Printed dailies and weeklies are distributed nationally and the major electronic media enjoy national coverage, Nezopont said.

More than 8 million people can access TV channels and almost 93 percent of households have broadband. Moreover, there are 14 million mobile phone subscriptions in a country with a population of just below 10 million, the report said.