The international partnership mission to Hungary from
November 14th to 16th 2011, having met with lawyers, journalists,
editors, professional associations, representatives of civil society, the new
media authorities, and the government representative and discussed the
situation regarding the enactment and implementation of the new media law
finds:
· The
confluence of a regulatory environment, deteriorating economic conditions, technological change and convergence
in media, and a lack of unity and solidarity within the professional community
has created a perfect storm that threatens the future of independent journalism
in Hungary;
· The
continuing controversy over the Hungarian media has opened up an important debate about the role of journalism and
media in democratic life in Europe;
· Hungary's
model of regulation is broad, uncertain and inconsistent with European standards of media freedom, it
is creating a chilling effect and its export to other countries will undermine
free expression;
· The media
regulation, particularly with regard to protection of sources, is incompatible with European
and international law;
· Fresh
concerns arise over the limited possibilities for judicial review of the decisions of the media authority
and the media council;
·
Co-regulation is no substitute for self-regulation and in Hungary it is effectively outsourcing censorship with the
co-operation of national and international media owners alike;
· The
licensing regime in Hungary potentially
undermines the promotion of diversity and pluralism which is an
obligation under European and international treaties;
· Questions
remain over the capacity of the reorganized system of public service media to provide pluralist, diverse and
quality information as a public good;
· The
concerns expressed by the Council of Europe, the European Parliament, the OSCE, the UN Special Rapporteur on
Freedom of Expression and international press freedom groups regarding the
media law remain valid and should be the subject of further review and dialogue
with the authorities.
The International Partnership Mission of freedom of
expression and media development groups consisted of:
Article 19, Freedom House, Index on Censorship,
Independent Journalism Centre Moldova, International Press Institute,
International Media Support, European Federation of Journalists, Media
Diversity Institute, Open Society Media Programme, the Network for Reporting on
Eastern Europe, South East Europe Media Organisation and South East European
Network for Professionalisation of Media.
Budapest
November 16th 2011
