Page 11 - bne_newspaper_February_08_2019

Central Europe
February 8, 2019 www.intellinews.com I Page 11
Head of Hungary's powerful right-wing media portfolio resigns after bashing pro- government journalism
bne IntelliNews
The chairman of the foundation that owns some 500 pro-government propaganda outlets resigned shortly after an interview in which he blasted the quality of right-wing journalism in Hungary, local media reported on February 5.
Istvan Varga said he reads independent outlets before browsing government friendly newspa- pers and websites in an interview with a small regional television on Friday. Newspapers on the conservative side lack quality journalists, he said.
"I don’t want to hear news channels saying that everything is perfect and the government only makes flawless decisions. It’s not propaganda, it’s not a press, it's something quite different and that should change," he said.
The rather odd comments from the former Fidesz MP made headlines in independent media on Monday and later that evening Varga resigned from his post without citing his reasons.
Varga was appointed chairman of the board of trustees of the Central European Press and Media Foundation (CEPMF) at the end of last year.
The CEPMF became the largest media holding in the country in November after taking over some 476 pro-government outlets. Right-wing media owners transferred their ownership to the founda- tion as charitable donations.
Head of right-wing media conglomerate steps down after two months in office.
Orban builds up loyal media base
Prime Minister Viktor Orban channelled a vast amount of public money to build up a media conglomerate loyal to him. He wanted Hungarian ownership in the sector, deemed as a strategic area by the PM, to exceed 50%. During its years in opposition the now ruling Fidesz party leaned on daily Magyar Nemzet and news channel HirTV, controlled by Orban’s college roommate, the for- mer party cashier Lajos Simicska.
On February 6, 2015 a public feud between the two marked a turning point and signalled the businessman’s fall from grace. Between 2015 and 2018 Simicska’s media became a fierce critic of the government arousing Orban’s anger. His companies were excluded from state tenders, and Simicska began to slip on the ranking of the wealthiest Hungarians.
The third two-thirds landslide victory by Fidesz in the 2018 general election sealed his fate his and that of his business empire.
Simicska laid down his arms and walked away closing his media outlets and selling his business empire to his partner. A year later, much of the stakes ended up in the hands of Lorinc Meszaros, the rising star of the new business elite, and the childhood friend of the PM.
After the fall of his former friend, Orban, learning from his mistakes, began to build up a media