Page 59 - bne magazine September 2020 russia melting

bne September 2020
Opinion 59
Friday in the absence of Bodolai, who on Facebook said he would not have thought that the entire staff would quit. He lashed out at Dull, saying that in Germany his actions (leaking confidential data) would have led to criminal proceedings.
On Friday morning deputy editor Veronika Munk said in an emotional speech editorial staff had campaigned in vain for the return of Dull, and now mostly felt they had no choice but to give up their jobs. For some, it is the second time in only
a few years that they have lost their jobs, after working for other media that Hungary’s government has taken over. It is unknown whether the departing editorial staff can remain united and work together, or whether they will individually join other media outlets, or leave the media.
It seems that leaders of the foundation and pro-government owners of the sales house wanted Dull to leave his post quietly. Local media wrote that he is believed to have been offered
a substantial sum of money if he were to resign of his own accord, which he rejected.
"I still think the staff’s worries were reasonable and as editor- in-chief I did what my duty and conscience dictated under the circumstances," Dull told Reuters.
The accounts by journalists on social media and in the local press suggest that it was a question of time when the news site's critical tone would have been quelled by pro-government people.
Local media wrote that recruiting of new staff had begun. Bodolai said there was no need for that as he had received many applications. He is expected to accept the resignation of the staff on Monday.
Orban tightens grip on media
The end of Hungary's leading news website is a further blow to free media. The number of independent news sites has declined dramatically over the years as allies of Orban bought up hundreds of media outlets with state money.
At present some 500 outlets are under the control of the Central European Press and Media Foundation (KESMA), overseen by people loyal to the government. The cabinet blocked an antitrust investigation of the transfer of media outlets by a handful of Orban's cronies to KESMA, saying the transaction was of national strategic interest.
Hungary's illiberal leader has refused to give interviews to independent media outlets, including Index, since sweeping
“The number of independent news sites has declined dramatically over the years as allies of Orban bought up hundreds of media outlets with state money”
to power in 2010. Pro-government media including state television repeatedly pursued smear campaigns against opposition politicians and independent media.
During Orban’s tenure, Hungary’s media freedom deteriorated sharply. The country slipped two notches to 89th out of 180 countries in the latest Reporters Without Borders (RSF) World Press Freedom Index published in April. In the previous year, the country's ranking fell by 14 places.
A senior European Commission official expressed concern over the independence of the media outlet earlier this month. "What you are doing, the values you are fighting for, media freedom and pluralism, are essential for democracy," said Vera Jourova, the European Commission's vice president for values and transparency, in a statement published by Index. "You can count on my support."
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Contents
Top stories
Russia’s top retail and tech companies
March 2020
www.intellinews.com
@bneintellinews
join forces to hunt for innovations in rest of the world
Ukraine-born startups raised more than half a billion dollars in 2019 Russian video streaming platforms gain speed
Cloud services take off in Russia SEMrush to SEO success
Leaders
Russia’s internet giant Yandex announces growing and more diversified revenues in 2019 Russian telecom major Rostelecom misses on earnings in 4Q19, cash flow solid
Investment
the
2
4
5 6 8
9
10 12
13
Russia’s top retail and tech companies
join forces to hunt for innovations in
the rest of the world
BAs Russia’s retail and tech sectors consolidate, the leading companies are turned their gaze outwards to hunt for
World Bank approves $35mn project
to modernise Kyrgyz tax administration and statistical system 13 Romanian online home decoration
retailer raises €3.5mn in bonds 14 Russian billionaires Abramovich, Gutseriev, said to invest in Telegram
crypto project TON 14 Russian fund Da Vinci Capital gets
€30mn from Germany’s DEG to invest
in Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan 15
Fintech & E-commerce 16
Russian e-commerce major
Wildberries to add self-employed
vendor products to offering 16 Russian Dixy retailer to launch online sales with Ozon 17 Valuation of Sistema’s e-commerce
asset Ozon boosted to $1.8bn 17
Telecom 19
Makedonski Telekom’s net profit
up 6% y/y in 2019 19 Romanian telco Digi grows by double
digit rates in 2019 19 Russia could postpone 5G rollout
from 2022 to 2024 20
NIBs 21
bne:Tech
new technology and innovation.
See page 2
Ukraine-born startups raised more
than half a billion dollars in 2019
In 2019, the venture capital and private equity funding volume for Ukrainian and Ukrainian-founded tech startups reached $544mn (up from $323mn in 2018 and $265mn in 2017), says AVentures Capital’s latest industry report ”DealBook of Ukraine”,
reports Adrien Henni of Ukraine Digital News. See page 4
www.bne.eu