Hungary pro-Orban public media halts broadcasting

Hungarian public broadcasters close to Viktor Orban have halted broadcasting as part of efforts to undo the longtime nationalist leader's hold on the media, Prime Minister Peter Magyar said Tuesday.

Control of the media was a key pillar of Orban's 16-year rule, during which he transformed the central European country into a self-styled "illiberal" democracy.

Restoring the independence of Hungary's public broadcasters was a key campaign promise for Magyar, who ousted Orban as prime minister at the ballot box in April.

"A historic day. Today marks the end of propaganda broadcasts on public media platforms," Magyar said on Facebook.

"They lied at night, they lied during the day, they lied on every wavelength. That is now over," he said.

Both the Kossuth radio station and M1, the main public television channel in Hungary, had halted transmission by Tuesday afternoon.

The latter showed a black screen with the message: "Public media should not lie. We are sorry for doing it for so long."

"Public media now will be reformed so it will be independent and trustworthy. Our news programme is currently suspended. Stay tuned!" it added.

Kossuth's frequencies were broadcasting Bartok Radio, a classical music station, AFP journalists heard. 

The websites for both M1 and Kossuth were also down.

According to a statement from Hungary's state media umbrella group MTVA, M1 television will resume broadcasting in the evening without news programmes. 

News bulletins will be re-introduced gradually alongside the establishment of a new editorial team, it added.

Other public service programmes will be unaffected by the changes.

"Another example of Tisza tyranny!" Orban posted on social media, suggesting that viewers "interested in the truth" should watch the Hir TV channel linked to his Fidesz party instead.

Magyar's Tisza party swept the elections in April on the promise of "regime change" and a clean break with the Orban era, winning a two-thirds majority in parliament.

Magyar's government has moved swiftly to undo the former leader's grip on the Hungarian state, including by passing a swathe of anti-corruption measures and changing the constitution to effectively bar Orban from running again. 

Besides the public media, the new government has also cut off all state advertising, prompting many private outlets owned by Orban-allied businessmen to downsize or close.

Top private broadcaster TV2 has seen its main news anchors replaced and its news director pushed out since Magyar's election victory. 

bur/pdw

© Agence France-Presse