Orbán’s Salami Tactics to Overcome Independent Media ⋆ Visegrad Insight

How to Reverse the Budapest-Warsaw Express?

16 February 2021

Editor-in-Chief

After Klubrádió’s fate has been sealed, Polish journalists have an opportunity to share with Hungarian colleagues their know-how to crowdfund a new internet radio station successfully. While Budapest and Warsaw differ in their approach to subjugate the media, they require a common set of responses.

Do not confuse the road towards taking over and monopolising the Polish media market with the Hungarian one. Yet, they both may result in a complete subordination of the majority of media outlets.

Viktor Orbán also subjugated state broadcasters and news agencies. He punished independent titles, depriving them among others of revenues from advertising and public announcements. Already in 2014, he began by conquering the regional media.

The system is now being brought to completion: on Monday 15 February, the last major independent radio will disappear from the air. This is another triumph of Fidesz in the war with journalists.

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Wojciech Przybylski

Editor-in-Chief

Political analyst heading Visegrad Insight's policy foresight on European affairs. His expertise includes foreign policy and political culture. Editor-in-Chief of Visegrad Insight and President of the Res Publica Foundation. Europe's Future Fellow at IWM - Institute of Human Sciences in Vienna and Erste Foundation. Wojciech also co-authored a book 'Understanding Central Europe’, Routledge 2017. He has been published in Foreign Policy, Politico Europe, Journal of Democracy, EUObserver, Project Syndicate, VoxEurop, Hospodarske noviny, Internazionale, Zeit, Dziennik Gazeta Prawna, Onet, Gazeta Wyborcza and regularly appears in BBC, Al Jazeera Europe, Euronews, TRT World, TVN24, TOK FM, Swedish Radio and others.