In what could have been right out of near-future science fiction, the screen of Hungary’s state-run TV news channel went black and kept displaying the following message for about four hours: “Public service media cannot lie. We apologize for doing this for many years nonetheless.”
This happened earlier this month in Hungary, where the general election in April had resulted in the first change of government in 16 years.
The winning opposition party, the Respect and Freedom Party (TISZA), had campaigned for the “restoration of freedom of the press.”
Defeated Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who had been in power for 16 years and whose political ideology made him an ally of Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump, was known as “Europe’s maverick.”
And he complained to the effect that the Hungarian media worked on behalf of the opposition parties.
Under the Orban administration, the council that oversaw Hungary’s public news broadcasting was restructured to boost the administration’s dominance.
A businessman close to Orban was entrusted with the management of a conservative, pro-administration TV station. And a foundation for “enhancing national awareness” was created to acquire and control financially troubled media.
Thus, many media outlets formed the administration’s propaganda machine.
According to Yusuke Ishikawa, a co-author of “A Dangerous Confluence: The Intertwined Crisis of Disinformation and Democracies,” Hungary’s public broadcaster has undergone a management overhaul in keeping with the new administration’s policy.
The oversight committee’s membership makeup has also been rectified, so that both the government and opposition interests are represented equally.
It would be meaningless if these changes only result in creating a new propaganda machine for the new administration. However, Ishikawa said, “So far, the parties involved are proceeding with care.”
We in Japan would be wrong to think that what has happened in Hungary is none of our concern.
Media outlets must always do “the opposition’s work,” so that the TV screen will never go black.
I firmly remind myself anew of this constantly repeated warning: “Journalism is printing something that someone does not want printed. Everything else is public relations.”
—The Asahi Shimbun, July 23
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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.