Prime Minister Viktor Orbán
Kossuth Lajos ter 1-3
1055 Budapest
Budapest fovaros
Republic of Hungary

Fax: +36 1 441 30 50

Vienna, 16 July 2001

Your Excellency,

The International Press Institute, the global network of editors and media executives, is concerned about the appointment of Karoly Mendreczky as president of Hungarian Television (MTV) and the implications that the appointment may have for editorial independence at the state-owned television station.

According to information provided to IPI, on 12 July, Mendreczky was elected president by a board of trustees, composed of 23 members, which reached its decision after interviewing four candidates. The other candidates included Sandor Friderikusz, a prominent television personality, who had offered to accept the monthly salary of one forint until MTV managed to make a profit. Last year, the television station struggled financially and incurred losses of US$ 4.69 million.

In assessing the new appointee, IPI fears that Mendreczky’s past membership of the ruling Fidesz party could mean that the government is trying to exert greater control over the state broadcaster. Although, upon his appointment, Mendreczky resigned from Fidesz and from his position as president of the cultural committee, IPI is worried by his political background. In the past, Mendreczky served as the elected deputy-head of the first district of Budapest.

Over the last two years, there has been a growing trend of government interference in MTV. On 3 June 1999, Laszlo Juszt, editor of the Kriminalis magazine, and host of a television programme of the same name, faced possible charges of disclosing state secrets. As a result, his contract with MTV was terminated. Later in the month, on 29 June 1999, an editor and several members of staff of a news programme were removed from their positions after a story that stated Fidesz party members had received preferential treatment from the Postabank financial concern. In addition, there have been a number of high-profile dismissals that have seen long-standing journalists removed from MTV and replaced with pro-government employees.

A further problem at MTV is the current position of the “curatorium” that, under the Hungarian broadcasting legislation, was created to oversee the independence of the state broadcaster. Originally, the “curatorium” was designed to contain equal representation, drawn from both the government and the opposition; however, this has proved not to be the case and the body is currently operating with only government representatives taking their seats. Although this position appears to be in breach of the broadcasting legislation, the Hungarian Constitutional Court has ruled that this is legally acceptable.

When examining the situation, IPI believes that the appointment of Mendreczky has distinct implications for press freedom in Hungary. Appointments to state broadcasters should be free of the taint of political interference, thus ensuring that objective reporting and editorial independence are maintained at the broadcaster. As IPI stated in its “Vienna Declaration on Broadcasting” 1993, section 2, “freedom of the press [is] to include the freedom of broadcasting. This freedom is to guarantee public broadcasters their independence in exercise of the tasks conferred upon them.” Moreover, section 3 states, “constitutional and statutory measures [should] remove the governing and managing bodies of public broadcasters from everyday politics”.

With the above in mind, IPI calls on Your Excellency to issue a strong statement affirming editorial independence in MTV and stating that the government will ensure that there is no interference in the running of the broadcaster. Furthermore, IPI would also ask that Mendreczky make a similar statement in order to assuage the fears of journalists at MTV. IPI would also invite you to encourage a procedure that allows the journalists in MTV to draft a specific in-house charter guaranteeing editorial independence and objective reporting. Finally, IPI would ask you to resolve the difficulties within the “curatorium”, thus allowing the body to fulfil its intended role.

We thank you for your attention.

Best regards,

Johann P. Fritz
Director