Hungarian media in Vojvodina face scrutiny over funding and editorial control after Hungarian election shifts

Hungarian-language media in Serbia's Vojvodina region, funded by the Hungarian government, have reportedly shifted their editorial stance following political changes in Hungary. For eight years, these outlets, established by the National Minority Council (NSM) and controlled by the Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians (SVM), received approximately 18.1 million euros from Budapest. Critics claim this funding primarily served to promote Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's Fides party and the SVM.

However, after the recent parliamentary election victory of Peter Magyar's Tisza party in Hungary, a meeting between Magyar and SVM President Balint Pastor reportedly led to a change. Magyar allegedly made it clear that he would not tolerate the continued use of Hungarian taxpayer money for Fides propaganda through Vojvodina's media.

Janoš Teke, editor of the weekly Porodični krug and the portal Slobodna mađarska reč, told N1 that Magyar also criticized Pastor for his limited appearances on RTV Panon, an NSM-founded media outlet, before the April elections. Since then, Teke observes a "sharp turn" in these media. Pastor reportedly engaged in a debate on RTV Panon and asked the head of the NSM to instruct editors to be more open to opposition voices. Consequently, opposition statements began appearing in publications like Mađar So and Het nap, with media outlets actively seeking interviews with opposition figures.

Teke described this situation as "media freedom on the command of the party president," arguing it does not constitute genuine pluralism. He attributes the shift to financial motivations, noting that Mađar So and RTV Panon received 17 million euros from the Orban government through closed tenders over the past eight years. Norbert Šinković, an assistant at the Department of Media Studies at the University of Novi Sad, suggested that the changes in these media outlets are merely superficial.

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Mađar Pastoru na tom sastanku prigovorio i to što se kao predsednik najveće mađarske opozicione stranke, pre izbora u aprilu, pojavio svega dva puta na RTV Panon (Pannon), čiji je osnivač NSM, a koja se preko tog tela finansira novcem svih mađarskih poreskih obveznika.