Hungarian state television suspends news program

Hungary's state television has temporarily halted its news programming as the government initiates a reorganization of public media. The stated aim of this restructuring is to establish media outlets that are both "independent and credible."

The main channel of state television, M1, announced the suspension with a message displayed on a black screen: "Public media must not lie. However, we apologize for having done so for many years." This announcement followed reports of several editors being dismissed after interim leadership took control of the state television and radio headquarters.

These actions align with campaign promises made by Prime Minister Péter Magyar. His party, Tisza, recently ousted former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's Fidesz party after 16 years in power. Magyar has vowed to dismantle key power structures established under Orbán's tenure, including state media.

Orbán criticized the move, calling it "the latest act of despotism by the Tisza party" and urged Hungarians to watch a right-leaning private news channel instead. Magyar, however, declared it a "historic day" as propaganda broadcasting on public media has ceased. He also noted that state radio Kossuth had stopped broadcasting. M1 is expected to resume broadcasting with film programming later in the evening, but without news shows.