Several Swiss media outlets assert that Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has full control over the country’s newspapers and public broadcasters. However, media expert and Weltwoche columnist Kurt Zimmermann, who spent years living in Budapest, presents a different perspective in his column for Neue Zürcher Zeitung: “Orbán’s real problem is that he doesn’t control the media. Now he’s taking revenge for that.”
In Hungary’s largest newspaper, Blikk, opposition politician Péter Magyar frequently appears in headlines, with the tabloid eagerly sharing glimpses of his private life, including his gym workouts. Magyar is also a regular guest on Hungary’s largest television channel, RTL.
“Péter Magyar is Hungary’s most popular opposition politician. For years, he was a loyal supporter of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and was even married to his Minister of Justice. But a year ago, he made a dramatic shift to the opposition and filed for divorce,” Zimmermann writes.
Péter Magyar has now pulled nearly even with Viktor Orbán in the polls [according to data from the independent polling firm Median, 39% of Hungarian voters who have made their decision and plan to vote support Magyar’s party, “Tisza,” while 43% back Orbán’s “Fidesz” – ed.].
The notable rise of opposition politician Péter Magyar and his party “Tisza” is largely fuelled by journalist support, likely because all major Hungarian media outlets criticise Orbán. Meanwhile, German-language media paint a different picture, suggesting that the Hungarian prime minister has complete control over the country’s media.
“Outlets like Tagesschau, owned by Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen, report that ‘Orbán has subjugated the mass media.’ Tages-Anzeiger also claims that all media are under his control. This is the biggest nonsense I’ve ever read about Hungary. In truth, Orbán’s issue is that he does not control the media,” notes Kurt Zimmermann.
What are Hungarian media saying about Orbán?
Most major Hungarian TV channels, newspapers, magazines, and online portals are largely critical of the government. Among the leading media outlets, almost none support Viktor Orbán and his party, “Fidesz.”
For example, the newspaper Blikk, which holds an independent left-liberal stance, is part of Orbán’s critic base. “Its most provocative headline became a sensation with the public: ‘Orbán is sperm.’ Later, Orbán’s opponents graffitied this phrase on buildings across Budapest,” recalls Kurt Zimmermann.
The largest traditional daily, Nepszava, leans socialist and consistently opposes the prime minister. Similarly, HVG, the country’s biggest news magazine, takes a strong stance against Orbán and specialises in exposing questionable backroom deals between the ruling party and businesses.
RTL, a subsidiary of the German media group Bertelsmann, has been Hungary’s top TV channel for two decades. It joined the opposition’s ranks in 2015 when Orbán attempted to curb the anti-government broadcaster with a tax on television advertising.
“RTL’s dominance is partly due to the extraordinary weakness of public broadcasting in Hungary. The seven state-owned channels together hold a mere 10% market share. Nowhere else in Europe does public broadcasting have such low viewership. No one in Hungary tunes into Orbán’s state channel,” writes Kurt Zimmermann.
Orbán also faced a significant defeat on the internet, the key news platform in Eastern Europe. In 2020, a trusted ally of the prime minister bought Index.hu, once a leading independent news channel, and turned it into a pro-government outlet. In response, all 80 editors resigned and launched Telex.hu, a new portal that quickly became the country’s top news source. Since then, Telex.hu has relentlessly challenged Orbán on a daily basis.
The government holds sway in just one media segment: the two largest radio stations in Hungary, Retro Radio and Radio 1, are owned by Orbán’s political allies.
“But it doesn’t matter,” Zimmermann points out. “Both radio stations are simply hit-parade shows, with no political programming.”
Orbán’s only area of control
Orbán has no control over Hungary’s largest newspaper, the biggest news magazine, the top TV channel, or the country’s leading internet portal. “It would take a great deal of journalistic imagination to claim that Orbán ‘has taken control of all critical media,’” writes Neue Zürcher Zeitung.
The anti-Orbán media scored their biggest victory in the 2019 Budapest mayoral election. United against Fidesz, they succeeded in defeating their opponent. This win was repeated in the 2024 elections, and since then, Budapest—along with about a third of Hungary’s cities—has remained firmly under left-wing control.
“Now, Budapest resembles Zurich and Berlin. In major cities, people vote for the left and greens, while in rural areas, they vote for conservatives. The media landscape mirrors this: large cities are home to progressive editorial offices and TV channels, while conservative newspapers and radio stations are usually found on the outskirts,” observes Kurt Zimmermann.
Orbán’s power, including his media influence, is rooted outside Budapest—he remains a hero to the rural population, where he draws much of his support. This backing helped him secure 54% of the national vote in the last election, granting him an absolute majority in parliament. As a result, Orbán can govern the country with few obstacles.
In rural areas, Orbán also exercises significant control over the media. His primary tool is the government-backed KESMA Foundation. This network, comprising around 400 mostly small newspapers, TV channels, and websites, operates fully loyal to the government.
Orbán’s ruling party can easily reach the rural population through this organisation. In exchange, its media outlets receive about 200 million francs annually in centralised advertising funds sourced from government budgets and state-owned energy companies. Meanwhile, media companies criticising the government are largely excluded from state advertising, notes Kurt Zimmermann.
Pro-government media, such as Magyar Nemzet and TV2, are quick to target Orbán’s new opponent, Péter Magyar. For example, when Magyar went through a divorce, they eagerly covered strange videos that surfaced. And when he was arrested by the police for being severely intoxicated at a nightclub this summer, it made headlines across Orbán-loyal media outlets.
However, this strategy has not been very effective. The dominant anti-Orbán media continue to support Magyar. The news magazine HVG even featured him on its cover as Saint George fighting the evil dragon Viktor. Meanwhile, RTL follows him at his demonstrations, somewhat exaggerating the claim that he has the support of 300,000 people.
“In a year and a half, Hungary will hold elections. Viktor Orbán will run again. By then, he will still face his biggest problem: he doesn’t control the media,” concludes Kurt Zimmermann.
