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So the editor in chief of @indexhu - Hungary's largest independent news site was fired yesterday.
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Another murky tale of pro-Orbán interference whose disguise as a business decision fools nobody.*
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* “Nobody” excludes the allies of Orban on the centre-right who should know better, but willingly suspend disbelief
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* “Nobody” excludes the allies of Orban on the centre-right who should know better, but willingly suspend disbelief
And as we’ll see, it makes absolutely no sense as a business decision, even with Index’s unusual managment structure.
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The Index publication is owned by a not-for-profit foundation, Index zrt.
The foundation is supposed to guarantee Index's independence. It pays the editorial staff, and can't be subject to the whims of a proprietor.
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The foundation is supposed to guarantee Index's independence. It pays the editorial staff, and can't be subject to the whims of a proprietor.
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This was done to escape the fate of Origo, a once market-leading media site that got taken over by Miklos Vaszily, a pro-Orbán businessman.
It then turned into an aggressive pro-Government propaganda sheet.
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It then turned into an aggressive pro-Government propaganda sheet.
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But, Index isn't quite as independent as it seems. It needs money to pay its staff, and it gets it by selling advertising through a firm called Indamedia and this need for cash is putting pressure on Index and the board of Index zrt.
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And just who owns Indamedia? Well, on the day after Orban announced his Coronavirus emergency law, a 50% stake was bought by none other than, you guessed it, Miklos Vaszily 
@VALERIEin140 has the details here
https://www.ft.com/content/7832088e-7286-4d3f-b745-2015cd5c704
@VALERIEin140 has the details here
https://www.ft.com/content/7832088e-7286-4d3f-b745-2015cd5c704
So why can't Index just sell its advertising through another broker?
After all, it has more than a million unique users a month.
Their reader profile is affluent too, so ad space should be easy to sell.
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After all, it has more than a million unique users a month.
Their reader profile is affluent too, so ad space should be easy to sell.
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The Article 7 newshound understands Indamedia has an exclusivity arrangement with Index. Though the foundation is formally independent, it's in fact held captive by the ad sales business.
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(A facade of independence disguising a reality of control through economic means. I think this might seem familiar to Hungarians)
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Now, when it comes to the firing of Dull, Index management have given 2 different stories.
Apparently Dull had presided over newsroom tension that led to a fall in advertising revenue.
But they also tried to offer him a payoff to keep his mouth shut, which he refused. /11
Apparently Dull had presided over newsroom tension that led to a fall in advertising revenue.
But they also tried to offer him a payoff to keep his mouth shut, which he refused. /11
Now, if Dull was only editor in chief of the site, and kept usage figures up, it's hard to see how he could be blamed for the fall in advertising revenue.
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And besides, we understand that advertising revenue was only down 20%, which is pretty good, considering we're in the middle of Covid.
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In fact, it's this new political interference that's a threat to Index's advertising revenue.
Index makes money because its journalists write stories Hungarians want to read.
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Index makes money because its journalists write stories Hungarians want to read.
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Their readership includes a signficant minority of people who support Fidesz but want to find out what's really going on, and are tired of the hysterical propaganda pro-Orbán outlets pump out.
Without those journalists, Index is worth nothing.
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Without those journalists, Index is worth nothing.
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And they'll carry on writing, either for some of Hungary's other independent media, or for something new.
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