Attila Mong on Hungary's Media Crackdown Under Orbán

Attila Mong, a prominent Hungarian journalist and symbol of independent journalism, recounts his experience of being suspended from public radio in 2010 after reading Viktor Orbán's new media law on air and observing a minute of silence. The law, enacted when Orbán became prime minister, transformed Hungary's media system from one under parliamentary oversight to a heavily controlled environment. Mong, who has lived in Berlin since 2013, describes the pre-2010 system as imperfect but far superior to what followed. He discusses the systemic dismantling of media independence under Orbán and expresses cautious hope for change, emphasizing that the goal should not be revenge but restoration of democratic norms.