Around midnight it becomes quiet in Hungary on FM frequency 92.9. The country’s largest independent radio station, Klubrádió, then loses its place on the airwaves, after years of struggle with the Hungarian authorities. This means that one of the last critical voices from the Hungarian media landscape is disappearing.
Administrative errors have been made, according to the media watchdog, which is led by confidants of Prime Minister Orbán. That is why the FM channel is released, two government-loyal companies have already signed up to take the spot. However, it is a mystery to the management of Klubrádió exactly what mistakes they made.
Independent Hungarian journalists do have an idea why the station is being taken off the air: there was too much criticism of Orbán’s Fidesz government. That is why Klubrádió had to and would be cut down a bit, just as happened before at newspapers and news sites such as Index, Origo and Népszabadság.
Yet this issue is different and more drastic, says news chef Mihály Hardy. Where previously media companies were simply bought up by Fidesz supporters, the disappearance of Klubrádió is the direct result of government action. “That makes it a political decision. In our case, the government cannot claim that they could not do anything about it,” said Hardy.
Taboos were killed
Klubrádió has been broadcasting for over two decades and reaches between 150,000 and 180,000 listeners every day. Critics call Klubrádió a left-liberal stronghold, but according to Hardy, the news and talk programs on his channel convey a nuanced sound, mainly in the political center.
“We do not shy away from a subject, unlike the pro-government media,” said Hardy. But the list of taboo topics in Orbán’s right-wing conservative Hungary is long: from gender inequality and domestic violence to migration and the position of the Roma minority. Talking about historical subjects, such as the Hungarian role in the Second World War and the Holocaust, is also sensitive.
It got Klubrádió into financial difficulties in 2010. “Revenues suddenly dried up because government agencies and state-owned companies stopped buying advertising space. Private companies were also pressured to stop advertising with us,” says Hardy. Since then, the channel has largely been living on donations: in the past ten years, Klubrádió has received an equivalent of 4.1 million euros from listeners.
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