Hungarian Heritage Review, 1991 (20. évfolyam, 1-11. szám)
1991-01-01 / 1. szám
periodical titles distributed by the Hungarian Postal Service, the largest distributor, has increased tremendously. Although the postal service has substantially raised its distribution fees, it has not used the additional funds to expand iits distribution capacities and thus frequently fails to deliver on time. The Ministry of Transportation and Communications recently announced that starting January 1, 1991, the postal sevice would no longer be obliged to distribute the new publications established after that date. Distribution networks other than the postal service are few and small, and most attempts by private entrepreneurs to set up distribution networks have failed thus far. The Professional Federation of Newspaper Distributors has called on the government to end the "legal vacuum" in which distributors worked by creating a legal framework for a new distribution system and protecting distributors' rights. The federation has also asked for financial aid and tax cuts for distributors. Unlike the press, Hungarian television and radio are still in the hands of the state, largely as a result of a moratorium on frequency distribution, which was imposed by the former communist government in July 1989. The moratorium remains in effect pending the enactment of legislation on private investment in the electronic media and regulation of commercial and entertainment programs. Since the imposition of the moratorium, the Ministry of Information has received more than 100 applications for authorization to operate private radio and television stations, and several studios have already been set up in the expectation that they will be allotted frequencies. Private entrepreneurs seeking to set up radio and television stations have criticized the government for maintaining a defacto monopoly over the electronic media. There is, however, a consensus among all major political parties and media professionals in Hungary that the moratorium on frequency distribution should be maintained until the advent of qualitative improvements and protective legislation that would enable Hubngarian state radio and television to compete with private stations. Media specialists and political leaders alike voice concern that Hungarian state radio and television risk "sinking into oblivion" if exposed to the competition of private broadcasting at this time. There are currently two private television stations broadcasting on state television channels and four partially privatized radio stations, which were set up before the 1989 moratorium. There are about 40 cable television systems, which were established and financed by city or county administration and serve more than 500,000 subscribers. Two US firms, Time Warner and International Holdings of Denver, plan to form a joint venture to develop and run country-wide cable television systems and programming services. Last June the Antall government prepared a draft law on "national media", that is, the Hungarian News Agency (MTI), Hungarian Radio, and Hungarian television. The draft was blocked, however, by the largest opposition party, the Alliance of Free Democrats, and by objections from media professionals. The proposed law would have required the national media to be "objective" and "impartial" and would have established a parliamentary committee to ensure the media's observance of those requirements. The committee's members were to be appointed by the President of the Republic from among deputies and other nominees of all the political parties represented in the parliament, independant cultural figures, and representatives of the churches. Under the draft law, the committee was to issue a report every three months, which it would not have been required to make public. The Free Democrats and media professionals objected to what they saw as potentially arbitrary criteria imposed on the media by politicians under the terms established for the committee's operation. They insisted on the inclusion of media professionals on the committee and on full publicity for the committee's work. The government rejected these demands on the grounds that the parliamentary committee could work more efficiently in conditions of limited publicity and that media representatives could not objectively judge their own profession's performance. The government believed that the cozy relationship-in the opinion of many observers—between most of the journalistic elite and the Free Democrats would work to the latter's political advantage under the rules proposed by the opposition. The government and the Free Democrats ended up accusing each other of seeking to use the committee to gain control of the media. During the past two years, media employees have set up several independent organizations to represent their professional interests and to protect the freedom of the media. The Openness Club, established in 1988 by journalists and social scientists, aims to block any restrictions on the freedom of the media and to redress professional grievances relating to such restrictions. The club is making its voice heard on numerous media-related issues and actively defends journalists' interests. The Media Trade Union, set up in 1989, is an independent organization of media personnel focusing on labor-related issues. (Based on a RFE Report by Edith Oltay) JANUARY 1991 HUNGARIAN HERITAGE REVIEW 11
