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Hungary no longer has a daily printed newspaper after Magyar Nemzet, a publication known for its close relationship with former Prime Minister Viktor Orban and his Fidesz party, switched to a weekly format in August.
The decision means the country has lost its final daily printed political newspaper, bringing another major change to a media market that is already being reshaped following the recent change of government.
Magyar Nemzet, whose name translates as "Hungarian Nation," has a history stretching back 88 years and was long regarded as a serious conservative newspaper before being relaunched in 2019.
More recently, the publication came under criticism over its support for Orban and Fidesz, formally known as the Hungarian Civic Alliance, after they lost the parliamentary election in April. Although Orban is now in opposition, Magyar Nemzet is expected to continue publishing coverage that favors the former prime minister.
The shift came shortly after Nepszava, Hungary's last independent daily newspaper, stopped printing its physical edition at the beginning of July.
The 153-year-old left-wing newspaper is currently looking for an investor, according to German newspaper Die Zeit. However, the Hungarian public has increasingly turned to independent weekly publications and online media for news outside government influence.
Hungary's wider media ecosystem has also entered a period of significant change following the end of Orban's 16-year rule.
During his time in office, a large part of the country's press was brought under government influence through a media foundation. Following the election victory of Prime Minister Peter Magyar and his Tisza party, former government-aligned news programs were taken off the air and journalists linked to Fidesz were dismissed.
Magyar described the process as the end of propaganda broadcasting. On July 7, state television channel M1 temporarily blacked out its screen and displayed a message announcing that its news operations were being reorganized:
"Public broadcasters cannot lie. We apologize for having done so for many years. Public broadcasters are now being restructured so they can be independent and reliable in the future. News broadcasting has been temporarily suspended. Please stay with us."
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