See the #Tracker_19

2019 was relatively quiet year in the Hungarian media, there were no major changes in the ownership structure. The pro-government media foundation, the Central European Press and Media Foundation (abbreviated as KESMA in Hungarian) dominates the media landscape, and market distortion of state advertising to media is still going on.

Access to information is more and more difficult for independent journalists. They are banned from freely ask politicians in the Parliament or from attending different events. Government politicians do not give interviews to government-critical media outlets. Press departments of public institutions typically do not reply to questions of independent media.

Media Council was reelected in December 2019. Only the nominees of ruling party Fidesz were elected as new members of Hungary's most powerful media regulatory body. Fidesz's MPs in the Parliament's ad-hoc nomination committee rejected all candidates of the opposition parties.