Nepszabadsag, one of the most successful and important Hungarian publications, shut down 10 years ago by the former Viktor Orban government, was relaunched on Thursday as a news website and a weekly magazine. The newspaper, founded during the Hungarian revolution of 1957, was abruptly closed in 2016 by its former owner, the Mediaworks company, reports Reuters.
The journalists of the editorial staff specified, at the time of closing in 2016, that the decision had been motivated by the subjects referring to the former Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
Mediaworks then cited financial losses, even though the employees of Nepszabadsag stated that the newspaper was the best-selling in Hungary.
The new editor-in-chief of Nepszabadsag, Akos Toth, told Reuters that independent journalism in Hungary “must return to a classic, news-based press, which should ask questions again and not just express opinions.”
The relaunch of Nepszabadsag is financed by four Hungarian businessmen.
The relaunch of Nepszabadsag is financed by four Hungarian businessmen involved in overseas real estate investments during Orban’s tenure, said Toth. “They are transparent, not hiding behind complex shell companies,” added Toth, emphasizing that with Orban’s departure from power after his electoral defeat in April, the investors saw a business opportunity in revitalizing this brand.
The new publication will have around 90 employees, most of them former journalists from Nepszabadsag and from the left-wing daily Nepszava, whose print edition has been suspended since May.
During the time Orban was in power in Hungary, criticisms in the press about his governance diminished, as state media came under stricter government control and a series of private publications – including Nepszabadsag – were closed or purchased by owners close to Fidesz or Viktor Orban.