I can’t believe I even have to do this one…
According to totally-not-nutjob-socialist rag The Guardian, there has been ‘shock’ in Hungary over the recent acquisition of a number of lifestyle magazines by publisher Indamedia.
According to Flóra Garamvölgyi, the acquisition of these outlets, including mass-consumed tabloids Blikk and Glamour, is being seen locally as an attempt by Orbán to—somehow—meddle in the parliamentary elections this coming April.
Sorry?
The crux of Garamvölgyi’s argument—or Péter Magyar’s argument, which she seems to echo uncritically, as all good journalists do—is that Indamedia is seen to be close to Orbán. Therefore, these publications will definitely be used to flip key voters through mass propaganda campaigns.
No response from Indamedia is cited in the report.
Of course, this is certainly an airtight argument. Why else would a media publisher want to acquire a successful media outlet?
To make money? Don’t be ridiculous! This is Europe! We don’t know how to do that here!
‘Fidesz will no doubt have great use for a newspaper specializing in articles about reality television, star signs, and manicures’
No. It is clearly being done so that Orbán and his cadre of creepy-crawly-companions can use the wondrous articles of Blikk to brainwash the masses. Fidesz will no doubt have great use for a newspaper specializing in articles about reality television, star signs, and manicures.
In all seriousness, it seems that Garamvölgyi is trying to pin this entire argument on the fact that Indamedia operates some partisan-leaning outlets. Leaving aside how much we can trust anyone who writes for The Guardian understands the true meaning of the word, the idea that just because some of a company’s publications lean right mean they are operating solely for the sake of the government is a joke.
Hungary is like the United States. All news outlets have some partisan spin. The country cannot even reconcile its election polling right now, for crying out loud.
Can I prove it is definitely not the case that Orbán’s allies are weaponizing manicure magazines for election gain? I mean, I guess not. You cannot prove that The Guardian is not secretly staffed by a race of transgender space lizards—but that does not necessarily mean we should be worried about the LGBTQ reptilian menace.
But fine, I’ll go one step further. I spent my Friday evening braving the cold Budapest weather to find hard evidence that Indamedia just wants to make money. After getting lost twice—my sense of direction is not the strongest—I eventually found the publisher’s offices.
When I finally found someone to ask about this, they looked at me like I had a brain the size of a Guardian journalist.
‘The reason behind the acquisition was very obvious,’ the staff member told me, slightly bemused.
‘The advertisement-based media business model is not sustainable long term, so there is a natural business need for consolidation. You either grow and buy your competitors or sell your assets—we chose the first option.’
He went on to deny any link to the April election, saying that the move was essential for Indamedia to survive in the medium-to-long term.
‘We intend to lead in the Hungarian market,’ he said, ‘instead of being a victim of it.’
So, no. Not a politics thing.
Though I am interested in hearing how Garamvölgyi thinks Fidesz could use star sign horoscopes to steal seats from Tisza.
Slop Rating:
Related articles:
