[FoME] Wtrlt: CMCS releases new study on Hungarian media laws

[Sofie Jannusch]

The Center for Media and Communication Studies (CMCS) announces the
release of the study:
Hungarian Media Laws in Europe: An Assessment of the Consistency of
Hungary’s Media Laws with European Practices and Norms
 

A new CMCS study led by researcher Amy Brouillette analyses the
consistency of the Hungarian media regulations with European practices
and norms. It addresses a key international policy debate regarding the
conformity of Hungary’s new media legislation to European and EU
media-regulation standards. The study also contributes to the ongoing
policy making process regarding Hungary’s media laws—particularly in
light of the recent rulings by Hungary’s Constitutional Court which
requires several provisions to be amended by 31 May 2012—as well as
contributing to the debate around other areas of concern that have been
raised by the European Commission, European lawmakers, and domestic and
international stakeholders.
 
In December 2010 and January 2011, the Hungarian Government released
two statements summarising the main criticisms of its new laws and
providing examples of regulations from 20 European and EU-member states
as precedents for Hungary’s media legislation. For this study, the
Center for Media and Communication Studies (CMCS) commissioned media
policy experts in each of these 20 countries to examine every example
cited by Hungary’s Government. The findings of this report are based on
the expert assessments of these examples. The purpose of this study is
to examine the accuracy of the precedents cited by the Hungarian
Government in order to shed light on the more critical question of how
consistent Hungary’s media laws are with other media systems in Europe.

 
The study finds that Hungary’s media laws are largely inconsistent with
the cited European practices and norms, based on an examination of the
legal precedents provided and on the expert analyses of how these
precedents are implemented in these European and EU-member countries. In
a majority of examples, experts report that the Hungarian Government’s
references omit or inaccurately characterise relevant factors of the
other countries’ regulatory systems, and as a result, the examples do
not provide sufficient and/or equivalent comparisons to Hungary’s media
regulation system. In many examples, the Hungarian Government accurately
presents a portion of a legal provision or regulation, however in these
cases the reference either excludes elements of how the regulation is
implemented or the regulation cited does not correspond with the scope
and powers of Hungary’s media laws or Media Authority. Overall, this
study finds that the European media regulations cited by the Hungarian
Government do not serve as adequate precedents for Hungary’s new media
laws. 
 
The study also reveals a wide disparity in media-regulation policies
among European and EU-member states and highlights some key deficiencies
in a number of other European systems that may inhibit press freedom in
ways that do not appear to conform to European free-press norms.  
 
A copy of the report (244 pages) can be downloaded on the CMCS website
at:
https://cmcs.ceu.hu/sites/default/files/field_attachment/news/node-27293/Hungarian_Media_Laws_in_Europe.pdf
 
An executive summary (18 pages) under
http://cmcs.ceu.hu/news/2012-01-05/new-study-hungarian-media-laws-in-europe-an-assessment-of-the-consistency-of-hungary
 
 
Kate Coyer, PhD
Director
Center for Media and Communication Studies
Central European University, Budapest
 
http://www.cmcs.ceu.hu/
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