Propaganda Seeks Its Own Level, Sometimes Spreading, Sometimes Sinking, Always Stinking

Michael Hedges April 11, 2019 - Follow on Twitter

Media outreach is considered essential for organizations seeking to manage their profile. While big companies mastered the art and science of message control decades ago. Governments have followed suit. Everybody has a message, it seems, critical to their purpose. Getting it in front of the right audience, in this digital age, can be a trick.

Popping up in London this week is V4 News Agency (V4NA), reported Hungarian news portal 444.hu (April 9). It is, it says, an “independent international news agency” with a “conservative, right-wing perspective.” The primary focus is the Visegrad Group of central and eastern European countries - Hungary, Poland, Czech Republic and Slovakia.

Obviously, Hungarians are driving this effort, particularly those supportive of the nationalist, xenophobic agenda of prime minister Viktor Orban. Officially, V4NA is owned by two companies controlled, more or less, by Habony Arpad - New Wave Media Group, tacit owner of several media outlets, and Danube Business Consulting, an investment house. Last year New Wave Media Group and other Hungarian media houses ceded effective control over their outlets - 476 newspapers, radio stations and TV channels in total - to Central European Press and Media Foundation (Közép-Európai Sajtó és Média Alapítvány - KESMA), directed by Orban supporter Gábor Liszkay. Hungarian sources suggest V4NA is also under the auspices of KESMA.

The giant media consolidation under KESMA had as much to do with economics as political messaging. Many of the outlets, not exactly stellar market performers, found financial support from state advertising. That consolidation also led to downsizing, apparent from outlets dropping local coverage for single-source content and press releases.

After securing considerable control over Hungarian news outlets, a bit of international outreach seems to be the order of the day. Some of those downsized employees have found their way to V4NA in London, specifically those let go from New Wave Media Group and business newspaper Figyelo. The executive director of V4NA, Attila Leitner, was chief editor at Fidesz party supporting tabloid Lokal.

Much of the V4NA website content is behind a paywall. The homepage shows headlines featuring PM Orban’s favorite themes in Hungarian and English; xenophobic and racist. Favorable coverage is given to Italian deputy prime minister Matteo Salvini, who is close to PM Orban. Eventually, claims V4NA, other languages will be offered with reporters scattered through other Visegrad countries plus, of course, Brussels. May European Parliament elections are of interest to PM Orban.

One of New Wave Media Group’s best known Hungarian web portals - Origo - gained further distinction earlier this month. Following reports by MediaPowerMonitor (March 28) and followed by Neiman Labs (April 3), the New York Times (April 3) and others Google Digital News Innovation Fund stripped Origo, "one of the staunchest supporters of the corrupt regime led by the far-right Prime Minister Viktor Orban,” said MediaPowerMonitor, of €50,000 in funding. "After further review, we’ve decided not to go ahead with the grant to NWM (New Wave Media),” said the Google statement. Respected news portals 24.hu, 444.hu and index.hu continue to receive grants.

"In the end, the withdrawal of the funding is a brave and spectacular decision," said Hungarian media monitor Mertek analyst Gabor Polyak to AFP (April 4). "They can expect bad press coverage next days in the pro-government media.” And there it was on pro-government Hir TV (April 10): “Scandalous discrimination against Origo highlights Google’s money is controlled by (George) Soros.”

See also...

• Hot Topics - Media in Hungary

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