Freedom House Ranks Hungary Media As “Partly Free”

(MTI) – Although Freedom House has improved the scores of Hungary, it said the country’s media is still “partly free” in its 2013 global media freedom report released on Thursday.

The Washington-based independent NGO ranked Hungary 71th on its global list of 197 countries, with a press freedom score of 35 on a scale of 100.

FH’s report for 2012 ranked Hungary 74th, with a press freedom score of 36.

Hungary, which was downgraded to “partly free” in 2011, remained largely unchanged in 2013, and there are serious and persistent concerns that the extensive legislative and regulatory changes since 2010 have negatively affected media freedom, the FH said in its fresh report.

However, in a positive development, Klubradio, a station that is critical of the ruling Fidesz party, had its main frequency restored in 2013 after several lengthy court battles, it said.

Source: http://mtva.hu/hu/hungary-matters