How was Hungary’s image in int’l media in 2013?

Budapest, February 6 (MTI) – International media interest in Hungary intensified and the country’s image in foreign media improved overall last year as against 2012, an analysis released by Nezopont research institute on today showed.

The institute conducted a second survey on Hungary’s perception in the international media in 2013, after one it had concluded in the previous year.

Compared with 2012’s monitor of 3,659 items in 40 media outlets in seven countries, this year’s analysis covered 6,800 articles and 57 online and print items in 12 countries, Zsolt Antal, the head of Nezopont’s media monitoring section, told a press conference.

About 5-6 percent of articles had a positive content in both years, whereas the proportion of articles reflecting negatively on the country dropped to 33 percent last year from 43 percent in 2012, he said. The proportion of articles with a neutral content increased, he added.

Most articles were published in Germany, while the fewest, and the most negative (64 percent) in Italy, focussing mainly on the far right, Antal said. The most positive articles appeared in the Polish media, praising the introduction of religious class in primary schools and government measures to help troubled forex loan holders, he said.

The largest number of positive reports appeared in May and June, when favourable data on GDP growth and low inflation were released.

Antal said that two of the leading international wires services, Reuters and Bloomberg, carried the largest number of reports about Hungary, concerning mostly economy-related issues in a neutral tone.

Ferenc Kumin, the deputy state secretary in charge of foreign press relations, confirmed the survey’s conclusion that international media attention was most intensive towards Hungary in March, focussing on the fourth amendment to the constitution. In the last phase of the year, homelessness was the most preferred topic, he said. He attributed the improvement of Hungary’s image in the international media to positive developments in the economy.

Photo: angoltanszek.hu

Source: http://hungarymatters.hu/