Hungary’s Kossuth Radio is set to relaunch on Monday with a completely revamped programme structure, new presenters and a new slogan promising that the public broadcaster will once again be “everyone’s”.
The renewed station will officially return on 24 August, with the Rákóczi March marking the start of its new public-service programming at 4.30 AM. The station’s new slogan will be “Kossuth Radio – everyone’s again”, according to a statement from Hungary’s public media operator, MTVA.
The broadcaster said the station had spent the past month and a half broadcasting radio plays and “timeless, emblematic” interviews around the clock while its new programming was being prepared. Channel director György Kerényi said the station would preserve what was worth keeping while saying goodbye to programmes and formats that had become tired.
News and current affairs to be revamped
News programmes and several key time slots will undergo major changes. The station says its new approach will focus on reliable reporting, credible stories and knowledgeable guests, promising that its “news will be true, our stories will be authentic and our guests will be knowledgeable.”
Several new programmes will also be available as podcasts, while the station says some of its content will even be broadcast through traditional Sokol radios. Zsolt Bogár and Péter Magyari will serve as the station’s two deputy editors-in-chief.
Magyari, who previously worked for Válasz Online, will launch Nyílt titok (Open Secret) on Saturday mornings. The programme will examine controversial cases from Hungary’s past 16 years – and, according to the station, the past 36 years – with investigative reporters Róbert Báthory and Áron Kovács.
Magyari will also host Világrend (World Order), a foreign affairs analysis programme due to launch on 29 August.
The morning news and information programme Felkelő, the Krónikák news bulletins and daily current affairs programmes will be presented by Rita Benyó, Erika Hatvani Tóth, Tímea Tatár and Nóra Teszári.
György Farkas, László Illisz, István Dániel Király and Gábor Kiss will work as editors, while Dávid Dercsényi, Mátyás Fórizs, Anna Kovács, Roland Papp and Ildikó Sipos will work on the news programmes. Pálma Fazekas will head the news department.
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New programmes focus on different perspectives
The revamped station will also introduce programmes covering current affairs from different perspectives. Necces, an afternoon live programme hosted by Csilla Orosz and Zsófia Sashegyi, will examine public affairs through a female perspective.
Sunday mornings will feature two new programmes focusing on Hungarians living beyond the country’s borders and religious affairs.
Anyanyelve még mindig magyar (Hungarian Is Still Their Mother Tongue) will air from 7 AM and will be hosted by Vince Rácz, a journalist at Pátria Radio, the Slovak public broadcaster’s Hungarian-language service in Bratislava.
Hetedik nap (Seventh Day) will focus on religious and church-related issues and will be hosted by journalist Dóra Laborczi. The station also plans to significantly expand its cultural programming and radio plays.
Anita Bödő will head the revamped cultural department, while new daily programmes will include Doktor Kossuth, focusing on health, and A Föld marad (The Earth Remains), dedicated to sustainability and environmental issues.
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Kossuth Radio seeks a new identity
The relaunch comes after years in which Kossuth Radio and Hungary’s wider public media system were heavily criticised by opposition figures and independent media for serving as a vehicle for the former Fidesz government’s political messaging.
Former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán was a regular guest on the station’s Friday morning Jó reggelt, Magyarország! programme, where his appearances were frequently described as interviews despite rarely involving challenging follow-up questions.
The public media system itself underwent a turbulent transition earlier this summer. On 7 July, Hungary’s public media broadcasts were temporarily interrupted as an interim management team took over, with the M1 television channel displaying an apology message for an extended period.
