The Hungarian public broadcaster M1 resumed broadcasting on Tuesday evening after an unprecedented hours-long suspension. But instead of news, viewers were greeted by one of the country’s most iconic political satires, The Witness (A tanú).

M1 returns after historic interruption

M1’s regular programming was suspended at 4:00 PM on Tuesday, with viewers seeing only a black screen carrying an extraordinary message:

“Public media cannot lie. We apologise for having done so for years. State media is now being overhauled so that it can be independent and credible in the future. News service is temporarily suspended. Stay tuned!”

The same message also appeared on the public broadcaster’s news website, while Kossuth Radio temporarily ceased its own programming and relayed Bartók Radio instead.

Earlier in the day, the newly appointed interim leadership of Hungary’s public media officially took office. According to the announcement, András Horváth P. became interim CEO, joined by Zsófia Mészáros (online operations), Balázs Bodacz (news), György Kerényi (Kossuth Radio), Péter Koltai (CEO’s office) and Sára Teszáry (communications and marketing).

The interim management said its priorities include auditing the public broadcaster, overseeing the transition and suspending what it described as propaganda while rebuilding an independent and professional news service.

Broadcasting resumes with The Witness

At 7:56 PM (a symbolic reference to the 1956 Hungarian Revolution), M1 returned to air. Instead of news bulletins, however, the channel launched its temporary schedule with Péter Bacsó’s 1969 classic The Witness (A tanú), one of Hungary’s most celebrated political satires.

The film, which ridicules the absurdities and abuses of the Rákosi-era communist dictatorship, was famously banned shortly after its completion. Although set during the Stalinist period, cultural authorities under the Kádár regime reportedly recognised uncomfortable similarities with their own system, delaying the film’s public release until the late 1970s.

Many of its lines have since become part of everyday Hungarian culture, including the famous quote: “Facts are stubborn things.” (“A tények makacs dolgok.”)

Watch how M1 resumed broadcasting with the start of The Witness in a short video by 444.hu:

Senior figures removed

Tuesday also brought sweeping personnel changes at the public broadcaster. According to Hungarian media reports, Zsolt Németh, director of the M1 channel, was relieved of his duties before the news suspension, while deputy content director Zsolt Mezei also left his position.

Several presenters and staff members were reportedly dismissed as well. Veteran television reporter Attila Császár, a long-time public television correspondent, was reportedly escorted from the building by security guards. The new leadership has said that news programming will remain suspended temporarily, with Hungarian films filling the schedule until a new programming structure is introduced.

An unprecedented day for Hungarian public media

The blackout marked one of the most dramatic moments in the nearly 70-year history of Hungarian television. The original Magyar Televízió, launched in 1957, has only rarely gone off air completely, previously doing so mainly because of technical failures or national mourning, such as after the death of former Prime Minister József Antall in 1993.

If you missed it: BREAKING: Hungary’s M1 television goes off air with on-screen message towards viewers