Népszabadság editors to negotiate on possible sale of paper with publisher

Budapest (MTI) – Talks on Sunday on publishing Monday’s issue of daily Népszabadság and putting its website content back online failed; however, the sides will negotiate on the possible sale of the paper on Monday, editor-in-chief András Murányi told a few hundred sympathisers and journalists outside of the publisher’s headquarters in Budapest.

The newspaper’s editors made an offer, and the publisher, Mediaworks, agreed with the general concept, but wished to put the agreement in legal terms, until which time the paper will not operate, Murányi said.

“I interpreted this to mean that the decision taken was not a financial one, rather some other type,” he added.

The only thing on which the paper’s management and the publisher can negotiate is ensuring the sale of Népszabadság, Murányi said.

Anna Dano, who heads the paper’s work council, said talks with the publisher would continue on Monday.

The paper’s management and the publisher could negotiate on the sale of Népszabadság, he said, adding that a declaration of intent on the sale could be drawn up in days.

Publisher Mediaworks on Saturday said it suspended the publication of daily Népszabadság until it comes up with a new business model.

“In order to preserve Népszabadság for the future, Mediaworks management will focus on finding the best business model for the paper, in line with the current trends in the industry, and will start consultations in order to best secure future development,” the publisher said in a release posted on the daily’s website. The paper’s circulation has dropped 74 percent while it has racked up more than 5 billion forints (EUR 16.4m) in losses over the last ten years, it added.

Source: MTI