SVT highlights the closure of Hungarian public service as a step towards ”impartiality”. At the same time, the decision to stop broadcasting has provoked strong reactions and questions about what is actually meant by free media. The spotlight is now on both Hungary - and Swedish public service.
After the change of power in Hungary, the incoming Prime Minister Péter Magyar has unveiled one of its most high-profile measures: to stop the country's public service. The announcement comes shortly after the election and is described as a key part of the new government's first reforms, reports Hungarian Mandinka.
- After a change of government, we will immediately suspend public service news operations until the conditions for an objective and impartial function are createds, the Magyar has previously promised.
In practice, the measure means that news operations will be stopped completely for a period, with the aim of restarting them under new conditions.
SVT: stop required for ”impartial coverage”
SVT reports on the developments and describes the measure as a step towards more independent media coverage. The report highlights that broadcasts may be temporarily stopped to ensure impartiality and new structures.
According to the information, it is a matter of pausing operations until a new regime can be put in place, which is reported to be linked to the objective of ”impartial coverage”.
Direct stop - not gradual reforms
Unlike traditional media reforms, these are not slow changes. Instead, the data points to an immediate halt of news operations, followed by a restructuring.
Magyar himself has described the measure as a way to ”stop the state-funded propaganda”.
This means that the public service is first shut down, only to be restarted later when new rules and structures are deemed to be in place.
Should be treated in the same way?
However, the fact that SVT highlights this as positive and a guarantor of ”impartial reporting” has raised many eyebrows. The tax-funded Swedish public service channel is not known for being particularly ”impartial”, especially on issues such as climate and immigration, where it has often taken an activist stance.
The actual state of SVT's own ”impartiality” has been addressed by the analysis page slagsidan.se. AI has been used to analyze whether reporting is right-, left- or center-leaning, and which parties are most favored or disfavored.
The analyses show a clear overrepresentation to the left and the party that receives the most favorable reporting is the Social Democrats. Those receiving the least favorable reporting are the Sweden Democrats.
Although SVT itself is being singled out as biased, it does not seem to think it is right to receive the same treatment as the Hungarian media. When it was announced that SVT would save SEK 355 million, it caused great anger within both the public service and the red-green opposition, which benefits from SVT's reporting. To do in Sweden a fraction of what Magyar does in Hungary does not seem desirable for SVT.
Withdraw the subsidies and the problem of propaganda channels will disappear of its own accord.
40 years of pure propaganda from Svt has corrupted Sweden...
True!
Could it be that what is being said between the lines is the genius of free speech-friendly and democratic science in a nutshell. The principle which can be summarized as follows:
The state must ensure that the media provide true and impartial news.
Truthful and impartial news reporting = information that reinforces the narrative of those in power. Propaganda and crazy conspiracy theories = any information that could be perceived as critical of those in power and their national and global power structures. :)
SVT and SR are chameleons in red.
I would cheer if Sweden's public service lie factory is shut down