Central European Press and Media Foundation

Central European Press and Media Foundation
AbbreviationKESMA, CEPMF
FormationSeptember 11, 2018; 6 years ago (2018-09-11)
PurposeMedia
Area served
Hungary
Key people
Websitecepmf.hu

The Central European Press and Media Foundation or CEPMF (Hungarian: Közép-Európai Sajtó és Média Alapítvány, KESMA) is a Hungarian foundation controlling many of the country's media outlets. Its assets consist of cable news channels, radio stations, internet news portals, newspapers and magazines, including Hír TV, Origo, Mandiner, Nemzeti Sport, Magyar Nemzet, Világgazdaság, Szabad Föld, Bors and Figyelő.[1] As of 2018, the joint estimated value of the foundations assets was over 88 million euros.[2][3]

The foundation has been criticized by the European Federation of Journalists and the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom for its close ties to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. The news outlets owned by the foundation were acquired or founded by allies of Orbán in the past few years and then donated to the foundation in 2018. The foundation’s media operations between 2018 and 2020 were led by Gábor Liszkay, a newspaper publisher known for his loyalty to Orban.[4][5][6]

  1. ^ "Govt Backs Right-Wing Media Firm". Hungary Today. 7 December 2018. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
  2. ^ "Huge pro-government media conglomerate formed in Hungary, November 28, 2018". AP News.
  3. ^ "Hungary's Orban exempts pro-government media group from scrutiny, December 6, 2018". Reuters.
  4. ^ "Hungary: new pro-government media conglomerate threatens pluralism, November 29, 2018". European Federation of Journalists.
  5. ^ "Media freedom in Hungary is no more, November 29, 2018". European Centre for Press and Media Freedom. Archived from the original on July 12, 2019. Retrieved July 12, 2019.
  6. ^ "Orban and His Allies Cement Control of Hungary's News Media, November 29, 2018". The New York Times.