Hungary's main public television channel, M1, abruptly suspended its news broadcasts on Tuesday, while the state-run Kossuth radio station went off air entirely, replaced by classical music programming. In their place, viewers were met with a stark black screen carrying a remarkable on-air admission: "Public media should not lie. We are sorry for doing it for so long." The message pledged that the broadcaster would be reformed into an independent and trustworthy outlet. The websites for both M1 and Kossuth were also taken down.

The decision was made by András P. Horváth, the newly appointed head of state media, who was named to the role just days earlier by the government of Prime Minister Péter Magyar. Magyar, whose party won April elections that ended the 16-year tenure of former prime minister Viktor Orbán, had made media reform a central campaign promise. MTVA, the body that oversees M1, said the channel would return in a limited format without news bulletins, with those to be gradually reintroduced alongside a new editorial team. Multiple senior executives and journalists were dismissed immediately, with some reportedly escorted from the building by security personnel.

Under Orbán, Hungary's public broadcasters had come under sustained criticism from opposition parties, international media monitors, and organisations such as the OSCE, which observed this year's elections and concluded that coverage had strongly favoured the ruling party, denying other political forces an equal platform. Journalists who worked inside the system described daily email instructions dictating which stories to cover and what language to use — including directions to portray opposition figures as foreign-funded agents. In practice, sources indicate that this overt editorial pressure had already loosened after election night, as Orbán's party ceased issuing directives, but the existing newsroom leadership remained in place until this week's dismissals.

Magyar called Tuesday "a historic day" and declared that it marked "the end of propaganda broadcasts on public media platforms." A new law is expected to be submitted to parliament in the coming weeks to lay the legal groundwork for a genuinely independent public service broadcaster. However, some critics caution that the new government must itself proceed carefully to ensure the reforms produce genuine editorial independence rather than simply a change in political alignment. Commercial broadcasters and newspapers linked to Orbán's political network are also reported to be facing pressure, raising broader questions about the future of Hungary's media landscape.