Shortly after changing of the regime in 1989-90, the faculty of communica- tion was established at three Hungarian Universities (based on Budapest, Pécs and Szeged), studying journalism became very popular (Szajbély, 2004). Many students chose it instead of the also popular career of lawyer or economist. As a result of this phenomenon the faculty of communication has been started year by year all over the country. Presently 19 higher education institutes offer faculty of communica- tion and media science by BA and/or MA level in our country. The institutes locate very unevenly in the country, half of the institutes based in the Middle- Hungarian Region (Budapest and its surrounding), the others based mainly in biggest cities! The biggest media organizations also based in Budapest - so imagine a quick fu- ture carrier - students usually decide to start their education in a Budapest-based university or college. However it is strange, that in spite of the popularity of the communication and media science, altogether only seven institutes provide prac- tice to all four journalistic area (radio, TV, press and online). “Radio and/or TV studios were built in universities and colleges and have been operating for years like a real medium in thirteen institutes, the studios are used for only education in four institutes, and we could mention a higher-education institute without any practical training facilities.” (Wein, 2010:15) In some cases these studios owned
11 Data from the official portal of application for admission. http://www.felvi.hu/felveteli/jelentkezes/
aktualis/jelentkezok_szama_2014A, Visited on 16.04.2014.
12 Data from Education Portal. http://eduline.hu/erettsegi_felveteli/2013/12/30/16_nepszeru_szak_
by the university itself, but most common, that there is an Ltd. or a Foundation in the background who run the TV or radio. Studios owned by commercial station is also not rare, in this case university is only the minor owner. Some example from my study based on telephone and personal interviews with studio leaders in 2011:
Kodolányi János College, Székesfehérvár, Vörösmarty Radio13: There is a 24
hours broadcasting, non for profit, public programme provider can be heard on the 99,2 MHz and online as well, has been operating in the building of the college since 1999. The editors and presenters aren’t students, but radio experts take part in ed- ucation as well. The students of the communication courses can get opportunity to contribute to the work of the radio only during the compulsory practice in a second studio built only for training. However there is a kind of radio-club for years where ambitious students can run own show under supervision of expert staff on every Tuesday.
College of Dunaújváros, Dunaújváros, Rardio2414: This radio is a commercial
radio partly owning by the college, it can be received on the 102,9 MHz in the 60 km circle of the town and online as well. The students perform a compulsory practise here: they are given duties related with programme-making, they edit brief news and music lists, cut, write programme offers, prepare signals, but they may run an own programme only at the night hours. The staff of the radio include best students of the courses.
Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, EPER Radio15: It has been working in the
city of Budapest since 2004, can be received on the 97,00 MHz and heard online, too. Students take part in the work as optional courses or working as volunteers. There is live broadcast between 9 am – 19 pm and pre-recorded programme and replay run in the rest time. Their specialities are: recording and broadcasting of the university lectures, and making radio-plays.
Kölcsey Ferenc Teacher Training College of the Reformed Church of Hungary, Debrecen, Méliusz Radio16: The first reformed radio of Hungary can be received on
the 88 MHz and online as well. Professional experts and students of the communi- cation degree course work at the radio side by side.
College of Nyíregyháza, Nyíregyháza, Campus Radio17: It has been working on
the 97,9 MHz 24 hours a day and online as well, since the spring of 2005. Educa- tional, scientific and cultural programme are the base, but programme deal with the everyday life of the college too. The radio has five full-time and paid experts, they run the studio and make programme, but also give training for students. Students work here during compulsory trainings or as a volunteer.
13 Information: Virágh, Ildikó, editor in chief. Website: www.vorosmartyradio.hu, Visited 12.01.2011. 14 Information: Garda, Árpád, editor in chief and Hársfai, István, editor. Website: www.r24.hu. Visited
12.01.2011.
15 Information: Hargitai, Henrik, editor in chief. Website: http://eper.elte.hu. Visited 12.01.2011. 16 Website: http://www.licium.hu. Visited 12.01.2011.
University of Szeged, Szeged, Radio Mi18: The small community radio founded
in 2005 based in a garage, after three years operating they got a contract with the university. The university assure place for the Radio Mi in the new studio, in the event that the radio taking in and involving the students of the communication de- gree course to the work. The radio broadcasts mainly music programme on the 89,9 MHz all day long and can be received online too. The programme presenters of the radio are volunteers, DJ-s, musicians, journalists and students.
University of West Hungary, Szombathely, Berzsenyi Rádio19: The idea of Ber-
zsenyi Radio was born in spring of 2003 at the Department of Communication and Cultural Studies at the former Berzsenyi Dániel College (now it’s part of the Univer- sity of West Hungary as Campus Savaria). I was part of the team of three who was responsible for writing the application for a small community radio license and prepares the technical and organizational plan for operating. We20 had difficulties
with obtain the license and permit for broadcast, but the studio was managed to built very quickly and we started training with students without transfer the sig- nals to the antenna. We first went on air on 5. April, 2005. and - unique in the coun- try - the show was live on the website www.berzsenyiradio.hu too. Berzsenyi Radio is situated in Szombathely, county town of Vas near the Austrian border. The studio and the room for preparing radio programme can be found on the top floor of the main University building. As this building is situated in the center of the town, so we could provide broadcasting with the permitted capacity in a circle of 3 km, this covers all around the town. The presenters and the invited guests can take a seat around a round table with four microphones, the working field of the technician directly near them with the audio-mixer, computer and music players. Next door is the room for preparing radio programme where sound can be cut and programme to be prepared by five computers, and there is also facility to rent technical equip- ments to outside-recording, or resting a little during broadcasting, talking with the presenters waiting for their turn. At the starting in 2003 the financial situation of the radio seemed to be well-grounded, but as years going by the college became a university during the time of the realignment of the higher education structure of Hungary, its financial situation wavered. In year 2011, the new media law altered the condition of community radios and made operation impossible for such small organizations as university radios, our radio lost the licence for broadcasting in 2012. After this decision we use the studio only for trainings.
I examined the operation of the radio several times as part of my managerial task. Now, I mention only results from the two SWOT analysis made in 2005 (at the beginning of operation) and 2010 (working on top). Focusing only on results relating to access to practice, I show only the strong points and the opportunities (Velics, 2011).
18 Information: Turánszkai, Zsolt, leader of the radio. Website: http://radiomi.hu, Visited 12.01.2011. 19 Website: http://www.berzsenyiradio.hu. Visited 04.04.2014.
20 I refer “we”, because I was part of the management since the first time, and editor in chief from 2007
Strong points: 2005:
- programme (25 answers) - professionalism (24 answers)
- young spirit, student target-audience (24 answers) - motivation (20 answers)
- relationship, community (17 answers) 2010:
- technical equipment (29 answers) - practice (22 answers)
- programme (17 answers)
- friendship, community (16 answers)
They appreciated the wide range of programme and the fact that they have free hand on preparing their programme. The answers classified to the category of pro- fessionalism mentioned the high quality studio equipment in 2005. In 2010 more participants mentioned the new website and the chat-box making the programme interactive. Some of them listed the expert team and supporting connection to the strong points as well. The young spirit and student target audience characters are considered strong point in the view of that interpretation that students broadcast for students, this is the voice of young people and they are the main target group. Two of them mentioned as primary facts that the strong point ’we are J’, ’who mak- ing it J’. By 2010 the community forming power of the radio was considered as a strong point too. Solidarity, the friendly atmosphere, team work, all appeared like positive characters in the survey. The radio brings people together forming new relationship with new ones, including the members of the academic staff or such persons of the public life they don’t dare to address without the radio. Still in 2005 the motivation factors were: being creative and showing off, by 2010 those sounds firmed that Berzsenyi Radio is the field of the professional training, preparation for job. They considered this activity gives a good professional base and references to find a job and everybody agrees with the fact the radio provided a further oppor- tunity for the students of communication degree course to use the theoretic skills in practice.
Opportunities: 2005:
- practice place, career, self-realization (36 answers) - growing (24 answers)
- leading media of the college and city (17 answers) - relationship, community (12 answers)
2010:
- more self-promotion (16 answers) - enlargement (13 answers)
- practice place, career, self-realization (12 answers) - recruitment (8 answers)
As for opportunities most of the students didn’t approach the question from the possibilities of the radio, but spoke about their own personal possibilities as these two factors correlate with each other. The great majority wrote in both sur- veys on the promoting of the career, the good practice opportunity: ’mood-making to the career’, ’I can get routine in broadcasting’, ’one can get a great deal of expe- riences on the radio, and these information, routine can be used later as well, I think, it’s important and give support taking up a job’. Furthermore they appreciat- ed self-realization and rising of self confidence too.
Relationship and community appear among the list of opportunities. Most of them mentioned new friendships, relationship among people, institutes, school and town as well, and they can see the possibility of developing community, feel and form a team spirit. I am citing a personal voice: ’we could meet such people we aren’t sure to have run into each other without the radio’.
In the last four year many of this kind of institutional practice opportunity declined. Universities and colleges struggle with financial difficulties, and running studios became unaffordable luxury. Students often find their way to practice by self. They try to work in editorial offices and studios as trainees. Unfortunately traineeship in media usually means free work, unpaid job, which is beneficial for the media of course, disadvantageous for the students and risky for both in case of labour and tax control! I underline that this practice is very common in media organizations of Hungary, especially in TV! “First, you have to pay, invest time and money, those who comes from the street all begins with unpaid tasks. Further on, if you are good and talented, they will provide you a contract.”- said a reporter work- ing at commercial TV (Karácsony,2007). Another reporter says in the same article that she has been working for a TV for more than a year, without paying. She usually makes reports, visits press conferences, cut and edit programme, but she can man- age cost of living as cleaner… Because of hundreds of new applicants waiting for job in media, the media organizations can apply them for free or for only minimum wages which is under the guaranteed minimum wages of employees.
Another important part of the picture is that biggest media companies have been running own education program for many years in competition with academ- ic institutes. Commercial TV, publisher companies with international background established educational projects, and teach different journalistic skills e.g. how to edit or cut in radio or TV, host a show, use cameras, live broadcast a sport event, write for women magazine, etc. These education projects are very expensive (four- five times higher prices than in universities), but seem effective and very popular, because the teachers are famous journalist, the practice held in own media empire,
the best students have better chance to get a job immediately.
There have been good practices too in Hungary, but not many. Cooperation be- tween media companies and higher education system seems to be the best solution. In order to reach win-win situation, both party have to recognize own weakness and strength such as universities can’t afford practice but strong in theoretical ed- ucation and media companies vice versa. Strong contract between institutes and companies could help to work together and teach young generation of journalist.
Political regulation and influence
Conditions of the labour-market, economic circumstances and prospects in- fluences all kind of professions, but journalism as a profession is also influenced by political circumstances too. There was time when only the most trustworthy to political ideologies had the chance to work as journalist. Most of us working in media believed those times are over and never come back. Nowadays regulation by media-act is stronger than by professional associates. Not the same, but only some- thing very similar “came back”.
In 2010, after Viktor Orbán and FIDESZ won a two-thirds majority in the elec- tion, the new media law21 passed on the 22th of December 2010 and came into
force very quickly on 1 January 2011. It is widespread known that different inter- national and national forums, experts connected with media sector expressed their anxiety with hard criticism against the new Hungarian media law from the very first day. E.g.: Warnings from Hillary Clinton, then US secretary of state, the Europe- an Commission, civil organization and different rights groups. The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) warned the changes imposed a “chill- ing effect on freedom of expression and public debate”.
During the first year of governing, laws were passed and forced all media to register by the state and produce “balanced” reporting. A Media Council watchdog was established, staffed by government-friendly appointees, with the power to lay on fines or even close down lawbreaker media. The government insists that the press is not threatened by anyone, pointing out that not a single media has been fined or shut down. It’s only partly true, because some of them struggling with fi- nancial difficulties shut down themselves or some even not registered and there- fore lost the possibility to operate. Public television and radio channels were joined together and given the same package of information from the state news agency called MTI. Hundreds were laid off at this new state television and radio, several journalists decided to leave by self because of news-manipulation.
Many independent media organizations are struggling financially because ad- vertising money from state bodies and companies now goes mostly to those owned by government allies. According to Attila Mong from investigative journalism web- site Átlátszó22 - which means transparent in Hungarian -, private advertisers have
21 Act CLXXXV of 2010 on media services and mass media. 22 atlatszo.hu
tended to follow the way to avoid trouble. “There is a price to pay for editorial in- tegrity in Hungary: less advertising revenue,” says Mong (Murphy, 2014). “The psy- chological result,” says Balazs Weyer, head of an editors’ association and a teacher of journalism, is that “more journalists and their employers (are) censoring them- selves” (Murphy, 2014).
Results from a Hungarian qualitative research in 2007 (Hermann-Wild, 2007:82) show that editors in chief consider five basic factors as main problems of journalism:
1) power and influence of different political and business interest-groups 2) poor professional standards
3) uncertainty of existence 4) lack of education 5) self-censorship
In addition the people consider journalists as somebody who is not trusty, as it has been shown in GfK Custom Research.23 Out of 10 people only 3 can trust in
journalists in 2013, and this is the third worst results among different professions (See table 5.), only bankers and politicians got lesser score.
Table 5.
How much do you trust in …? 2013 2008
fireman 95 95 postman 93 90 teacher 90 81 doctor 84 86 soldier 79 78 market-researcher 74 69 policeman 74 70 environmental activist 71 69 charity organization 62 53
law court, judge 60 67
public servant 56 54 marketing expert 54 56 lawyer 53 60 cleric 52 53 trade union 51 45 business leader 51 47 advertising expert 39 44 journalist 34 34 banker 31 48 politician 16 17
23 Data shown on Brand Trend. http://brandtrend.hu/2013/10/10/a-legnagyobb-bizalom-tovabbra-
tions have not been accepted. Journalists have been working under restricting con- ditions. More and more independent minds find their media in Internet, for read and for write too. Now, the Internet is the place where you go to find out what is really happening in Hungary.