The elaborate hierarchy of "cleanliness" in media funding

Our industry's funding fixation has evolved into a sort of moral purity test and it's reinforcing the authoritarian narrative that all journalism is inherently compromised by its financing.

"I can totally see you as the prison librarian," a friend, editor of a medium sized weekly joked the other day as we discussed the prospects for independent journalism in Hungary. To clarify—the joke was about the prospect of being imprisoned, not my aptitude for library science. I hope.

We are heading into what may be the most challenging period for Hungarian media since I began my journalism career in the late 1990s (following, ironically, a brief stint at an actual library). While the Hungarian government has never been an enthusiastic supporter of independent journalism, the steadyish deterioration of the past 15 years seems to be accelerating in recent weeks. With the moderating influence of U.S. administrations now gone—replaced by active encouragement of authoritarian tendencies across Central and Eastern Europe and beyond—the already paper-thin gloves are coming off entirely.