Maja Jovanovska, Tamas Bodoky, and Aubrey Belford Hungarians with links to the country’s pro-government media have embarked on a mass buy-up of Macedonian news outlets, part of a concerted push into the Balkans by media companies loyal to Viktor Orban. Company registration documents obtained by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) and partners show that, since last spring, two former senior executives of Hungarian public television network Magyar…
The story was reported in collaboration with BIRN Albania, the Czech Center for Investigative Journalism, the Crime and Corruption Reporting Network (KRIK), and NOVA TV. Czech President Miloš Zeman likes to joke about shooting journalists. The veteran politician, who is running for reelection this week, recently earned international opprobrium when sporting a faux assault rifle, he figuratively took aim at the press. As it turns out, if Zeman ever wants to make…