September 10th, 2012

Hefty bonuses for Hungary’s public media executives

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Executives of Hungary’s state-owned media companies received large bonuses for their work in 2011, daily Népszabadság reported last week.

The top beneficiary of the handouts was István Böröcz (left), the chief executive of MTVA, the state-owned holding that runs Hungary’s public media networks, who took home an extra HUF 9.1 million. Böröcz currently enjoys a gross monthly salary of HUF 2 million and is entitled to a yearly bonus of as much as five months’ salary.

In addition to Böröcz, other public media executives who recently received large bonuses include MTV president Balázs Medveczky (HUF 4.2 million), public radio head István Jónás (HUF 4.3 million), news agency MTI head Csaba Belénessy (HUF 4.8 million) and the head of Duna TV, Menyhért Dobos (HUF 1.1 million).

All except Belénessy got about 90% of their maximum bonus; the MTI chef’s smaller payout is said to have been due to last year’s scandal involving the airbrushing of former Constitutional Court Chief Justice Zoltán Lomnici.

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  • MagyarViking

    …and it is all tax payer’s money…

    • justasking…

      @Viking,

      I’m with George on this, I want to know why they got these bonuses, before I start condemning the Government for their actions.

      If these Executives are out performing themselves against private sector Execs…than they, deserve the bonuses.

      The Government, like any-other employer, has to stay competitive financially against the private sector, in order to attack premium manpower….and yes, that means using taxpayer money.

      • Viking

        justasking… says:
        September 10, 2012 at 6:27 pm

        If these Executives are out performing themselves against private sector Execs…than they, deserve the bonuses
        —

        In media…
        The best thing they could do was to shut-down the State-TV, it is anyway just friendly with The Ruling Party
        For my tax money

        Public sector extremely seldom wins any comparison with the Private sector. Too much politics in it

        • justasking,

          @Viking,

          ‘In media…
          The best thing they could do was to shut-down the State-TV, it is anyway just friendly with The Ruling Party
          For my tax money’

          We have the same thing in Canada…it’s called the CBC.

          An extremely Liberal station (which I am not) all paid for, from my tax dollar. I vote to shut I down.

  • Aloof

    Don’t ever use the word post commie again. The only difference is that every government since the Soviets left just became Hungarian communist governments. Fidesz is LOADED with commies. Rural Hungary is as commie as ever. Still get those weird little yellow ticket stubs that you take to the Posta to pay. Like that photo Erik put up a couple of weeks ago; “on the left is a special BKV “nostalgia” tram recently spotted at Budapest’s Bosnyák tér, and on the right, a picture from the same square taken back in October of 1976. Bigger pics at the link, but be warned: It’s creepy.”

  • Leto مؤدّب

    Fidesz got rid of all the apparatschik and replaced those postcommie bastards by people who understand this country and its politics. At last!
    Ceterum censeo MSZP delendum est.

    • Aloof

      Like the 68 year commie old Martonyi?

      Miklos Haraszti NAILED OV to a tee back in 2002…

      The answer is that Orbán’s government, although managing not to halt the growth, behaved vis-à-vis the economy in a plundering way that was almost far-left in character. It re-nationalised much of the economy, and siphoned off immense resources of taxpayers’ money to the private accounts of ‘friendly’ companies, thus ending any possibility for the public to exert any control or supervision; then solidified this outrageous lack of transparency by using loopholes and unconstitutionally majoritarian institutional and legislative coups.
      In a word, Orbán’s rule was utterly nepotistic – and here comes his ideological innovation compared to the former communists. Yes, Orbán did all this in the name of a belated anti-communist sociological revolution. But that populism is read in Hungary as a return to communist ways rather than a healing of the injustice that the nomenklatura-bourgeoisie inflicted on the nation. It is understood as stealing openly, while claiming an ideological justification. Does this sound familiar?

    • Leto مؤدّب

      You got the ending clause finally right. Well done, post faker.

      Ceterum censeo MSZP delendum est.

  • Anonymous

    Yah, looks like and sounds like….. and I have bought prescriptions for an elderly lady too poor to buy her medications…..like Hungary but this happened in the good old U.S.A. Both countries the rich get richer and the poor can go to hell! Humanity, oh humanity – we may be born equal (excluding the caste system) but we most certainly are not equal!

  • Focus on the bigger picture

    No matter what -ism is FOLLOWED, the word equality does not or ever will equate. Humanity does not understand equality. Some, just make their adjustments better than others.
    In 1990 the consensus was that it would take 2-3 generations for Hungary to turn things around and become a thriving country again within a stable (western) Europe.
    Since 9/11/01 we have seen the largest social transformations/migrations to affect the world. Causing even Western Europe great turmoil/confusion, corruption, sectored isolations, protectionism etc.
    The origins of the word nepotism alone is scary as is.
    Turmoil/confusion feeds fear, fear feeds instability – the perfect stage for differing -isms and religions. They both have the same theme – Beleive in…..I/we will show you the way. Has history not proven enough times that politicians and religions, reliously compare notes?
    Like the used car salesman standing by a rusty old car saying – “Come on over, I’ve got a deal you can’t refuse”
    Things will take a lot longer to rebuild. Some will be able to sustain it, others will fall. In the business world we politely call it M & A.
    To move forward the powers at hand have to first shore up the house of cards that are rapidly falling apart. Some have already fallen and just need to be permanently buried before they get recycled again.

  • igazi magyar

    Orban is more interested in spending public money on propaganda than on the health and safety of Hungarian citizens.

  • Liz Aucoin

    I just see it as a payoff…..thanks guys! You did a bang up job of reporting the news the way we wanted. You successfully convinced the public that it was in the best interest of Hungary to steal your pension money, reported Gypsy crime really well and pushed our political agenda. A mojority of the country still does not know the truth of how we are robbing them and thank you for covering our asses so well as we changed the constitution to make everything state run/owned. so here is a little something for your hard work!

    • Magyar

      “reporting the news the way we wanted”

      First of all, who is “We”, some foreigners?

      Secondly, that says it all, you dont want the news to report truth, you want them to report what you want, in the way you want, and that is spreading lies about the current goverment.

      • Liz Aucoin

        @Magyar, you truly are the village idiot!

  • Curious George

    What exactly did they deliver to deserve their bonuses?
    a. Lowered operating costs?
    b. Increased revenue & profits?
    c. Increased viewership?
    d. Produced quality programs which won awards?
    e. Increased efficiency?

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