Keyword – democracy

Hammer, Ferenc:

When facts somehow just don’t bite

This paper addresses three main questions. First, it shows why an assessment of the praised democratic role of investigative journalism and fake news debunking cannot be complete without an account of what happens when fact-findings have no tangible consequences. Second, it identifies a few constitutive factors of the archaeology of silence and of silencing through international and Hungarian examples, with specific attention paid to the important context of media hybridisation. And third, by offering a methodological innovation—i.e., by juxtaposing the RSF freedom of expression index and the Freedom House democracy index—it provides an empirical understanding of which countries are presumably sliding upward or downward on the freedom/democracy scale and looks into the role that the lack of consequences of free speech may play in this decline.

Keywords: democracy, hybrid media, performance of media systems, press freedom

Paár, Ádám:

The Agrarian movement, the journal Köztelek and the USA (1892–1908)

In the late 1800s, when the USA became the leading economic and military power, a new Hungarian political group described as ‘agrarian’ began to look into American life, politics and economics. The Agrarians criticised the Hungarian governments for their exaggerated support granted to the industries and for ignoring the interests of the peasant population. The Agrarians refused to establish a political party of their own, and represented and popularised their values and ideas via their press. Their representative journal, Köztelek, took account of the foreign news in the areas of economic, social and agrarian science. This journal was specalised in the education of smallholders and reported on economic and political news from abroad. By examining the way Köztelek reflected on American life, one can establish that the Agrarian authors focused on three topics, including the American economy (agriculture, trade and transport), the way of life of farmers, and political tensions. Köztelek did not mention the Populist movement, the agrarian democratic movement in the USA, but it criticised the McKinley government which came to power in 1896.

Keywords: agrarian conservative, agriculture, democracy, farmer, Hungary, Köztelek, populism, press, United States