ASSIST News Service (ANS) - PO Box 609, Lake Forest, CA 92609-0609 USA
Visit our web site at: www.assistnews.net -- E-mail: assistnews@aol.com
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Christian News Agency Fears Government Control
By Dan Wooding
Founder of ASSIST Ministries
BUDAPEST, HUNGARY (ANS) -- Central and Eastern Europe's first online Christian news agency, BosNewsLife (www.bosnewslife.com), was ordered on Wednesday, February 9, 2011, to register with the Hungarian authorities under a new controversial law that critics say is part of a crackdown on independent media.
BosNewsLife founder, Stefan J. Bos
According to a story posted on their website, Hungary's media watchdog, the National Media and Infocommunications Authority (NMHH), said that the Budapest-based BosNewsLife had until June 30, 2011, to register.
"As the website is already working, it will have to meet the conditions," of relevant paragraphs of the new media legislation, wrote NMHH's Ditta Boncz, who heads the authority's tenders and legal department. Boncz made the announcement in an e-mail exchange with BosNewsLife.
It was not immediately clear what sanctions would follow if BosNewsLife refuses to register with the NMHH, whose key members were appointed by Prime Minister Viktor Orban's Fidesz party.
Under the new law electronic media such as BosNewsLife could face fines of over $100,000 and broadcasters nearly $1 million if their news coverage is deemed unbalanced, immoral or violating human dignity.
Founder Concerned
BosNewsLife founder Stefan J. Bos, a Dutch journalist who for several years was a correspondent for the ASSIST News Service based in Hungary, said he was concerned about this development "as even English language media and foreign journalists working in Hungary will now be subject to government control."
Bos said that his agency ran "balanced but critical stories" about the media legislation and other government policies, "as well as an opinionated-column on Prime Minister Orban turning Hungary into Orbanistan" -- a reference to autocratic Central Asian nations.
"I am wondering if that will increase the government pressure on BosNewsLife to register," he went on to say. "It also reminds me to the Communist days when media, and churches, had to register."
Wednesday's registration order to BosNewsLife comes amid tensions between Hungary and the European Union over the media law. The EU's executive branch, the European Commission, has expressed concerns that that the legislation may not be in line with European standards.
"The commission services have serious doubts as to the compatibility of the Hungarian legislation with Union law," said Commissioner Neelie Kroes last month in a leaked letter. Parts of the law could violate basic EU rights guaranteeing the freedom of expression and information, she said.
"Wide Imposition"
Kroes wrote that the Commission is especially concerned about the "wide imposition" to media to provide balanced coverage and the registration requirement for all media, including print and online outlets.
She said the requirements "can be considered as an unjustified obstacle" for media providers that want to work from Hungary or provide their services for Hungary from another EU nation.
According to the BosNewsLife story, the legislation, which was introduced on January 1, 2011, has been criticized by governments and newspapers across Europe, clouding Hungary's six-month tenure of holding the EU presidency. Additionally, thousands of Hungarians demonstrated last month against the legislation in Budapest and other cities while on Wednesday, February 9, 2011, news emerged that Dutch and other international agricultural journalists have also protested.
Luxembourg's Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn warned that if the EU does not pressure Hungary to change the law, "it will be very difficult to talk to China or Iran about human rights."
Changing Law?
Hungary has agreed to provide the Commission with proposals to change the law by Thursday, although Prime Minister Orban defended the legislation in an earlier interview. "Now we should have a more professional, legal discussion on the text. The text is very European," he said.
"There is no special regulation, no special Hungarian legislation in this law. All paragraphs and elements of this [legislation] are imported from EU Countries. So I think it is a European regulation," he said last month.
Bos said BosNewsLife would closely monitor the situation.
"We are based in Budapest, Hungary, from where we thought we could independently cover international news stories on Christian persecution and other developments for both a Hungarian and worldwide audience. We hope Hungary will not turn back the clock more than 20 years when Hungary was a Communist-run Soviet satellite state," said Bos.
Dan Wooding, 70, is an award winning British journalist now living in Southern California with his wife Norma, to whom he has been married for 47 years. They have two sons, Andrew and Peter, and six grandchildren who all live in the UK. He is the founder and international director of ASSIST (Aid to Special Saints in Strategic Times) and the ASSIST News Service (ANS) and was, for ten years, a commentator, on the UPI Radio Network in Washington, DC. He now hosts the weekly "Front Page Radio" show on KWVE in Southern California which is also carried on the Calvary Radio Network throughout the United States. The program is also aired in Great Britain on Calvary Chapel Radio UK. Besides this, Wooding is a host for His Channel Live, which is carried via the Internet to some 200 countries. You can follow Dan on Facebook under his name there or at ASSIST News Service. He is the author of some 44 books. Two of the latest include his autobiography, "From Tabloid to Truth", which is published by Theatron Books. To order a copy, press this link. Wooding, who was born in Nigeria of British missionary parents, has also recently released his first novel "Red Dagger" which is available
** You may republish this story with proper attribution.
Visit our web site at: www.assistnews.net -- E-mail: assistnews@aol.com
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Christian News Agency Fears Government Control
By Dan Wooding
Founder of ASSIST Ministries
BUDAPEST, HUNGARY (ANS) -- Central and Eastern Europe's first online Christian news agency, BosNewsLife (www.bosnewslife.com), was ordered on Wednesday, February 9, 2011, to register with the Hungarian authorities under a new controversial law that critics say is part of a crackdown on independent media.
BosNewsLife founder, Stefan J. Bos
According to a story posted on their website, Hungary's media watchdog, the National Media and Infocommunications Authority (NMHH), said that the Budapest-based BosNewsLife had until June 30, 2011, to register.
"As the website is already working, it will have to meet the conditions," of relevant paragraphs of the new media legislation, wrote NMHH's Ditta Boncz, who heads the authority's tenders and legal department. Boncz made the announcement in an e-mail exchange with BosNewsLife.
It was not immediately clear what sanctions would follow if BosNewsLife refuses to register with the NMHH, whose key members were appointed by Prime Minister Viktor Orban's Fidesz party.
Under the new law electronic media such as BosNewsLife could face fines of over $100,000 and broadcasters nearly $1 million if their news coverage is deemed unbalanced, immoral or violating human dignity.
Founder Concerned
BosNewsLife founder Stefan J. Bos, a Dutch journalist who for several years was a correspondent for the ASSIST News Service based in Hungary, said he was concerned about this development "as even English language media and foreign journalists working in Hungary will now be subject to government control."
Bos said that his agency ran "balanced but critical stories" about the media legislation and other government policies, "as well as an opinionated-column on Prime Minister Orban turning Hungary into Orbanistan" -- a reference to autocratic Central Asian nations.
"I am wondering if that will increase the government pressure on BosNewsLife to register," he went on to say. "It also reminds me to the Communist days when media, and churches, had to register."
Wednesday's registration order to BosNewsLife comes amid tensions between Hungary and the European Union over the media law. The EU's executive branch, the European Commission, has expressed concerns that that the legislation may not be in line with European standards.
"The commission services have serious doubts as to the compatibility of the Hungarian legislation with Union law," said Commissioner Neelie Kroes last month in a leaked letter. Parts of the law could violate basic EU rights guaranteeing the freedom of expression and information, she said.
"Wide Imposition"
Kroes wrote that the Commission is especially concerned about the "wide imposition" to media to provide balanced coverage and the registration requirement for all media, including print and online outlets.
She said the requirements "can be considered as an unjustified obstacle" for media providers that want to work from Hungary or provide their services for Hungary from another EU nation.
According to the BosNewsLife story, the legislation, which was introduced on January 1, 2011, has been criticized by governments and newspapers across Europe, clouding Hungary's six-month tenure of holding the EU presidency. Additionally, thousands of Hungarians demonstrated last month against the legislation in Budapest and other cities while on Wednesday, February 9, 2011, news emerged that Dutch and other international agricultural journalists have also protested.
Luxembourg's Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn warned that if the EU does not pressure Hungary to change the law, "it will be very difficult to talk to China or Iran about human rights."
Changing Law?
Hungary has agreed to provide the Commission with proposals to change the law by Thursday, although Prime Minister Orban defended the legislation in an earlier interview. "Now we should have a more professional, legal discussion on the text. The text is very European," he said.
"There is no special regulation, no special Hungarian legislation in this law. All paragraphs and elements of this [legislation] are imported from EU Countries. So I think it is a European regulation," he said last month.
Bos said BosNewsLife would closely monitor the situation.
"We are based in Budapest, Hungary, from where we thought we could independently cover international news stories on Christian persecution and other developments for both a Hungarian and worldwide audience. We hope Hungary will not turn back the clock more than 20 years when Hungary was a Communist-run Soviet satellite state," said Bos.
Dan Wooding, 70, is an award winning British journalist now living in Southern California with his wife Norma, to whom he has been married for 47 years. They have two sons, Andrew and Peter, and six grandchildren who all live in the UK. He is the founder and international director of ASSIST (Aid to Special Saints in Strategic Times) and the ASSIST News Service (ANS) and was, for ten years, a commentator, on the UPI Radio Network in Washington, DC. He now hosts the weekly "Front Page Radio" show on KWVE in Southern California which is also carried on the Calvary Radio Network throughout the United States. The program is also aired in Great Britain on Calvary Chapel Radio UK. Besides this, Wooding is a host for His Channel Live, which is carried via the Internet to some 200 countries. You can follow Dan on Facebook under his name there or at ASSIST News Service. He is the author of some 44 books. Two of the latest include his autobiography, "From Tabloid to Truth", which is published by Theatron Books. To order a copy, press this link. Wooding, who was born in Nigeria of British missionary parents, has also recently released his first novel "Red Dagger" which is available
** You may republish this story with proper attribution.
