80 rozlícených novinářů

DOX invites you to a summer movie night under the stars. Viewers can be moved by a documentary of 80 angry journalists.

When Viktor Orbán's party came to rule with a constitutional majority, media control became a long-term priority. Through a key ally, businessman Lajos Simicska, key traditional media were gradually integrated into its sphere of influence, and critical voices in the public space weakened. One of the most important online dailies Index.hu, however, remained independent. In 2014, information leaked to the public that a significant share of his shares had been acquired by Simicska, which sparked public demonstrations and Simicska subsequently denied it. It was only confirmed three years later when he tried to activate the option. This again caused huge public and editorial backlash, so the transaction was never completed. In the meantime, Simicska fell out of favor with Orbán, and after several years of struggle he lost almost everything and withdrew into seclusion.

The ownership of Index was transferred to a newly founded foundation, whose chairman was the long-time newspaper lawyer László Bodolai ("Bodi", as his colleagues called him), who is also one of the actors in the film. Foundation representatives presented it externally as a step towards even greater independence. However, the doubts of the editors led to the creation of the so-called barometer of independence - an indicator in the corner of the front page of the newspaper with the possibility of indicating three positions of the newspaper: "independent", "in danger" and "end of independence". Despite the growing tension between the editors and the owners, the barometer needle continued to remain in the "independent" position - until one day in 2019. Shortly before that, the foundation's management announced a plan to structurally transform the internal workings of the Index editorial office, with many changes perceived by journalists as unjustified and unacceptable interference in the management and potentially the content of the newspaper. After weeks of mounting tension, respected editor-in-chief Szabolcs Dull moved the barometer to the "At Risk" level. Millions of readers suddenly saw that something serious was happening - and it became the subject of the world's media. The crisis between the ownership structure of the newspaper and the editorial office reached an open stage.

At this moment, a long-time member of the editorial office and well-known war correspondent András Földes picked up a camera and started making this film. The escalation ended with the departure of the entire editorial staff consisting of more than eighty, often elite journalists. A moral gesture and a practical step threw everyone into uncertainty and new opportunities. The film opens up the questions of journalistic freedom and its institutional and community anchoring, for which authoritarian rule is a stress test in the first line, the whole society is the second in line...