For years we’ve been feeling like we were stuck in the frontline of a world war. Sometimes it’s the Red Army, sometimes it’s the Wehrmacht that marches over us, and here we sit, turning our heads trying to keep up with the events. Sometimes there is just menacing silence. Maybe that is the worst.
It has been an open secret for weeks that something is definitely happening around us, and the silence was broken yesterday. The most important thing: the shares of our publisher, Index Zrt. remain in the property of Magyar Fejlődésért Alapítvány (Foundation for Hungarian Progress), controlled by László Bodolai. What changed is that the most important partners of Index – CEMP SH, that is selling our ad space, and the company that provides all IT services to us – are now in the hands of Gábor Ziegler and József Oltyán. The same two people, through companies they own, also acquired NP Nanga Parbat 17 Zrt. from Bodolai, the company which is the founder of the Foundation for Hungarian Progress.
There are two basic conditions which, if not met, Index cannot function properly. One is our editorial independence, meaning that our staff members – adhering to the journalistic standards we hold – produce whatever content they want. No outsider can have a say in our editorial decisions. The other condition is that no outsider can interfere with our decisions regarding which people work in the editorial staff.
So far, the ownership structure behind Index has been a safeguard that these conditons were met.
Our wish is simple. In a war, anyone in their right mind can only wish for one thing: peace. We do not want anything but to keep doing what we have been doing: journalism, specifically the kind that is independent from the right, the left, Fidesz, MSZP, Jobbik, the Red Army, or the Wehrmacht.
In the current situation, the usual operation of Index is secured by two guarantees:
If these conditions remain the same, we believe that Index will remain unchanged, our editorial freedom will not be compromised, and we can work with whomever we see fit to work with.
If there are any changes in the above, we will notify the world as loud as we possibly can. This is not just an empty promise. Today we created a website, where anyone can check if – according to our staff – Index is operating independently. That website and its domain have no ties whatsoever to any company. It is owned by the prevailing editor in chief of Index, who was elected freely by the staff of Index. On szabadindex.eu, you can always check if the staff of Index is working independently.
The dial currently shows independence.
Ághassi Attila
Ajpek Orsolya
Andacs Botond
Aradi László
Bakró-Nagy Ferenc
Barakonyi Szabolcs
Bohus Péter
Bolcsó Dániel
Bődey János
Brückner Gergő
Cser Ildikó
Csizmazia Zoltán
Csurgó Dénes
Dávid Erika
Demeter Ágnes
Dull Szabolcs
Egyed Anna
Előd Fruzsina
Fábián Tamás
Fehér János
Fiantok Dániel
Flachner Balázs
Fodor Orsolya
Földes András
Földi Gábor
Győri Zsófia
Gyulai Bence
Haász János
Hanula Zsolt
Hegyeshalmi Richárd
Hermann Irén
Hernádi Levente Haralamposz
Hollik Ágnes
Horváth Balázs
Hudák Hajnal
Huszti István
Iván András
Janecskó Kata
Jávor Bence
Jenei Miklós
Joó Gábor
Joób Sándor
Kalas Györgyi
Karip Timi
Kárpáti Márton
Klág Dávid
Kocsis Krisztina
Kolozsi Ádám
Kolozsvári Tímea
Koroknai Gergely
Kovács Bálint
Kovács Dávid
Kugyela Tamás
Libor Anita
Lovas Gergő
Martiskó Gábor
Matalin Dóra
Mészáros Tamás
Miklósi Gábor
Munk Veronika
Nagy Attila Károly
Német Tamás
Németh Péter
Nyilas Gergely
Pándi Balázs
Péter Dávid
Presinszky Judit
Rácz Attila
Rovó Attila
Sajó Dávid
Somogyi Péter
Stöckert Gábor
Stubnya Bence
Szabó Péter
Szabó Zoltán
Szalai Bálint
Szalma Baksi Ferenc
Szémann Tamás
Szilágyi Máté
Szilli Tamás
Szőke Barna
Tenczer Gábor
Thüringer Barbara
Tóth Balázs
Tóth Gergely
Tóth-Szenesi Attila
Varga Attila
Zubreczki Dávid
Zsilák Szilvia
Translated by Zoltán Kovács