New members in the Public Service Board

Published: 3 March 2020

On Thursday, the decision was made on which organisations can send their representatives as of 31 March to the Public Service Board responsible for the social supervision of public media. Following the invitation of the National Media and Infocommunications Authority (NMHH), thirty civil society organisations applied for the six vacant positions of the Board consisting of fifteen members, and nine organisations could delegate members automatically.

On 27 February, NMHH made a decision on the new members of the Public Service Board. There were three categories with only one applicant in each of them, therefore, the Association of Small Towns will represent the alliances and organisations of Hungarian local governments, the National Association of Large Families will be the representative of Hungarian organisations protecting the interests of families, and the Association for National Minority Self-Governments in Hungary will send a member in representation of the self-governments of national minorities in Hungary.

In the category of interest groups for people with disabilities, two out of the three applicants did not comply with registration requirements, as a result of which the representative of the Hungarian Association of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing made the Board in this category. In the categories of cultural associations of neighbouring countries and cultural associations of Hungary, there were fourteen and ten associations, respectively, which had previously elected one joint delegate for each category.

Out of associations belonging to a group, only one could nominate a member to the Public Service Board. If there are several valid applications, or there is no mutual agreement within a category, NMHH decides by draw on the organisation that can delegate a candidate, which, however, was not necessary this year.

Pursuant to the Media Act, the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, the Hungarian Catholic Church, the Reformed Church in Hungary, the Evangelical-Lutheran Church of Hungary, the Association of the Hungarian Jewish Religious Communities, the Hungarian Olympic Committee, the Hungarian Rector’s Conference, the Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Hungarian Academy of Arts can each delegate a representative automatically.

In 2017, in five of the six open categories the Association of Small Towns, the National Association of Large Families, the Association of the Blind or Partially Sighted of Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg County, the Hungarian Student Association of Cluj-Napoca, and the Arany János Foundation could each delegate one member to the Board, while for the category of self-governments of national minorities in Hungary, there were no valid nominations.

The Public Service Board serves as a social supervisor of the public media service provider and monitors if the principles of public service are met. The mandate of the Board is for three years and it elects its Chair from among its members. The list of Board Members (in force as of 31 March) can be found here: http://english.nmhh.hu/article/210490/Tajekoztato_a_Kozszolgalati_Testulet_uj_tagjairol