Telex is strong. Cheers, Dani
Dear Readers, dear Supporters!
Telex is largely supported by its readers – so if we don't receive donations, we can't operate. Thanks to our readers, we are able to perform essentially public service tasks without content restrictions (i.e. pay walls). It is because of your support that we are able to do so many great things that are crucial to keeping Hungary informed.
Thank you!!!!
Since our existence is based on receiving regular donations, if you consider our work important, please, consider supporting us on a monthly basis if you are able to, and ask your friends to do the same!
Let's see what's been happening with us lately! Here's the latest edition of Telex News.
Telex podcasts have launched
We've had a burning desire to produce our own podcasts ever since Telex was founded, and we finally launched them in April. We debuted four shows at once: A téma, A nyomozó, Ízfokozó and After.
The launch was such a success that our shows have been ranked number one in Hungary on Spotify and among Apple podcasts, and our programs are also among the recommended videos on YouTube.
If you understand Hungarian, you can find all the info on where to listen/see our podcasts right here!
Our photographers swept the board at the Hungarian Press Photo Contest
Telex photographer István Huszti won the Grand Prize at the 41st Hungarian Press Photo Contest with his series about the suffering amidst the war in Ukraine. He also won all three prizes in the photojournalism category. Another Telex photographer, János Bődey was awarded in the Art (series) category, finishing third with his still life series on preparations for war. Noémi Napsugár Melegh won second place in the Social Portrayal (series) category with her photos of a homeless couple living on the margins of the Roma community.
Our colleagues, Gergely Nyilas and István Huszti won the Hungarian Press Award! Together they have reported from Ukraine on several occasions: Gergely Nyilas as a journalist and István Huszti as a photojournalist. After Russia attacked Ukraine, they immediately went to Kyiv to provide Hungarian readers with credible information directly from the scene. Uniquely for Hungarian journalists, they spent a total of more than three months in 2022 in different regions of Ukraine: in Kyiv, Odessa and Kharkiv – even reporting from within a few hundred metres of the frontline. As the writing and the images in the articles and videos formed an inseparable unit, the pair was jointly nominated for the Hungarian Press Award by Szabolcs Dull, Telex's Editor-in-Chief.
Where to next, Transtelex?
Our Transylvanian newspaper, Transtelex is celebrating its first birthday. Its readers and supporters helped us get going, and it is thanks to the support we received from them that we managed to take off. We are particularly grateful for the contributions of the paper's regular supporters.
It is with this support that Transtelex has come this far, but now we are at a decision point, as the level of regular support is no longer sufficient for covering our current costs. The newspaper is largely community-funded and cannot exist without the generous support of our readers.
Transtelex will be as big or as small as you want it to be. With your support, you can now cast a vote on where we go in the year ahead!
Telex Academy is buzzing
We launched our training centre, Telex Academy, last year and it has been a great success ever since. Our free sessions have been running since January, we've run nearly a dozen student workshops and several teacher training courses, and we're now accepting applications from teachers again.
Our founding editor, Veronika Munk to continue abroad
Veronika Munk, Head of Content Development and Founding Editor-in-Chief left Telex at the end of April on her own initiative to join Slovak media company Denník N as Director of Innovation and New Markets. We thank her for her work in the past and wish her every success in her new position.
Telex is strong! Cheers, Dani
One of the most exhilarating parts of being a journalist is when you can make an impact. When we can point out injustices. And the best part – and this is unfortunately rare – is, when we can change something that needs to change. One of our most persistent colleagues when it comes to such issues is Dani Zách, who mostly writes about cars and traffic-related subjects. Allow me to share the letter he wrote to the whole editorial team after the success of his latest "fight":
"I would like to share my joy with you all. Since the beginning of January, I have worked on a series of articles about the Hungarian State Treasury unlawfully claiming back up to HUF 2.5 million (around 6750 euros) in car purchase subsidies from families with three or more children who were subsequently found to have over HUF 5,000 in public debt at the time of applying, even though one of the conditions for applicants receiving the subsidy was the absence of public debt.
On 17 January, the day the first article was published, the Treasury tried to harass us with an MTI (State News Agency) statement, but they were wrong and they did not reply to any of my letters, so from then on they kept quiet, as did the Ministry. Finally, on 9 March, the Győr Court of Justice ruled that the money that had been awarded for their cars had been unlawfully demanded back from these families, many of whom ended up in serious financial embarrassment as a result of the Treasury's arrogance and erroneous application of the law.
The Treasury recently reversed its previous, mistaken decisions, because it is now clear that they should have first asked everyone to settle their outstanding public debts and that the Treasury could have only claimed back the funds if those concerned had not done so. These debts were often between 6 000-20 000 forints (16-53 euros), and many had already paid them before they received the notice from the Treasury to return the funds received for the car. I have just spoken to someone who was forced to take out a family loan and then sell the subsidized car as soon as they had the chance. Someone else moved abroad and ended up with three years of repayments...
The first person spoke to the Treasury yesterday, where the clerk referred to the Telex articles and told him that the wrongfully withdrawn subsidy and interest payments will soon be repaid, and the family could even claim compensation in a subsequent round.
Thank you to everyone who has supported me in all this. Telex is strong.
Cheers, Dani"
And speaking of Telex's strength, our Instagram page has become the most popular Instagram page among news sites in Hungary, with over 81,000 followers, and we are also the number one Hungarian news site on TikTok.
What else has happened?
Our video column also keeps getting better and better every week. For example, two of our most recent videos were viewed by 360,000 people in 24 hours: one was about the student protest and the other about the canopy walkway.
In a similar, though less impressive development, (at least as far as its effect is considered) the court ruled that the police had unlawfully prevented Telex from interviewing Orbán in front of the former Carmelite Monastery.
Telex's gastronomy page launched its Facebook page and Instagram page as well.
Our cartoonist, Dániel Merényi started regularly contributing articles on classical music as well!
In March, the Telex Film Club was launched, which will once a month be screening films that have not yet been seen by the general public, and then, like a good film club, we will have a discussion afterwards about what we saw. So far there have been three screenings, with more to come soon.
The host of these events will be our colleague Dávid Klág, but the guest is always different: our viewers will be able to meet filmmakers and other Telex journalists as well. The venue will be the Toldi cinema in Budapest.
We'd like to thank you, our readers and supporters for all this, as without you, we couldn't make so many great things happen!