"We are in shock, it's like a coup. Of course they will try and paint this as a business decision but it's not the truth," the journalist, who did not wish to be named, told AFP. "It's a huge blow to investigative journalism and freedom of the press. Nepszabadsag was the largest group of quality journalists in Hungary trying to defend basic freedoms, democracy, freedom of speech, and tolerance. "Mediaworks, which bought Nepszabadsag and several other Hungarian titles in 2014, said that its circulation had tumbled by 74 percent in the last 10 years, racking up losses of around 5 billion forints (16.4 million euros, $18.4 million).The title must try to find a business model appropriate to market trends, the company said in a statement on local news agency MTI, and called on "all affected by the move to concentrate on that task".Before Hungary's referendum last Sunday on a EU plan to relocate migrants around the bloc, the paper, one of Hungary's oldest, published several stories about scandals involving politicians close to Orban.

Source: Times of India October 08, 2016 11:22 UTC