Journalists resign in Hungary's top news site
A lot more than 70 journalists and staff in Hungary's top news site Index have resigned, accusing the government of launching a bid to destroy or tame their website.
Index may be the last of Hungary's key independent media and editor found in chief Szabolcs Dull was fired on Tuesday.
Its journalists said the sacking was "clear interference" and an attempt to apply strain on the site.
Hours later protesters gathered found in Budapest to rally for media freedom.
In the last decade, supporters of nationalist and conservative Prime Minister Viktor Orban have slowly but surely taken control of Hungary's independent media. Hungary is rated 89th out of 180 countries on the Reporters without Borders World Press Freedom Index.
Demonstrators were likely to march on the prime minister's office.
Only last month, Szabolcs Dull had warned that Index was "under such external pressure that could spell out the end of our editorial staff as we know it". In an alarming piece released on 22 June, he warned that the website's editorial staff had been "in danger" and the dial on a "freedom barometer" on the homepage was relocated to "in peril".
On Friday, three leading editors and a lot more than 70 others said these were ending their employment there, because panel president Laszlo Bodolai had refused to reinstate the chief editor. There were emotional scenes as they proceeded to go out of the office.
Mr Bodolai rejected promises that the website's independence was at risk, blaming Dull for failing woefully to control tension within the newsroom.
Pro-Orban businessman at centre of row
Fears for Index's independence came to a head some time ago when Miklos Vaszily, a good pro-Orban businessman, took a good 50% stake found in the firm that controls Index's advertising and revenue.
He already ran pro-government broadcaster TV2 and was viewed as playing an integral role found in turning another Hungarian website, Origo, into a pro-Orban outlet.
As the drama unfolded in the Index newsroom on Friday, a picture emerged of Mr Vaszily having lunch with key Orban adviser and historian Maria Schmidt.
