Monitoring media regulators’ independence – Evidence-based indicators, Hungarian experience

It is commonly accepted that the independence of media regulators is essential for ensuring the legitimacy of implemented policies and achieving the objectives of media regulation. However, recent literature has also pointed to the need to consider how accountability of these institutions could and should be provided in the framework of democratic governance mechanisms. In this article we identify three key areas of regulatory performance of media authorities that relate to their accountability to the subjects of regulation and the public. We present our findings in the case on Hungary assessing transparency of the regulator’s work, tendencies in access to market and sanctioning practices based on an extensive review of the regulator’s actual work and decisions. In conclusion we reflect on the function of these areas as indicators in the context of the principal-agent relationship and propose the introduction of enforceable normative criteria in European audio-visual media policy.