Newscast

The programme first examined media coverage of allegations that a Cornell University student was drugged and raped by several men at a fraternity house in 2024. It reported that prosecutors in New York State were reopening the case after the woman filed a civil lawsuit alleging Cornell failed to protect her and adequately punish the men involved. The Cornell Daily Sun named the men in an editorial and criticised the university's handling; no criminal charges had been filed against them. Guests discussed US legal and ethical considerations around publishing names from court filings, the potential for retraumatisation, and fair-jury concerns. Coverage on social media was described as split between platforms: on X, influencers framed the case as evidence that traditional masculinity was under attack and speculated about the victim's identity, while TikTok and Reddit users promoted the #IAmJaneDoe hashtag, often aiming to change search and AI results and shape the narrative. Cornell's president said he supported the decision to have the New York Attorney General lead a criminal investigation and welcomed an independent review by a law firm; the university had previously defended its handling, citing a months-long investigation and federal civil rights law.

The programme then looked at changes in Hungary's media six months after Viktor Orbán was voted out and Peter Magyar was elected in April. Under Orbán, Reporters Without Borders ranked Hungary among the worst EU countries for press freedom, and he and his allies were estimated to control around 80% of the media directly or indirectly. Nick Thorpe described the former dominance of governing-party narratives in public-service and commercial outlets, including one-minute news slots on music radio and sports programmes, and the financial pressures on independent journalists who survived by moving towards subscriptions. The new prime minister promised sweeping press reforms and to return public-service broadcasting to the public; the government suspended public-service radio and TV news for 44 days in July before relaunching it. Thorpe assessed the relaunched output as a vast improvement, saying it held the new government to account and included opposition politicians and independent experts, while a survey indicated the share of evening TV news devoted to politics had fallen from 88% to 55%. He said no systems had been put in place to prioritise the prime minister's perspective, though the prime minister could be abrasive towards journalists. A scandal involved photographs of a senior environment ministry official having shot lions and elephants in Africa, increasing pressure to sack him. Public opinion surveys suggested many Hungarians were pleased with the changes, but some found proper debate stressful, especially older generations.