In April 2008, a new blog called Kettős Mérce (in English: Double Standard) launched on blog.hu, one of the biggest blog servers in Hungary. Nine years later, in 2017, the newsroom left blog.hu and created an independent news site, with 100% of its finances coming from its readers.

"We are not limited by anything; we only write what we know, believe, and think. We are not dictated from above, with no oligarch, advertiser, or politician above or behind our newsroom. We are accountable only to our readers," the organisation's website states.

Mérce focuses on politics and the public sphere, seeking to explain and contextualise political, economic, and social events. The organisation is known for by its opinion pieces and analysis, but the team also publishes breaking news and covers live events.

It condemns racism, social exclusion, and aggression, aiming to fight for social justice and equality while inviting its readers to make fun of extremism: "We stand up for the oppressed and discriminated against, and support communities and organisations fighting against social inequalities and those fighting for a fairer Hungary, whether they come from party politics or civil life."

Mérce has a relatively small newsroom, with eight full-time and nine part-time employees, but it also has a vast pool of volunteers (almost 200 people). It is a non-profit organisation, so its income comes from crowdfunding campaigns and grants from private donor organisations and foreign governments.

Mérce is strong on social media, especially on Facebook, with over 330,000 followers.

Last updated: January 2023

Location:
Budapest, Hungary
Year the organisation started publishing:
2017
Languages:
Hungarian
Type of coverage:
National

Content

Type of content produced by theme:
Entertainment and culture
Economy and business
Economy and finance
Journalism industry
Education
Environment
Politics
Health and well-being
Society and human rights
Gender
Feminism
LGBTIQ+
Refugees
Migration
Journalism genres:
Essays
Interviews and reporting
Opinion
Investigative journalism
Satire
Reviews
Journalism coverage types and techniques:
Crowdsourcing
Explanatory journalism
Cross-border journalism
Collaborative journalism
Breaking news
Live coverage of events
Tech platforms and other mediums used:
Website
Newsletter
Social media platforms
Twitter
Facebook
Instagram
Podcast
Youtube

Audience and reach

Social media audience

Facebook number of followers:
330000
Twitter number of followers:
7559
Instagram number of followers:
14200
YouTube number of followers:
10900

Management and team

Founders

Female:
4
Male:
5
Founders:
András Jámbor, Nóra Diószegi-Horváth, István Pap Szilárd, Petra Tüdő, Gáspár Papp, Károly Füzessi, Orsolya Pósfai, Csaba Tibor Tóth, Viktória Dobsi
Directors:
Gáspár Papp, Viktória Dobsi, Péter Tárkányi

Team

Full-time employees:
8
Part-time employees:
9
Freelancers or consultants:
0
Volunteers:
200

Business structure and revenue sources

Organisation tax status:
Non-profit
All revenue sources reported by media leaders:
Grants
Grants from private donor organisations
Grants from foreign governments
Advertising
Affiliate advertising
Audience support / reader revenue
Crowdfunding campaigns
Individual donations
Other
The primary source of revenue reported by media leaders:
Crowdfunding campaigns
The second most important revenue source reported:
Individual donations
Others revenue sources:
Mérce is eligible to the personal income tax 1 percent (in Hungary, you can request that 1% of your previous year's personal income taxes be given to support the activities of a non-profit organization).

Transparency

Publishes information about annual revenue
Publishes the names of donors
Doesn’t have an ethics policy / manual
Has a data privacy policy
Publishes a data privacy policy
Doesn’t have a whistleblower policy
Doesn’t have a complaints policy
Doesn’t have a sexual harassment or institutional violence policy
Is signed up to a press regulator, trust initiative, or part of a press association
Publishes up to date information about its team
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