Zoltán Tamás Zmeskall: A Good Journalist Must Be Like a Blacksmith
We spoke with Zoltán Tamás Zmeskall, editor-in-chief of the online newspaper Zetapress, at the MÚOSZ President’s Café on May 11, 2026.
When did you first feel that journalism was your true calling?
ZZT: Even in elementary school and later in technical secondary school, I wrote very well and correctly. I always received top grades in Hungarian language and literature. I also enjoyed sharing my knowledge with others, but in technical and later healthcare professions there was only limited opportunity for this. To quote Attila József, I wanted to “teach my whole nation,” and journalism proved to be an excellent opportunity for that. At the beginning of 1989, I started at a local newspaper in my then hometown, Szekszárd, and a year later, already living in Budapest, I continued at national newspapers.
Is it curiosity or courage that makes a journalist truly great?
ZZT: Naturally, a journalist must be curious and polite during conversations. Nowadays, many people think they are brave if they continuously chase after an interviewee, shove a microphone in front of their face, and when the person becomes annoyed and pushes them aside, they speak of abuse of power. In our polarized world, this is typical on both political sides. I do not judge them; they have to serve those who pay them.
As an editor-in-chief, what is the first thing you check among the news in the morning?
ZZT: Since my site has ten different sections, I do not make distinctions between them. I receive many invitations, though I cannot attend everything, and I rarely travel to the countryside anymore. I usually go to one or two events a day, but I do not rush from one place to another, because it is not a real news competition if I only scratch the surface everywhere. I also receive press releases from places I cannot attend, and I publish those as well.
What is the most important quality for a young journalist?
ZZT: They should be curious and polite. Never look at who is speaking; always pay attention to what is being said. Even people with less education may have useful thoughts. Never become rude simply because someone pays for it. So far in Hungary, intrusive journalists have not really been harmed — rather, they like portraying themselves as martyrs — but a young hotshot should not try to provoke such situations merely to attract attention, hoping that an irritated interviewee might push them away, pinch them, or step on their foot.
Is there an article or interview you are still especially proud of today?
ZZT: There are several from the early 1990s. Back then, there was no need for prior registration; a press card was enough and everyone gladly answered questions. Once, near Nyugati Railway Station, I saw many police officers with dogs. I approached their commander and learned they were taking drug-detection exams inside a railway carriage. I entered the carriage with them, observed several examinations, and spoke with the commander and a few officers. The article about drug-sniffing dogs was born and soon appeared in print.
Another memorable case was connected to Budapest’s 13th district. After getting off the bus, I could barely step over a body lying on the sidewalk. A few moments later, two mortuary workers arrived in a siren-blaring station wagon. They explained that whenever there is a body in a public area, they are sent immediately so passersby would not have to walk around the deceased for long. Soon afterward, a detective in civilian clothes also arrived, though he did not take me into the first-floor apartment from where the elderly woman had apparently fallen onto the sidewalk. I waited downstairs, and afterward he only told me that he had spoken with the residents upstairs, but revealed nothing more. I immediately went to the domestic affairs section of Pesti Riport, where I worked at the time. The section editor sent me to the crime desk, which was then headed by László Garamvölgyi, later spokesperson of the National Police Headquarters. That was when I first met him, and we continued to encounter each other frequently at police events.
A third memorable case involved the editor-in-chief of an advocacy newspaper, who sent me to interview an elderly widow facing eviction. On the wall, I noticed old circus photographs, and it turned out that she and her late husband had been world-traveling circus performers. We immediately began talking about that as well, and thus I ended up creating two separate articles. The second one appeared in a tabloid newspaper within a few days.
In today’s online media, which is more important: speed or accuracy?
ZZT: Both are equally important. No matter how fast I am, if I publish false information, eventually nobody will believe what I write. But it is also not good if I spend too much time on a piece, because if others have already published it, readers will quickly click elsewhere. Since I started in daily newspapers — where deadlines were a constant pressure — I became accustomed to working quickly. Analytical pieces belong more in weekly papers and magazines, where there is time for research and thorough work, but I always preferred the pace of daily journalism.
What is the one mistake no journalist can afford to make?
ZZT: Inaccuracy, vulgarity, and the wrong kind of courage — as I already mentioned earlier.
Are readers more impatient today than they used to be?
ZZT: Unfortunately, yes. Sitting on buses, metros, and trams — and sadly even standing in doorways, walking on sidewalks, or crossing zebra crossings — people are constantly staring at their smartphones and paying no attention to the outside world. They spend barely half a minute, or even less, reading a news item before moving on.
What topics interest you most as an editor?
ZZT: I am interested in everything. Parliamentary affairs — where I regularly worked until 2010 — criminal cases, which I covered for several Budapest and provincial magazines in the 1990s, films, exhibitions, healthcare, and sports all interest me equally. As a resident of Ferencváros, I always attend home matches of Ferencváros and MTK, though years ago I also worked at the stadiums of Újpest, Vasas, and Honvéd. Nowadays, I mostly stick to the two nearby clubs.
How do you see the future of Hungarian online journalism?
ZZT: Sooner or later, it will replace the printed press, because with smartphones and laptops we can carry all information with us at all times. It does not require paper, so no trees need to be cut down, meaning it even has environmental benefits.
About Zoltán Tamás Zmeskall
Zoltán Tamás Zmeskall, editor-in-chief, first studied technical subjects and later healthcare, before also qualifying in sports management at the Hungarian University of Physical Education. He entered the world of media in the late 1980s. In 1989–1990 he studied journalism, in 1993–1994 photography and video production, and later, in 2000–2001, computer-based publishing and layout design. His articles appeared in the printed press in newspapers such as Tolna Megyei Népújság, Reform, Kurír, Vásárhely és Vidéke, Ózdi Maholnap, Heti Szó, Új Kelet, Új Magyarország, and later its successor Napi Magyarország. He also worked for several crime magazines including Zsaru, Árnyék, félÁrnyék, Pandúr, Hekus, and BörtönÚjság. In 2007–2008 he served as editor-in-chief of the medical portal Mellékhatás.hu, after which he became senior staff member of the environmental portal Diverziti.hu. He founded the news portal Zetapress.hu in 2004 together with his IT-specialist son, and he still writes and edits it today.
