The media experts of FMD and KAS presented their annual report on the media situation in Bulgaria at a press conference held on 4th February 2014. The monitoring report summarises the findings of an analysis of over 12,000 articles in four daily newspapers and four TV channels. Additionally, the KAS presented a representative survey on the trust of Bulgarians in the media of the country.

Here are the most important findings of the media monitoring:

• Prime Minister Plamen Oresharski (affiliated with the Socialist Party) has been the most often named politician, overtaking his predecessor Boyko Borissov.
• Borissov, leader of the conservative party GERB and thus now opposition leader, ranks second before President Rossen Plevneliev.
• GERB leader Borissov and his counterpart of the Socialist Party, Sergey Stanishev, are both mostly being critically evaluated by the media.
• Premier Oresharski is being portrayed more positively in the traditionally rather pro-government media.

Dr. Orlin Spassov, Head of the Foundation Media Democracy, states: “Overall, it can be said that government and Prime Minister enjoy a comfortable position in the media, as they do not have to fear a critical stance. The biggest opposition party, on the other hand, is faced with less beneficial media coverage.”

The additional representative opinion poll on trust in the media (December 2013) was conducted with 1200 adult citizens and showed that only 14 percent of Bulgarians believe in the independence of the media. 60 percent doubt that the media in Bulgaria are free. In the Bulgarian capital Sofia this trust is even lower – only 7 percent think the media are independent. For 62 percent of Bulgarians, television is the most important source of information about politics, only 20 percent mention the internet and only 4 percent the newspapers.

“Those results are alarming for the daily newspapers,” said Christian Spahr, Head of the KAS Media Program South East Europe. “Quality must be fostered in order to stay competitive with the television and online media and to stay a relevant source of information for a wider audience.”

The press conference concluded with a panel discussion, moderated by Christian Spahr. The panellists were FMD Head Orlin Spassov, Georgi Lozanov, Director of the Council for Electronic Media (CEM) and Ognian Zlatev, Head of the Representation of the European Commission in Sofia.

Georgi Lozanov commented on the controversy over media ownership transparency in Bulgaria. Ognian Zlatev explained the capacities of the EU for the development of media freedom and pluralism in Bulgaria, arguing that reform initiatives must also come from within the country.

Christian Spahr summarised the key findings from the discussion: the necessity of media legislation reforms and self-regulation, as well as a more intensive dialogue between the different players in the media sphere – politicians, media owners, and journalists.

More about the press conference in the press info (in Bulgarian), the media monitoring report (in Bulgarian) and in the survey presentation (in Bulgarian and English).