KAS MP SOE

(from left) Dr. Lyubomir Kutin, producer and moderator of Radio Varna; CSD financial director Dr. Mois Faion and Dobrina Trifonova, project coordinator of the KAS Media Program South East Europe

The event was opened by CSD financial director Dr. Mois Faion and Dobrina Trifonova, project coordinator of the KAS Media Program South East Europe. Speakers were among others Dr. Lyubomir Kutin, producer and moderator of Radio Varna, and Spas Spasov, local journalist of the Bulgarian magazine "Dnevnik" for Varna.

In 2015 CSD researched more than 1.700 articles in 179 regional media. The study showed that the regional editorial departments of public and private national media are spread unevenly over the country. Moreover, the majority of the media outlets do not publish information concerning their owners, the editorial team and advertising revenues. Besides that, copyright standards are often being infringed.

During the event the results of the study were discussed with representatives of regional and national media, NGOs and public institutions. CSD expert Tihomir Bezlov pointed out that the contraction of advertising budgets outside the capital leads to a struggle for survival of the regional media. In addition, Spas Spasov stressed the issue with the insufficient earnings of journalists that force them to search for funding from other economic sectors or put them on pressure with offers threatening their independency. "We need more initiatives which strengthen the freedom of expression," said Kutin. "The support of transparency within the regional media landscape is in the long run an investment in quality and credibility of the media," commented Dobrina Trifonova from the KAS Media Program.

In conclusion, several recommendations were outlined:

• Financing of the public media should cover all regions in the country and be target-oriented (The study indicated that five Bulgarian regions have no local branch of national media – Lovech, Montana, Pernik, Silistra, and Yambol).
• Publication of information about media owners, staff and advertising services should become common practice. In addition, an online registry of all media should be established.
• The terms of advertising and information services should be officially published and regulated. Moreover, any paid content should be clearly identified.
• Non-profit organisations and associations should monitor the quality of media content and motivate both media and journalists to do more analytical and investigative publications, e.g. by granting awards.
• In the framework of the Human Resources Development Operational Programme of the EU and the European Social Fund, measures for improvement of the qualification and professional training of journalists should be included, with a priority to those working in the regional media.

More information here.