Freedom of the press in Bulgaria

Thousands of people across Bulgaria took to the streets in 2020 to demand basic rights such as media freedom.

© picture alliance / NurPhoto / Hristo Rusev

Being one of the poorest EU members, Bulgaria has the lowest standards of press freedom in Europe. Bulgarians are calling for a fundamental change in the system.

by Christopher Nehring, historian and expert on Bulgaria

A prime minister and an opposition leader who don’t talk to journalists? What is inconceivable elsewhere has been reality in Bulgaria since the April parliamentary elections. Both the election winner, Boyko Borisov, and the party leader of the second strongest party, Slavi Trifonov, have been practicing a silent media boycott. They send their messages almost exclusively via Facebook; discussions and inquiries are as impossible as they are undesired. That Borisov is boycotting a media system he played a significant role in creating is just the latest threat to press freedom in Bulgaria.

For example, violence against journalists is on the rise in Bulgaria. Journalists who report on corruption or economic crimes are threatened and attacked, and the state cannot, or will not, help.

Political influence through personnel policies, funding, and personal pressure has heightened distrust of state media: a 2019 study by the Konrad Adenauer Foundation showed that 65 percent of the Bulgarian population believes state broadcasting is politically influenced.

Meanwhile, private media are struggling with other problems: A few oligarchs control almost the entire private media landscape through ramified corporate networks.

Critical and sophisticated journalism is thus becoming increasingly difficult. Coverage of individuals and parties, such as before the April election, often follows a simple “pro or anti” stance, with opinions dominating over facts, and tabloid-style TV formats are not uncommon even in news broadcasts.

Freedom of the press in Bulgaria has been steadily declining since the country joined the EU in 2007. The country now ranks 112th in the Reporters Without Borders press freedom ranking. This puts Bulgaria in last place in the EU.

Nova Broadcasting Group

is DW’s partner since 2012. In a country where television is the most-consumed media outlet, Nova Broadcasting Group features some of DW’s best weekly TV magazines such as Check-In, REV, Euromaxx, Global 3000, and In Good Shape. “The shows give Bulgarian viewers the advantage to see the major European and international topics from a different perspective — the point of view of a globally-renowned broadcaster. There is a tremendous interest in DW’s journalistic content which is highly trusted by the Bulgarian audience. The valuable contribution of these shows is an opportunity for our viewers to form their own opinion on topics from various fields of life,” says NBG’s CEO Nikolai Andreev, who joined the company in 2009.

“The pandemic has contributed to the growth of television consumption,” says Andreev, but the disturbing trend of fake news and disinformation is also pervasive in the Bulgarian society. “Fake news poses a huge threat and today we can see people returning to the traditional, verified sources of information that can guarantee reliability.”

One of the company’s priorities is NOVA Supports Bulgarian Films—a film funding campaign to support and develop Bulgarian cinema on television, cinema and the Internet. Andreev believes that it is an important step to inspire and create “more high-quality projects and give an opportunity to creative teams in the film industry to work and develop in the country.”

Nova Broadcasting Group is the leading multi-platform media and tech company in Bulgaria. It has established a leading position in the country’s media market and is part of United Group, the leading telecom and media operator in Southeast Europe, with a total of ten television channels, five radio stations, multiple websites, digital platforms and newspapers.