site.btaExperts Call for Investments in Quality Journalism

Sofia, May 14 (BTA) - Experts called for better understanding of the role of media and investments in quality journalism at the second national conference on media security conference at Sofia University on Monday. It was entitled "Media in Southeastern Europe: changes, evolution, risks and policies".

"If we don't start investing in quality journalism, we'll be feeding fake news, negativism and troll journalism," said Valeri Todorov, former head of the Bulgarian National Radio. According to him, the Bulgarian media are going through their most severe crisis, journalists have low social status, their work is undervalued and many journalists have stopped practicing their profession. He said that all journalists are responsible for this.

Svetoslav Terziev said that journalism as a job in Bulgaria has been killed off. He said that the fault for that doesn't fall with the media. There is abundance of information, copying is very easy and the work of journalists is stolen very easily. According to Terziev, the public is responsible for the present state of Bulgarian media. He said: "We should explain that it has huge responsibility."

For her part Iskra Baeva said that when blaming the public, the blame gets very impersonal.

Snezhana Todorova, head of the Union of Bulgarian Journalists (UBJ), said that journalists in Bulgaria are among the worst protected and the role of the media in the country is underrated. She called for legislative changes to protect the right of journalists and the freedom of speech. Last year the UBJ submitted a legislative proposal to Parliament and expects the competent committee to put it on the agenda of Parliament.

Prof. Margarita Pesheva outlined robo journalism, or computer generated news stories, as a great challenge to the media today.