site.bta Media Monitoring Report: Election Campaign Coverage Marred by Apathy

Media Monitoring Report: Election Campaign Coverage Marred by Apathy

Sofia, October 21 (BTA) - The coverage by Bulgarian media of the
election campaign between June and September was unpolarized
just as the election contest itself, said Orlin Spassov of the
Media Democracy Foundation at a BTA-hosted news conference on
Tuesday.

In his words, an apathy-marred election campaign can be
explained by an information overload especially after the
protests of 2013. According to Spassov, the quiet election
contest helped bring good manners to the fore, but on the other
hand important debates and ideas were missing. Spassov outlined
several characteristics of the latest election campaign: Sergei
Stanishev's stepping down as Socialist leader, thus depriving
Boyko Borissov by his main opponent, a minor tone, which
predetermined a more mellow rhetoric, a deficit of important
debates and ideas and social media fatigue.

The monitoring report of the Media Democracy Foundation and the
Konrad Adenauer Foundation spanned the period between May 24 and
October 3. It examines 8,199 news items in eight large media:
Bulgarian National Television, bTV, Nova TV, TV7 and the dailies
"Trud", "Telegraph", "Sega" and "Presa".

Among Bulgarian politicians Boyko Borissov continues to have the
most media mentions, outstripping President Rosen Plevneliev by
49 per cent and former prime minister Plamen Oresharski by 57
per cent.

Spassov said that televisions were more focused on the country's
government, while newspapers were interested in parties and
political processes. The report findings indicate that the
Plamen Oresharski cabinet was criticized by all televisions and
print media, while the attitude towards the caretaker government
is more neutral. Rosen Plevneliev, Boyko Borissov, Mihail Mikov
and Lyutvi Mestan have had their media rating improve, while
that of Sergei Stanishev, Nikolai Barekov and Volen Siderov
experienced decline.

According to Christian Sparh, director of the Southeast Europe's
Media Programme of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, some media
made a U-turn in respect to certain political formations, which
shows that they side with the strongman of the day.

The tabloids went through another change of tone and political
affiliations, putting Boyko Borissov on a pedestal, while
criticizing the Bulgarian Socialist Party and Sergei Stanishev.

Social media were characterized by depleting citizen energy and
enthusiasm, while support for the Reformist Bloc increased.

Unlike during the European elections, the European agenda was
scarcely present, and the relations between the European Union
and Russia remained outside the campaign highlights.