site.bta Participants in 12th World Meeting of Bulgarian Media Propose Postal Voting

Participants in 12th World Meeting of Bulgarian Media Propose Postal Voting

Prague, May 19 (BTA) - Participants in the 12th World Meeting of Bulgarian Media, which continued in the Czech capital Prague on Thursday, suggested that postal voting be introduced as an option for Bulgarians abroad. The idea was backed by Ombudsman Maya Manolova, who was taking part in a panel on citizens' causes of the media.

Manolova said: "Voting by mail is equivalent to e-voting. I have had reservations about both forms because this is remote voting and manipulation and pressure on voters are possible. However, after the referendum in which 80 per cent of the participants said they wanted e-voting, being the National Ombudsman, I must agree with the Bulgarian citizens."

A campaign on Bulgaria's demographic problem was announced at the forum on the initiative of the Union of Bulgarian National Electronic Media. The latest data show that Bulgaria ranks 225th among 233 countries in population growth, and 210th among 224 countries in birth rate. The campaign's first goal will be to reduce the number of victims of road accidents.

The charitable causes which inspire Bulgarian media around the world to help expatriates are part of the roles which they play. The various functions of overseas journalism were presented during the fourth discussion panel of the 12th World Meeting of Bulgarian Media. Speakers said that in addition to keeping their audiences informed about events, Bulgarian media abroad are also engaged in charitable, cultural and educational activities, and even consultancy services.

Ivan Petrinski, editor of the "Bulgarski novini" ("Bulgarian News") periodical circulated in Greece and Cyprus, said the publication has helped with the creation of a Bulgarian religious community and the building of a Bulgarian church in Athens. "We are a primary source of information not only for the Bulgarian people but also for many Bulgarian media," Petrinski said.

Yassen Darakov, who works with the Chicago-based "BG Voice," said the newspaper tries to cover the news which matter to Bulgarians in the United States. It seeks to present the events through the lens of their relevance to the Bulgarians living in Chicago and the other cities where the newspaper is circulated, Darakov said. He announced that Bulgarian Ombudsman Maya Manolova will hold a Facebook Live session during the World Meeting of Bulgarian Media to answer questions of readers from all over the world.

Darakov said: "Newspapers are a piece of Bulgaria which people like to hold in their hands. The sense of belonging to a community is partly created by the chance to hold your newspaper every week."

The "Rodna rech" ("Native Language") newspaper, published in Croatia, tells its readers about Bulgaria's beauty, cultural heritage, history, and the relations between Bulgarians and Croatians. According to Diana Glasnova, the publication is financed by the Croatian government and circulated free of charge among major institutions and distinguished intellectuals in Bulgaria and Croatia.

Maxim Bozhilov, who works with the "Bulgarski horizonti" ("Bulgarian Horizons") newspaper in Canada, said one of the causes of the editorial board is to present expatriate Bulgarians in Bulgarian media. He said: "The interest of Bulgarian media in expatriate Bulgarians is limited mainly to crime news, while the achievements of these people are overlooked. We can cooperate and provide information about successful Bulgarians."

Consultation is part of the job of the people behind "BG Ben," a Bulgarian newspaper in the United Kingdom. "We started out as an educational newspaper, but later on we switched to legal and accounting information which would be useful to Bulgarians. We work with British experts," said the publication's Evgenii Kaidumov.

Speakers at the discussion also dwelled on the sources of funding for the Bulgarian media worldwide. Some of these media rely entirely on government funding, while others are only partly subsidized. Many Bulgarian media around the world finance themselves with the proceeds from advertising and subscription.

Aleksandar Dimitrov, President of the GLAS Association in Bosilegrad (Serbia), presented a plaquette to BTA Director General Maxim Minchev, whose institution organizes the World Meetings of Bulgarian Media in partnership with the Association of Bulgarian Media Worldwide. Dimitrov recalled that BTA's first press club abroad was opened in Bosilegrad last December.

During the discussion panel "Digital First, Or How to Profit from Content and Social Media," the participants heard data showing that the proceeds from online advertising in 2016 were equal to those from television commercials. Users spend more and more time in front of their mobile screens, and they also spend increasing amounts of money via mobile devices, the figures show.

Spas Slivkov, Executive Director of the OLX online classifieds platform for Bulgaria, said 52 per cent of the visits to the OLX website in March 2016 were made via mobile devices, compared with 26.5 per cent in April 2015. By March 2017, the proportion is expected to reach 66 per cent.

Fisnik Abrashi, News Director for Central and Eastern Europe at the Associated Press (AP), singled out three mediums for attracting attention: text, photo and video. According to Abrashi, the key to the success which AP has enjoyed since its establishment is that the agency is changing constantly, keeping abreast of new technology.

Vesselin Vachkov, Director of the Lidove Noviny media group in the Czech Republic, said it can be dangerous for the media to change too quickly, not taking account of their audience.

According to Alexandru Giboi, Director General of the Romanian national news agency Agerpres, a media organization needs to be recognizable in order to be successful, and its staff should be able to present it well.

The 12th World Meeting of Bulgarian Media is supported by CEZ Bulgaria, Vivacom, Sopharma and Aurubis Bulgaria.