site.btaBulgarian News Agency Marks 117th Anniversary

Bulgarian News Agency Marks 117th Anniversary


Sofia, February 16 (BTA) - The Bulgarian News Agency (BTA) is
marking its 117th anniversary on Monday. It issued its first
newsletter on February 16, 1898.

On January 27, 1898, Prince Ferdinand decreed the establishment
of a state news agency with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and
Religions to deliver telegraph news wires from the world. By the
same decree, editor and publisher Oskar Iskander was appointed
BTA's director.

The first four-page newsletter, handwritten by the director, had
seven news items: on stock and commodity exchange prices,
events in the Balkan countries and the health of Princess
Clementine of Orleans, Prince Ferdinand I's mother. The six
copies were delivered to each subscriber in person.

On February 17, 1898, the seven news items bearing BTA's logo
were published in the unofficial section of the State Gazette.

In its first year the news agency was allocated 20,000 gold leva
from the Exchequer. Its staff consisted of a director and a
clerk. The daily newsletters of two or three handwritten pages
each were published for the Royal Palace, the prime minister and
the ministers, and a few newspapers.

The first typewritten newsletter is dated December 4, 1901, but
journalists continued writing in hand along with the typewitten
version for two more years. Before the wars, BTA received most
of its international news stories from two world agencies:
Bureau Havas of Paris and Reuters of London.

Many outstanding public figures have worked at BTA over the
years.

On September 17, 1970, BTA became a member of the European
Alliance of News Agencies. It became a founding member of the
Association of Balkan News Agencies in 1995, and of the
Association of Black Sea Region News Agencies in 2006.