site.btaPresident Radev: Free, Independent Media Are Key for Society's Democratic Development

Guaranteeing the freedom and independence of the media is crucial for the democratic and stable development of society, head of State Rumen Radev said here on Thursday. He was speaking at a meeting with representatives of international media organizations visiting Bulgaria, the President's press secretariat reported. 

The delegation is led by Pavol Szalai, Head of the EU-Balkans Desk at Reporters Without Borders, and represents the Council of Europe’s Safety of Journalists Platform and the Media Freedom Rapid Response. The visit will continue until September 26, and during their stay, the delegation will hold meetings with institutions and journalists, focusing on the media environment.

Radev noted that the experts' visit comes against the backdrop of overlapping crises, for the coping with which independent media are particularly important. The media sector is also undergoing a period of transformation, in which conventional media are giving way to alternative sources of information such as social networks. Among the reasons for these processes, the head of State highlighted new forms of communication, financial models, as well as selective information and the trend of declining public trust in traditional media in favour of social networks.

The conversation focused on the role of public media as a guarantor for preserving and promoting professional journalistic standards and upholding pluralism. The need for a transparent mechanism for their financing, which would guarantee their independence, was emphasized.

President Radev highlighted the need to increase transparency regarding media ownership, as the available public information is not always sufficient to reveal the true owners and their possible political ties. This is a prerequisite for the establishment of censorship in media editorial offices or self-censorship by journalists themselves, which in practice destroys journalism.

Representatives of media organizations emphasized the importance of adopting the European Media Freedom Act and implementing other European standards in the field of media law to ensure the protection of journalists against verbal and physical attacks and the freedom of the media, including in cases of malicious prosecution.