site.btaRecent Elections Raise Concerns over Working Conditions of Our Colleagues Outside Sofia, Union of Bulgarian Journalists President Says

Attending a discussion over the challenges and problems for regional journalism in Bulgaria, the President of the Union of Bulgarian Journalists, Snezhana Todorova, said that, regrettably, the recent parliamentary elections have yet again given cause for concern over the working conditions of journalists outside Sofia – they have been oppressed, openly pressured and physically threatened.

"We have repeatedly identified the complex reasons for the particularly complicated work of media colleagues outside the capital. These are common to our overall problematic media environment but are brought to a head in the different regions," Todorova underscored.

She explained that non-transparent ownership and ways of media funding fuel political and economic levers to pressure and silence critical journalists.

"Real journalism should be a tool to correct political elites and strengthen democracy and the rule of law. When conditions in the regions make this impossible and reduce the media's role to that of a voiceless everyday informer, obedient to the will of those who pull the strings, then not only are news deserts created, but democracy itself is threatened", Todorova warned.

The discussion was attended by journalist Assoc. Prof. Orlin Spassov, media expert Nikoleta Daskalova, Council for Electronic Media members Simona Veleva, Gabriela Naplatanova, Kadrinka Kadrinova and Prolet Velkova, BTA Director General Kiril Valchev, among others.