site.btaUPDATED World of News Project to Turn BTA into Bulgaria’s Modern Face to the World, Director General Valchev Says in BTA's First Podcast Episode

The Bulgarian News Agency (BTA) launched a podcast on Friday. The first guest, BTA Director General Kiril Valchev, talked to Iva Tontcheva about his plans and visions for the news agency, key moments of BTA’s history, its future, paid and free information, independent journalism and the challenges faced by the media today.

The podcast, titled BTA Paraleli [Parallels] can be accessed on the Agency's website, youtube and soundcloud. The podcast episode is in Bulgarian. Every Friday, BTA will release a new podcast episode to showcase its history and the people behind it.

The podcast was released on Friday, just before BTA’s 127th anniversary. The news agency's first bulletin, written by its first director, Oscar Iskander, was published on February 16, 1898.

With its World of News project, BTA aims to become the modern face of Bulgaria to the world, Valchev said in the first episode of the podcast.

BTA’s Director General said the most important characteristic of the news agency is truth – providing real news to counter fake news. The second one is freedom – free access to the real news, "because lies are absolutely free everywhere, and it’s foolish to try to counter them by demanding payment and passwords [to hear the real news]." The third characteristic is community, "because BTA is perhaps one of the few links with Bulgarians worldwide, who must be at least two million." The fourth characteristic is knowledge, "which is our main task – to gather knowledge for today". Memory is the fifth key characteristic of BTA, according to Valchev.

Asked whom the news agency serves, Valchev emphasized that BTA serves society by providing free access to accurate and attributed information. "This information is essential for the media, as it helps them identify the most important events of the day and use that as a basis for their commentary and analysis. On the other hand, by clearly identifying its sources, BTA protects the right of people to know who is talking to them and provides an information space where the widespread anonymity of concealed attribution is not exploited," he said.

Valchev was adamant that the days of scrutinizing what should be known and by whom are long gone. He vowed not to allow such practices to return, as they are characteristic of unfree societies.

He also explained that BTA represents Bulgaria in many ways, and to strengthen this role, the news agency is introducing a series of innovations. These include a unique typeface, LIK, a trademark of BTA; a new interactive newsroom, set to open on BTA’s anniversary, February 16; the digitization of all archival content; and expanding the network of correspondents and press clubs, both in Bulgaria and abroad.

One of Valchev's first priorities upon taking office in January 2021 was modernizing the news agency's infrastructure and securing copyright for its content. The full transformation of BTA’s image remains a top priority, with plans to achieve energy efficiency by installing a photovoltaic system. There are also plans for a major renovation of the large space in front of BTA’s building. 

"We cleaned up the smog-stained facade, which hadn't been touched since the 1960s, and installed new lighting that will shine in different colours, including those of the flags of countries celebrating their national day. As for the courtyard, once it's fully cleaned up, my idea is to create a space featuring symbols of the world, transforming it into an open-air museum. Students from various universities in Sofia suggested using holograms, and that is exactly what we plan to do," BTA’s Director General said in the podcast.