site.btaUPDATED BTA Chief: On This Day, BTA Will Showcase Renovation of Bulgaria's Oldest National Media Institution

In an interview with Bulgarian National Television on Sunday, Bulgarian News Agency (BTA) Director General Kiril Valchev said that on this day, the Agency will "showcase the renovation of Bulgaria’s oldest national media institution". "Today, 127 years since the first news bulletin was issued, the Bulgarian News Agency will unveil its Archive Hub, new font, and renovated newsroom," he noted. 

"The first thing we are going to do today is to present our now-organized archives," Valchev said. He added that when he took office four years ago, the archives were covered in dust and almost inaccessible. "We did not realize the treasure we had – 127 years of news items, day by day, documenting Bulgaria and the world," he said. 

The BTA Director General added that the archives are currently being digitized. "We have digitized more than half of them. More than five million pages, close to two million photos taken by our photographers," Valchev said. He added that 3,000 volumes of international news from 1974 to 1979 are missing. “They might be part of another archive, as BTA has moved buildings," he added.

In his words, the reason behind the fact that BTA has kept its original name over the years is the memory it builds upon. The aim of organizing the archives is to make them accessible. On the one hand, BTA collects the news of the world and makes it available to the rest of the media outlets out there, including the Bulgarian National Television. On the other hand, BTA is the face of Bulgaria to the world. "We are the only Bulgarian media outlet that runs a 24-hour English-language service," Valchev said.

He also spoke of BTA’s renovated newsroom. Valchev recalled that the building was erected in 1960 and was known for its huge room on the top floor where all news reporters gathered. He said that over the years the people working there ended up isolating themselves from one another, dividing the departments into separate areas. "Now we have restored the original look of the room," Valchev said, adding that the goal is to regain the community spirit of the Agency.

The BTA Director General noted that the Agency has improved accessibility for people with disabilities. He also talked about BTA’s new font named LIK after the Agency’s magazine for culture of the same name. Valchev said that BTA has previously used different fonts for its website, documents, the LIK magazine, business cards, etc., stressing the need for a unified look.

"The major goal is to gain more knowledge about the world, about today," he noted. In his words, news agencies and media in general are the schools of today. That is why they should be financed and supported, he added. 

Valchev noted that the state budget bill is to be considered and there are discussions about the possibility for teachers to receive 125% of the average salary for the country, stressing that this would be fully deserved. He described journalists as "the teachers for the facts of today" and said they should be treated in the same way.