PART III. LOCAL CIVIL SOCIETY
10. LOCAL MEDIA
R E P O R T O N T H E S T A T E O F L O C A L D E M O C R A C Y I N B U L G A R I A
phone. The survey results confirm that personal contacts are still largely considered to be the most efficient channel of communication with local representatives.
Some newly institutionalized forms of policy dialogue between local representatives and citizens appear to be very positive. One example is the Forums for Development, usually conducted at a municipal level around a specific local agenda, with local government playing a leading role and with the partnership of an NGO (CSP report 2001).
9.3 Conclusion
The dynamics involved in efforts to build a responsive and transparent local government are an open question in the current profile of local affairs. Our analysis has been limited to some of the existing variables available from the survey interviews and features only certain aspects of the relationship between citizens and local governments. In addition to that data, there are examples of very innovative practices that demonstrate outstanding efforts to increase responsiveness and transparency of local governments.
For example, the introduction of quality management systems in local administrations in Bulgaria provides encouraging evidence that the task of building a responsive and citizen-focused administration has become a priority. The Forums for Development illustrate the emergence of institutionalized forms of policy dialogue between local representatives and citizens.
Because of the complexity of the issue of local government responsiveness, simply measuring the level of satisfaction of local inhabitants with the provision of public services by the municipality is not an adequate indicator of success. Given the current dynamics in Bulgaria, we can expect to face many challenges around this issue over the next few years.
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of 1996–97, the current media profile of the country remains extremely pluralistic and rich in information sources. The interrelated issues of freedom of speech and plurality of independent media were successfully resolved for the most part as early as 1990–91.
A dense network of independent presses and television and radio stations has main-tained pluralism and open public debate, such that Bulgarians now refer to the independent media as the “fourth power.”
10.1 Availability of Local Media
The monitoring of local public life in Bulgarian municipalities by the media is an established tradition. Thus, according to the subjective view of chief administrative officers, there is at least one newspaper dealing with local public life in most municipalities (see Table 2.76). However, there are marked differences across municipalities depending on their territorial size and population. More than half of the assessed municipalities with fewer than 10,000 people have at least one newspaper that covers local social and political affairs. This increases with the size of municipalities, so that almost all municipalities with over 50,000 residents have local media coverage. In half of all assessed municipalities there are at least three printed media concerned with local problems. The majority of municipalities with fewer than 10,000 people have an electronic media source dealing with local life. The percentage increases with the size of the municipalities, so that nine of ten municipalities with more than 50,000 residents have at least one electronic media source covering local events.
Table 2.76
Number of Media Covering Local Affairs by Size of Municipality
Municipalities by Population Size
Number of Newspapers
Number of Television or Radio Stations Size None [%] 1 [%] 2 [%] 3+ [%] None [%] 1 [%] 2 [%] 3+ [%]
Below 10,000 45.60 24.60 15.80 14.00 49.10 26.30 22.80 1.80 10,000–20,000 14.90 46.80 27.70 10.60 31.90 31.90 23.40 12.80 20,000–50,000 18.40 30.60 30.60 20.4 36.70 36.70 36.70 12.20 Above 50,000 3.10 15.60 37.50 43.80 9.40 9.40 50.00 34.40 Source: CAO survey.
As shown in Table 2.77, in most cases local or regional print media provide coverage of municipal public life. The national media mostly cover events in large municipalities, except when something extraordinary happens at the local level.
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Table 2.77
Type of Media Covering Local Municipal Affairs
Type of Media Newspapers Television or Radio Stations Number of
Municipalities
Proportion of Municipalities [%]
Number of Municipalities
Proportion of Municipalities [%]
None 44 23.20 54 28.50
Local media 60 31.74 81 42.80
Regional media 85 44.97 79 41.70
National media 20 10.58 13 6.87
Source: CAO survey.
Quite understandably, the largest audiences of all types of media may be found in larger municipalities, where events are covered by several media or by one with high frequency. The size of the municipality can make a significant difference in this respect.
The listening and viewing patterns of radio and television audiences are also different. The situation is especially problematic in remote rural and mountain village areas, where the national radio and television channels are the only feasible options for local residents.
10.2 Independence and Representation of Local Media
Article 40 of the Bulgarian constitution enshrines the right to information and freedom of the press. Free competition among media outlets is guaranteed by law and the print media are considered to be independent from governmental control. Despite the pluralism of the Bulgarian media landscape, however, it remains uncertain whether certain media outlets are truly free from the influence of political and economic power groupings (Freedom House 2003).
Bulgarian print media are not monopolized, but pluralistic. None are government-owned, with the exception of the “State Gazette” that publishes Statutes of Parliament and Government Decrees. Few municipally owned dailies have survived the competition.
With the above exceptions, all other print media are privately owned. According to the Freedom House Report at the end of 2002, the nation’s largest private newspapers with national coverage had the following levels of circulation: Troud, 180,000; 24 Chasa, 120,000; Standard, 30,000; Monitor, 50,000; Sega, 17,000; Novinar, 20,000;
Dnevnik, 6,000; and Kapital (a weekly), 34,000. Overall, there are 247 newspapers and magazines, including ten large weekly magazines, 26 monthly magazines, and 53 large regional dailies. The few party-run and financed newspapers and publications have gone bankrupt; the latest to be discontinued is the Union of the Democratic Forces (UDF)
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daily, Democratzia. The independent media have made significant progress, the print media are pluralistic, and increasingly, they are better managed.
However, it is important to note that the German West Deutsche Algemeine Zeitung (WAZ group) owns the two largest daily newspapers, with over 70% of the total distribution in the country. Their regional editions have threatened to drive most of the local Bulgarian-owned press out of business. Given this pluralistic structure of the media market, many of the existing outlets have a specific bias or focus. This invites a situation where special interests can override professional journalistic concerns (Freedom House 2003). Apart from the question of the ownership of the largest newspapers, there is not sufficient transparency with regard to who owns particular print media outlets. The danger of this is that it can prevent some consumers from forming their own independent judgment on the objectivity of the news reported (IREX 2002). The majority of local print media are in the hands of private companies or individuals. The local newspapers face some serious competition from the regional editions of the largest national daily newspapers and, compared to the latter, they exert far less influence. A positive development for the local print media is the newspapers published by regional associations of local governments. These are mostly monthlies or quarterly periodicals that provide specific information on municipal political life.
The major newspapers (and major magazines, television stations, and radio operators) run Internet editions. These provide interactive discussion forums for the increasing Internet audience. There are also independent news agencies operating on the Internet since 1999, as well as one major national “electronic newspaper”—Mediapool. The Internet in Bulgaria, as in many other countries, is perhaps the most independent media platform, free of regulation and subject to no control whatsoever (Nahabedian 2002).
Over the past few years, numerous new portals and electronic journals have emerged in Bulgarian web space. The growing popularity of electronic media gives us reason to expect a real boom in this field in the next few years. According to Alpha Research, a Bulgarian marketing and social research agency, there has been an almost 100% increase in the number of Internet users in Bulgaria between August 2001 (7.8% of the population) and January 2002 (14%).
Compared to print media, which managed to entirely emancipate themselves from direct governmental control, electronic media are still not completely free from interference by the state. Bulgarian National Radio and Bulgarian National Television are state owned and are rated as influential broadcasters in the country with a country-wide coverage. Their strong financial and organizational linkage with the state remains a factor in their strategic orientation and their independence. Since 1997, the state-owned television and radio stations, BNT and BNR, have been subject to regulation by an independent regulatory body called the Council on Electronic Media. Its members are influential, politically unaffiliated individuals, elected on a quota basis by the Parliament and the president.
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Both radio and television businesses have undergone a significant expansion at both the national and local levels. Freedom House reports 63 television operators in the country, ten of which reach national audiences and only one of which (the Bulgarian National Television—BNT) is state owned (Freedom House 2003). Notwithstanding the strong presence of the BNT, private television stations are developing extremely rapidly, especially after the licensing of two independent channels with national coverage. These private stations have also become increasingly influential at the local level. The most popular nationally broadcast television network, BTV, owned by the international media magnate, Robert Murdoch, has already surpassed the BNT in audience and market share.
There are also more than 140 cable stations, including thirteen satellite operators (as of 2002). According to data from the Media Resource Center, Sofia, in 2002 there were 71 local, 59 regional, and 16 national television channels (Dainov 2002).
The radio broadcast profile is no less pluralistic. In 2002, only one radio station (the Bulgarian National Radio) of eleven stations with national coverage was state owned.
There were 98 local radio stations. Private radio networks (some with international backing) successfully compete with the still dominant Bulgarian National Radio. Dozens of newly licensed independent radio stations broadcast in all major Bulgarian cities (Media Sustainability Index 2002). In 2002 there were 140 regional radio stations. The same source reports a high number of radio operators—175 in 2002, of which 31 are cable stations and 144 wireless stations (Dainov 2002).
The expansion in print media outlets and television and radio stations has not been matched by similar developments in the advertising market, so that advertising revenues remain limited so far. The media markets are segmented, and there is considerable dependence on the few players who do consider investing in public relations and advertising. In addition, the concentration of funds in particular media groups means that costly activities like investigative journalism cannot be pursued regularly or have high quality.
In this pluralistic media environment in Bulgaria, minority language sources remain underdeveloped. Besides some minority language print media (Turkish and Roma) and some bilingual periodical publications, there are national television (BNT) news broadcasts in the Turkish language. However, these do not enjoy much popularity among ethnic Turks, according to the polls. Donor-driven initiatives include some Roma publications, but their circulation cannot meet the needs of the relatively large Roma population in Bulgaria (IREX 2002). The local Roma television station in the town of Vidin (in northwest Bulgaria) is also dependent on donor support. Considering the ethnic composition of the population—9.5% ethnic Turks, 4.6% Roma, and 1.5% smaller ethnic groups (National Statistical Institute 2001)—the representation of minorities in both national and local media remains insufficient.
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10.3 Media in Local Political Life
The way in which information and news stories are collected and communicated is revealing of the role of local media in the political life of municipalities (see Table 2.78).
Information on political life is channeled mostly through interviews with mayors and representatives of local administration and/or municipal councilors. Both print media and television and radio stations give them prime coverage. Reports on decisions taken by local governments are also well covered by all media, often with a special focus on how the decisions were taken. A good deal of time on local television and radio stations is devoted to the arguments for and against particular proposals of councilors or mayors.
Unfortunately, more attention is paid to these arguments and counterarguments than to serious examination of the proposals themselves. This undermines the possibility for public discussion on particular issues before the matter is finally resolved by local authorities.
Table 2.78
Political Topics in the Local Media [%]
Do Local Media Publish the Following Types of News?
(Percentage of ‘Yes’ Answers)
Newspapers Television or Radio
Reports on decisions of local government 79.30 79.90
Information on arguments for and against proposals 77.10 81.80 Information on proposals made to the council 57.60 57.50 Interviews with representatives of local government or councilors 90.60 92.07 Source: CAO survey.
The results shown in Table 2.78 demonstrate that local media mostly present the views and statements of local representatives, including local municipal administrations and councilors, as well as announcing facts and decisions already taken. This leaves little room for an informed public debate on issues of local importance. In small municipalities, the media become active participants in municipal political life mostly during elections or when scandals arise.
In large cities, the regional and national media predominate, especially in the print media, where the market share of regional editions of the major national newspapers is substantial. In this situation, the influence of the regional and local content of the
“large” media becomes an important factor in local political life. This is especially true for investigative journalism focused on local governments. “Large” media are also the preferred platform for local representatives to attract votes and stimulate interest.
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10.4 Conclusion
The current media profile of Bulgaria is extremely pluralistic and rich in information sources. The media market is rapidly developing and changing, along with the format of communication that now includes the entirely new electronic media. The results of the survey indicate that the role of the media as a forum for communication between local governments and citizens on specific local issues is still insufficient. Although increasing in range, coverage, and professionalism, the local media have yet to create a space where informed public debate can have a meaningful influence on decision-making by local leaders.
Despite the variation across regions and localities, as well as some other factors that negatively influence the media market, this “fourth power” is an increasingly strong influence within Bulgarian society. As expressed so aptly by the political analyst, Evgenii Dainov, “No government that has failed in its job—or turned against the media—has survived in post-communist Bulgaria” (Dainov 2002).