REPORT Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung

MEDIA MONITORING LABORATORY

February 2015 Media under their own momentum: www.fmd.bg The deficient will to change www.kas.de

Foundation Media Democracy (FMD) and KAS. In summary, the main findings, by

the Media Program South East Europe of areas of monitoring, include:

the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS) present the joint annual report on the MEDIA DISCOURSE state of the Bulgarian media environment in 2014. The study summarises the trends Among the most striking images in the coverage of socio-political constructed by Bulgarian media in 2014 was developments in the country. During the the presentation of patriotism as the monitored period dynamic processes sanctuary of identity. Among the most unfolded – European Parliament elections watched television events during the year and early elections to the National turned to be the Klitschko-Pulev boxing Assembly took place, three governments match. The event inflamed social networks, changed in the country’s governance. morning shows, commentary journalism. It was presented not simply as boxing, but as The unstable political situation has also an occasion for national euphoria. Such affected the media environment, in which a discourse fitted into the more general trend number of important problems have failed of nourishing patriotic passions which to find a solution. During the year, self- through the stadium language, but also regulation was virtually blocked. A vast through the media language, are easily majority of the media continued operating mobilised into street and political forms of at a loss. For many of them the problem symbolic and physical violence against with the ownership clarification remained others (Roma, refugees, the sexually and unresolved. In this context, the corruption ideologically different). At the same time, and the effects of external factors on the by virtue of the conflict between the media – political, economic and different stories, the opposite trend was administrative – remained an integral part also manifested in the media field – the of the Bulgarian media landscape. distancing and withdrawal from the neurotic nationalism. The analyses in this report have been prepared by the team of the Media 2014 was also the year of the return of the Monitoring Laboratory to the FMD (Nikoleta theme of the great enemy and the diversity Daskalova, Gergana Kutseva, Silvia Petrova, of its media transformations. In line with Marina Kirova, Bogdana Dencheva, Eli the common trends in the western media, Aleksandrova, Maya Tsaneva, Vladimir Russia and the Islamic State (and through Kisimdarov, Liliya Lateva and Tanya it, the Islam, too, as the image of the Dimova). The team leader is Orlin Spasov. Different) were most frequently recognised This year, too, the experts Georgi Lozanov as the perfectly different, big enemy. The and Todor P. Todorov were invited to share tension that this theme provoked fed many their appraisal of the current developments micro-wars and confrontations between in the media environment. Part of the media, journalists and speakers of different monitoring is based on quantitative and communities. qualitative data prepared by Market Links Agency for the joint analysis of FMD and

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Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung NATIONAL TV CHANNELS AND the possibilities for public scrutiny and DAILIES correction of the political elites’ actions. MEDIA MONITORING LABORATORY The data on the media coverage of political After the informationally euphoric 2013, actors in national TV channels and dailies 2014 decreased the political action February 2015 prepared by the Market Links agency emotional strength to a great extent. The illustrate the most important trends in the year passed as a kind of completion of www.fmd.bg media-politics relations. Boyko Borisov 2013. The two election campaigns were www.kas.de continues to have the leading media bland for the most part and without presence in 2014, too. His advantage is memorable debates. The lively civil significant (3,908 references to 2,176 for discussions remained developed mainly on the second in the ranking, Rosen Facebook. The personality clash between Plevneliev). Borisov the most frequently Borisov and Stanishev, central to the expresses attitudes to key issues on Bulgarian publicity, which fed the media for country’s agenda, as well. In 2014, he did several years in a row with stories of the not need a comeback in the media; he only type “the battle between good and evil”, came back to power. dropped. Without his main opponent, Borisov himself shrank as a symbol and Among the parties and institutions, Citizens switched to a more businesslike public for European Development of Bulgaria image and to more pragmatic political (Grazhdani za evropeysko razvitie na actions. Bulgaria, abbreviated GERB) has a leading position in the expression of attitude, TELEVISION POLITICAL PROJECTS followed by the Bulgarian Socialist Party (Bulgarska sotsialisticheska partiya, BSP). The past year was symptomatic of the state GERB is also the party the most frequently of the television political projects. They mentioned both in the press and television. relate to leadership-type parties such as Thus the organisation is now strongly Bulgaria Without Censorship (Bulgaria bez dominating Bulgarian media discourse. At tsenzura, BBT), Ataka, The National Front the same time, the attitude towards GERB is for the Salvation of Bulgaria (NFSB), whose different in different media. Overall, leaders perform active television activities, however, the media have warmed their owing to which the parties win attitude towards the party, compared to parliamentary quotas. The common 2013, and in 2014 it is mostly neutral now. genealogy of such public projects is complemented by similarities in the The data also show that the media attitudes speaking of the respective leaders: it is towards Boyko Borisov, Rosen Plevneliev, aggressive, tending to go into the hostile Mihail Mikov and Lyutvi Mestan are speech registers, with Siderov (Ataka) and improving in 2014, while the attitude Simeonov (NFSB) constructing an “enemy” towards Sergey Stanishev and Nikolay in the plan of the nationalism, and Barekov Barekov is deteriorating. The attitudes (BBT) – in the plan of the socio-political towards Volen Siderov remain negative. criticism. In 2014 it became clear that there are serious grounds to diagnose the decline In 2014, too, some media (both electronic of this kind of public projects. The and print) again abruptly changed their emblematic example of the TV7’s failure political orientations, choosing the and the conflicting relationships between opportunism to the responsible criticism of that television and the BBT party delivered abuses of power. by it clearly demonstrated the risk that a television takes when it deletes the borders Bulgarian National Television is among the between politics and journalism. Such most critical media of the three major inherently contradictory formats are now parties and the different governments. more or less doomed to marginality and Thus, it takes a leading position as regards their survival depends on coalition and para-coalition compromises that often

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Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung threaten them with the collapse of their own Borisov. In the online media headlines, the ideologies. Furthermore, in 2014, the case largest was the presence of the persons MEDIA MONITORING with TV7 made it more recognisable to from the BSP. The formation attracted the LABORATORY viewers the nature of the television policy media interest primarily in the context of and the danger that they can easily fall internal instability and the election of a new February 2015 victims to mythological manipulations. Chairman of the party. As actors reflected in the polemical light (spokespersons or www.fmd.bg RADIO objects of evaluative attitude) emerged www.kas.de Boyko Borisov (GERB), President Rosen Some of the most important developments Plevneliev, Sergey Stanishev (BSP) and in the radio sector in 2014 refer to the Lyutvi Mestan (DPS). The Member of Bulgarian National Radio (BNR). The Parliament from the DPS Delyan Peevski discontinuation of the commentary and banker Tsvetan Vasilev were also programme “Deconstruction” on BNR in among the central objects of evaluation. September, on the eve of the campaign for the early parliamentary elections, has An apparent trend during the year was the become a hot case. It provoked polemic continuing politicisation of online news, public reactions and raised controversial particularly pronounced in the previous comments both on the political positions of 2013. The unstable political landscape led to the programme presenter Petar Volgin and steady instrumentalisation of the media for on the interventions of the management of the purposes of the party campaigning and the radio. Another important episode is propaganda. Throughout 2014, the politics connected with the appointment of Slavi coverage often passed through the speech Binev as the Chairman of the Parliamentary of hate. Committee on Culture and Media. The BNR did not hesitate to express disagreement A new phenomenon during the year was the with the disputed appointment. The third evaluative media framing of the image of key moment is the resumption of the Russia in the context of the Russia-Ukraine journalist association “Svobodno slovo” conflict, the relations with the EU and the (“free speech”). The association, in which a South Stream energy project. While the number of radio journalists are members, central news discourse was dominated by leveled sharp criticism at the BNR’s the critical tone to Russian policy, in the management. The charges refer to the user comments in online media there was deficit of transparency in the management, strong mobilisation of uniform pro-Russian non-observance of the collective labour opinions. agreement and the creation of new structures that can take away the editorial Compared to 2013, the share of sports independence of the programme teams. news in the information files increased. The However, despite the problematic issues in focus on economic news also strengthened, the media, in 2014 the programme dictated exclusively by the crisis in the “Horizont” was the radio channel the most banking system and the failure of Corporate trusted by the audience. Commercial Bank.

ONLINE MEDIA AND NEWS SITES EUROPEAN THEMES

In 2014, too, Bulgarian news sites showed The crisis in Ukraine, energy policy (the stable affinity to the coverage of the status South Stream project) and the absorption of quo figures. In the year when three EU funds in the new programming period governments changed, media attention was were among the main accents in the media being refocused according to the changes in coverage of the EU-related news in 2014. power configurations. Against the The actuality of such themes was supported background of the news attention shifting not so much by the accumulation of from one government to another, constantly expertise as by the repetition of known high remained the interest solely to Boyko facts. The elections to the European

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Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung Parliament (EP) in May and the National and formed in a socialist style became a Assembly in October provided an excellent powerful tool for the formation of ideological MEDIA MONITORING opportunity to communicate – both for the attitudes and fitted in the fashion of the LABORATORY media and politicians – on European themes nostalgia for the period of socialism. The of importance to society. But the vote for propaganda of the political messages February 2015 the EP was used by the public actors as a reached out even among people who platform for the politicisation of significant refused to accept “plain” political www.fmd.bg social issues, but without reflecting on the information in the form of news, interviews www.kas.de supranational framework of the possible and analyses. solutions to address the major economic, social and institutional challenges facing the YELLOW PRESS country. The national elections confirmed this trend. In 2014, tabloid press made sudden twists in its attitude towards political actors. The During the year, the media content on Vseki Den ceased its negative campaigns European issues remained largely both against President Rosen Plevneliev and informational, with the publication of ready- Meglena Kuneva (Reformist Bloc). The liking made press releases. The authentic for Sergey Stanishev and the BSP, seen journalistic commentary, which presents a throughout 2013, was replaced by an different view to the facts, was scarce. The abrupt change in tone after the resignation main source of analyses and commentaries of the BSP’s government. A new shade in were translated texts from foreign media. At the year is the editions’ sneering at the the end of the year, after the formation of political actors who lost the elections. This the new Cabinet of GERB, Reformist Bloc tendency is combined with clearly expressed and ABV, a new stage began of active PR support to the winners at the elections, promoting of the visits of the European especially to the GERB’s leader Boyko institutions key representatives. There are Borisov. Overall, tabloid dailies showed expectations for increasing the weight of the some fatigue of the political turbulence. European context in the communication strategy of the Government. BLOGOSPHERE

LIFESTYLE MEDIA The political instability during the year affected the attitudes in the civil In 2014, the media continued the practice blogosphere and on the Twitter of using lifestyle rhetoric in the coverage of microblogging platform. For the European political events and topics. As a novelty it Parliament elections, bloggers actively can be highlighted the tendency to put the called to vote, apparently with the focus more often on the appearance (e.g. expectation that the results of the vote will the clothing of the MPs) rather than on the be a catalyst for political changes. The details of the politicians’ private lives. The resignation of Oresharski’s government and media were presenting the issues of the the formation of the Bliznashki caretaker political figures’ image and lifestyle as cabinet calmed passions. After the equally important with their ideological parliamentary elections, the newly formed messages. National dailies and editions government led by Borisov was accepted in pretending for seriousness actively used the blogosphere controversially. It raised lifestyle tools in shaping the images of the skepticism but was met with a relative main political leaders. At the same time, the tolerance, too. The doctrine of compromise specialised lifestyle journalism was replaced the ultimate political criticism in retreating from the area of politics. the bloggers’ views.

During the year, popular culture was used During the year, the bloggers’ attitude to as legitimation of politics. For example, the the Reformist Bloc underwent the biggest reality format “VIP Brother” aired during the transformation. Although initially the campaign for the parliamentary elections coalition enjoyed strong support among

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Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung bloggers, after the National Assembly year. While in 2013 social networks were an elections, a number of RB’s actions and arena for the expression of discontent, MEDIA MONITORING statements caused strong disappointment. organising of protests and attracting LABORATORY The attitude to other political formations supporters for various causes, in 2014 the remained in the negative nuances. civil society on Facebook showed far more February 2015 subdued political activity. In 2014, too, the themes exciting civil www.fmd.bg blogosphere and Twitter continued to VIDEO-SOCIAL NETWORKS www.kas.de disagree with the agenda of politicians. Bloggers were not satisfied with the lack of The natural disasters, accidents and the answers to a number of important public crisis with Corporate Commercial Bank were issues. The symptoms of nostalgia for the topics of public importance which in socialism and the restoration of socialist 2014 excited the most the Bulgarian users mythologems on celebrating the 25th of the video sharing sites Vbox7 and anniversary of the beginning of the YouTube. The civil interest increasingly transition were heavily criticised by moved outside the sphere of politics. The bloggers. ironic attitude towards the parties and the government strengthened. At the same During the year, the tendency for politicians time, political actors themselves were the to abandon informal blogs and replace them most active during the election campaigns with official sites with predominantly when the biggest number of video clips imaging and informational functions were uploaded whose main focus was on strengthened. The presence of political the party leaders. Among the most watched actors on Twitter increased, but still one political video clips was a material cannot speak of a distinctive activity. incriminating BSP of vote-buying in the context of the EP elections. During the year, FACEBOOK as in Facebook, the users’ positive attitude towards the political party Glas Naroden In 2014, Facebook established itself as a continued. The political figure who drew the form of a party semi-official organ which strongest civil interest was Boyko Borisov. Bulgarian politicians often used to promote More than 1,000 video clips were dedicated their messages among voters. The network to him. Compared to 2013, in 2014 the was a preferred information channel for attitude towards Boyko Borisov was more many of the party head offices and quite a positive, although ironic materials were not few important political events were missing. Nikolay Barekov was also with originally communicated on someone's relatively high presence in video-social Facebook wall before they reach the networks in 2014. audience of the traditional mass media. As one of the most important video Bulgarian Facebook users strengthened phenomena during the year emerged the their political preferences without any major song of Maria Ilieva and rapper Krisko deviations from the already established “Vidimo Dovolni” (“apparently pleased”). trends. The most appealing party in the The video clip, which provoked criticism social network continued to be Glas from the Council for Electronic Media and Naroden (“voice of the people”). Boyko aroused from extremely negative to Borisov retained his leadership position extremely positive civil comments, among politicians, the number of his generated the impressive over 13 million supporters exceeding by multiple times the views. results of his rivals. POLITICAL ADVERTISING Overall, the two election campaigns in 2014 took place under the conditions of reflux of As a whole, the political advertising during civil energy and enthusiasm characteristic of the year can be described as naive, but the Bulgarian political life in the previous positive. During the campaign for the

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Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung European elections, distancing from Europe was observed. The European issues MEDIA MONITORING remained in the background. Instead, the LABORATORY accent in the messages was on the domestic political situation. On its part, the February 2015 campaign for the National Assembly elections was lifeless and boring and did not www.fmd.bg offer any memorable examples in the field www.kas.de of political advertising.

In their advertising messages, the parties avoided serious problems. The exploitation of common themes, such as unemployment and low income, seemed as an end in itself and close to the demagogy. The problems of the young were scarcely present in the parties’ advertising messages. A more frequent object of the advertising courtship were farmers. The theme of Russia in the context of the events in Ukraine and Crimea remained scarcely covered.

The largest means for advertising during the two election campaigns were spent by the new formation Bulgaria without censorship.

As the preferred channel for advertising of the MP candidates emerged the Internet. In the political advertising on the Internet, the graphic banner dominated; it resembles the traditional political poster and has an identificational and informative character. A new trend in the Bulgarian political advertising on the Internet was the campaigning for the preferential voting. An

impression was created that the candidates engage in their online campaigns on their

own and act independently of their parties.

Contact

Nikoleta Daskalova [email protected]