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ISSN 1223-5199 Contents / Sommaire

EDITORIAL

Lilia Raycheva, Todor Petev Mass Media System in Bulgaria 5

ARTICLES

Lilia Raycheva, Todor Petev The Transformations Processes in the

Mass Media System in Bulgaria (1989-1999) 7

Todor Petev

Transformations of the Bulgarian Press 17

Lilia Raycheva

The Dynamics of the Electronic Mass Media System in Bulgaria (1989-1999) 37

Kamen Kamenov Advertising in Bulgaria - On the Edge of Optimism 57

Teodora Petrova A Brief Look at the digital changes in the media Field and the Development of the Web Pages in Bulgaria 71 Vessela Tabakova The Media - the Possible, yet Unrealized Anti Corruption Instrument 89 The Global Network / Le reseau global 5 EDITORIAL EDITORIAL

Mass Media System in Bulgaria

BY LILIA RAYCHEVA , TODOR PETEV

he articles in this emergence of a pluralis- volume reflect tic press, radio and Tt r a n s f o r m a t i o n s television system; that have taken place in the Bulgarian mass 2. In legal terms, libe- media landscape for a ralization and deregu- ten-year period. Since lation of the mass 1989 alongside with the media system, corre- basic political, economic sponding to the and social changes in European patterns; the country, profound shifts have taken place 3. In economic terms, in print and electronic mass media market me d i a . development in a highly competitive environ- Several main processes ment at local, national in the media system and global level with during the transition growing impact of period in Bulgaria can advertising industry; be discerned: LILIA RAYCHEVA 4. In social terms, and TODOR PETEV 1. In political terms, demassification and are professors at the decentralization of the fragmentation of the St. Kliment Ohridsky mass media system publics accompanied by University of Sofia, accompanied by the higher selectivity stan- Bulgaria 6 The Global Network / Le reseau global dards and social feedback;

5. In professional terms, departure from former corporate media standards and introduction of new formats, styles and liberal journalistic ethics;

6. In technological terms, revo- lutionary advent of new media incorporating national media to the global superhighways.

The newly established communication landscape demon- strates open challenges to the mass media developments in highly competitive environment. q The Global Network / Le reseau global 7 ARTICLES ARTICLES The Transformations Processes in the Mass Media System in Bulgaria (1989-1999)

BY LILIA RAYCHEVA , TODOR PETEV

he mass media sys- demonstrated during the tem in Bulgaria telecasts of the Romanian T underwent dramat- Revolution in December ic changes along with the 1989. Then the Second profound social, political Channel of the Bulgarian and economic transforma- Television canceled its tions. In a short time, regular programming in without ideological con- order to extensively cover trol, the style and content the dramatic events in of the broadcast and print Bucharest and Timisoara. media departed from the former standards. The Grand National Political pluralism Assembly adopted a new brought along the estab- Constitution on July 12, lishment of new party 1991. It was the first periodicals. In 1990, polit- democratic constitution in ical campaigning boomed, the former Eastern Bloc bringing with it political countries. It proclaimed advertising in the media. that Bulgaria would be While campaigning in governed by the rule of newspapers was not con- law and set up the funda- trolled, the Parliamentary mental civil society. Commission for Radio and Zhelyu Zhelev, the leader Television set rigid guide- of the Union of the lines for the electronic Democratic Forces LILIA RAYCHEVA me d i a . and a strong- and TODOR PETEV are professors at the minded dissident, St. Kliment Ohridsky The power of live televi- was elected University of Sofia, sion broadcasting was President by the Bulgaria 8 The Global Network / Le reseau global

National Assembly on August 1st , The fierce crossfire was flared 1991. Political advertising and in the print media, which con- strong press and radio involve- tinued to lose public credibility. ment influenced the final choice of the incumbents. The The mass media, among all the public opinion agency, SIGMA, institutions in the country, pro- conducted a survey in 1990 to moted the transformation to determine how viewers democracy in the most pro- assessed the televised political found way. In Sofia the spirit of campaigning. Ten days prior to the changes was felt at the the first round and ten days open meetings and rallies. In after the second round of the outlying areas the changes advertising, it asked, “Which were felt chiefly because of tele- political power did best on the vision coverage. The organizers TV screen? The answers were of protest rallies in support of 39 percent and 33.5 percent for change made sure they Bulgarian Socialist Party com- marched past TV headquar- pared to 19.6 and 24.7 percent ters. The media found them- for UDF and 13.9 percent and selves fulfilling the dual func- 15.8 percent for the Bulgarian tion of transmitters and cata- Agricultural People’s Union. lysts of political change.

SIGMA also attempted to Journalists, just as politicians, assess the mass media credibil- were not ready to undertake ity. National Television gained their new functions and top ratings before and after the responsibilities. The emerging elections. The respective data principles and styles of journal- were 59.6 and 38.5 percent for ism were created ad hoc. television, 44.7 and 36.3 per- Turbulent events forced jour- cent for the BSP press, 31 and nalists to learn and master 33.8 percent for National Radio their new roles by groping for and 24.5 and 27.2 percent for free expression while balancing the UDF press. The high credi- personal risk. They were on a bility of television after the quest for free and significant elections slid by about 20 per- expression, public control over centage points. This dramatic state institutions of authority. drop followed the audience’s It turned to be an open chal- rejection of the over-politicized lenge to the responsibilities of pr o g r a m s . 1 the Fourth Estate mission in a transforming society. In the following election campaigns, the electronic media Prior to the dramatic changes managed to be more balanced. in 1989, the Bulgarian mass The Global Network / Le reseau global 9 media system was centralized, examples and patterns of state-owned and subordinated transformation. to the priorities of the Party- State system. The processes of Print Media decentralization, liberalization and privatization began spon- he political, economic and taneously. Along with the over- T ideological heralds of the all economic and political crisis various political parties of the time, the mass media engaged pretty soon in a news- “revolution” developed on a paper war. Partisanship in pur- practical, trial-and-error basis, suit of daily stories segmented rather than on a legal basis. audience reach. Thus, the The government was no longer process resulted in a steady able to strictly control the shrinking of newspaper reader- media: in the ensuing chaos, ship. The former political “gate- the press was the first to gain keeper” seemed to have been total deregulation. It initiated quietly replaced by new eco- the beginnings of a free mar- nomic conductors trying to lay ke t . down the tempo and harmony for an orchestra of perplexed Political pluralism fostered the professionals. emergence of a multi-party press. Different parties estab- The result of these collective lished their own periodicals control patterns was ambigu- giving rise to a new, politically ous. Inside, editorial board ten- affiliated, journalism. sions at covering top-priority events exceeded the range of The spirit of pluralism in the journalistic self-control; the mass media and the under- broader public was often fed standing that the importance of tailored information and biased each medium was bound to its interpretations. It breached the contribution to social change freedom of journalistic expres- became a pragmatic guideline sion. for survival and development. Another perplexing phenome- Audience expectations urged non was that people began to journalists to assume the role perceive and assess the of heralds of political, economic, processes of change via media cultural, and social change. models. Without being held Striving to keep up with audi- politically or socially responsi- ence expectations and commit- ble, the mass media actually ment to social change impelled shaped the dynamics of public the mass media to generate social and political space; its 10 The Global Network / Le reseau global nurtured pluralism occasional- catering to audience expecta- ly resembled a labyrinth of one- tions and needs rather to nar- way streets. row political interests.

In the process of privatization, Electronic Media powerful economic forces structured the print media market. n contrast to the turbulent, A new popular press emerged Iwrenching transformations and declared itself politically in the print media, the changes independent. The tabloid peri- in the electronic media were odicals quickly gained the slower, incomplete and lacked largest audience share. Their general consistency. The once content corresponded to the rigorous regulations at the pragmatic needs and attitudes state level framed the initia- of the economically active part tives for decentralization and of the general publics. Multiple privatization. The executives in sections were introduced and Bulgarian Radio and Television these newspapers took over the gained some professional free- expanding volume of advertis- doms in decision-making, pro- in g . gramming and economic policies. However, for a long time Another group of publications the state-owned electronic found an audience niche by media remained closely con- catering to specific interests trolled since they were funded and tastes. The most popular from the State budget. A topics included leisure, health restrictive legislature was promotion, cultural events, another factor in their slow lifestyles, sports, fashion, hob- transformation. It aborted bies, games, eroticism and soft early attempts at a substantial porn, crime, etc. and relevant change. The newly adopted Bulgarian These were the main trends in Constitution became the first the process of forming an inde- legislative act that abolished pendent, diversified and plural- the party-state monopoly in the istic press in Bulgaria. In a electronic media. The first com- short period of time, the tight mercial radio stations began ideological control over the operation at local level in 1992. mass media switched to economic motives. Some pressing Thus, along with the other factors such as the soaring East European countries, prices of newsprint, printing Bulgaria moved to regulate the services and distribution licensing of private radio and expenses sped up the process of TV stations. A Parliamentary The Global Network / Le reseau global 11

Commission for Radio and turnover among executives Television and a Provisional moved by aggressive political Council for Radio and pressures on the management Television became the control- of both National Television and ling bodies. The liberalized National Radio led to general rules for licensing of local radio instability. Problems regarding and television stations2 st i m u - freedom of expression, agenda- lated a rapid development of setting issues, and journalistic private radio. The advent of investigative reporting, gave private television occurred two rise to conflicts between profes- years later. sional managers and adminis- tr a t o r s . Bulgarian radio and television stations now operate on two The first licenses for private levels: state and private. radio stations were issued to Bulgarian National Radio and several foreign radio broadcast- Bulgarian National Television ing companies: VOA, BBC- are still the only two state- World Service, Free Europe, owned broadcasting organiza- France International, and tions which programming cov- Deutsche Welle. They were ers the entire nation. They are appointed because of their sen- controlled by the National sitivity to the democratization Council for Radio and processes in the country. The Television as well as by the first domestic private radio sta- State Commission for tion, FM+, went on air in Telecommunications. In October 1992. The new radio December 1999 Rupert stations developed different for- Murdoch’s Balkan News mats and styles, targeting dif- Corporation was the successful ferent audience niches. They bidder to become the first pri- quickly gained popularity. vate TV operator functioning While the national radio chan- on a national scale. It had been nels stuck to information for- launched on June 1, 2000. mats; the private stations diversified the program supply, Fixed time status of the state- providing the publics with a owned electronic media man- broader range of commentaries. agement was not introduced In addition they felt them- until 1997. Until then the exec- selves free to experiment with utive boards were open to more flexible and attractive for- direct political pressure caus- mats and styles. The necessary ing overall personnel instabili- premises (financial, technologi- ty and lack of continuity in pro- cal and personnel) for differen- gramming policy. Continuing tiation of the private broadcast- 12 The Global Network / Le reseau global ing on a national scale were at es. Specialized publications on hand. Nevertheless, the state- radio and television were initi- owned and operated radio net- ated, providing the general work still holds a commanding public with information and lead in audience share at commentaries on the menus of national and local level. The the national and local chan- first private television station, nels, as well as with a selection Nova Televizia (New of foreign satellite offerings. Television) was launched in 1994. Because of limited finan- The most popular electronic cial, technological and person- media guide - the weekly nel resources, the new televi- Radio I Televizia (Radio and sion stations stuck to modest Television), enjoys a circulation programming: movies, sports of 70,000 copies. It offers sched- and imported popular enter- ules of radio and television pro- tainment programs. Later on grams supplemented with con- the audience needs urged the cise reviews of the offerings. local TV operators to introduce own programs: information, Another specialized magazine talk-shows, entertainment. The is TV+, launched in 1993. It is emergence of alternative televi- 64 pages, issued biweekly and sion encouraged program diver- has a circulation of 20,000 sification in the national TV copies. The content is predomi- landscape. The reception of nantly foreign in origin. satellite, trans-border and cable programs exerted addi- The Bulgarski Journalist tional impact on the domestic (Bulgarian Journalist), a channels programming. 30,000 circulation monthly Foreign audio-visual products publication, was the official had an equally strong influence guild journal that monitored on national broadcasting poli- media developments, profes- ci e s . 3 Since the early 1990s the sional standards, journalistic electronic media have been celebrities, and mass media allowed to earn extra financial ratings. However, it could not income from advertising and survive in the new mass media co-production contracts. competition and ceased publication in 1995. Contributions to the public assessment of media Radio and Television Guides production are also made by the weekly newspaper, Kultura he growing diversity of TV (Culture) and Media & T programming stimulated Reklama (Media&Advertising) innovative inter-media process- magazine, a monthly that cov- The Global Network / Le reseau global 13 ers the dynamics of the adver- istic unions were established, tising market - the top ten they failed to defend basic pro- print media shares, the leading fessional rights and responsi- top ten advertisers, the top bilities. Finally, the profession- twenty advertised brands, etc. al journalists submitted their freedom of expression priorities for the establishment of an eth- Development of ical code to the legislative body of the country.5 Professional Standards National Radio and National he development of profes- Television maintained the T sional standards greatly highest rate of audience credi- benefited from the various bility. According to sociological national nominations for pro- panel surveys, their ratings fessional accomplishments in scored much higher than the the press, radio and television. polarized press, the Presidency, National Assembly, Inter-media integration devel- Government, and Police.6 oped through traditional professional contacts, patterns of The social push of mass media media consumption and mod- in political terms had been ern advertising and marketing manifested at least in seven strategies. These joint activi- critical situations: ties culminated in initiating - The TV attack against national media nominations for President Petar Mladenov in excellence. Facing turbulent 1990 that compelled him to processes of overall deregula- resign; tion, the professional guild - The resignation of the BSP attempted to formulate general Government headed by Andrey rules of journalistic ethics. The Loukanov in 1990; vulnerability of the profession - The mass media war encouraged attempts at public launched by the UDF discussion. However, the Government of Filip Dimitrov, expected common agreement which led to its toppling in was postponed. 1992; - The exit of the Government of Deprofessionalization trends Lyuben Berov (under the accompanied the transforma- Movement for Rights and tion period, but development Freedom mandate) in 1994; “demands a central system of - The withdraw of the BSP gov- control able also to evaluate ernment of Zhan Videnov in and set priorities”4. Although a 1996; number of professional journal- - The siege of the House of the 14 The Global Network / Le reseau global

National Assembly in the situ- lization of the mass media sys- ation of a governmental crisis tem accompanied by the emer- in 1997, which led to radical gence of a pluralistic press, power shift; radio and television system; - The forced restructuring of 2. In legal terms, liberalization the UDF government of Ivan and deregulation of the mass Kostov in 1999, based on cor- media system, increasingly co- ruption allegations. rresponding to the situation in Eu r o p e ; The invitation extended to 3. In economic terms, mass Bulgaria to negotiate the terms media market development in of joining the European Union a highly competitive environ- (Helsinki, 1999) practically ment at local, national and marked the end of the transi- global level; tion status. For the mass media 4. In social terms, demassifica- this posed new challenges and tion and fragmentation of the priorities. Operating with new- publics accompanied by higher found freedoms, they build up selectivity standards and social well-differentiated structures fe e d b a c k ; at local, national and interna- 5. In professional terms, depar- tional levels. This opened doors ture from former corporate for integration into different media standards and the intro- European and global media duction of new formats, styles structures and markets. and liberal journalistic ethics.

The mass media both reflect q and instigate social processes and as a system itself, under- goes development changes. As Karol Jakubowicz put it, “change in society triggers media action to influence society or creates conditions in which media can influence society”7. The media gain in any transformation process because change means news.

Several main processes in the media system during the transition period in Bulgaria can be di s c e r n e d : 1. In political terms, decentra- The Global Network / Le reseau global 15

REFERENCES

1. Raykov, Zdravko. (1990). “Elections and Mass Communications”. Bulgarski Journalist 11.

2. Ordinance No 1 of the Committee for Postal Services and Telecommunications. (June 18, 1992). Sofia: State Newspaper: 43.

3. Sepstrup Preben and Goonasekera Anura, eds. (1994) TV Transnationalization: Europe and Asia. Reports and Papers on Mass Communication, No 109, Paris: UNESCO Publishing.

4. Kunczik, Michael (1993). Communication and Social Change, Bonn: Friedrich Ebert Stiftung.

5. Profession Journalist. (1994). Sofia: Group of Freedom of Speech.

6. Political and Economic Index. (1995). Sofia: BBSS Gallup International. Report 2595.

7. Paletz, David; Jackubowicz, Karol; and Novosel, Paavo, eds. (1995) Glasnost and After: Media and Change in Central and Eastern Europe. Cresskill, NJ: Hampton Press. The Global Network / Le reseau global 17 Transformations of the Bulgarian Press

BY TODOR PETEV

t has been an uneasy lation of the news - that period of Bulgarian type of information diet I press developments: had been constructed, fol- for good forty years news- lowed, and controlled. In paper industry has been absence of an alternative transformed along guide- press the publicity result- lines of Communist propa- ed in a constructed media ganda priorities. It has world (Fotev, 1999: 232), a schooled the publics by public spaces, fed on New Speak experiments, rumors and diffuse in con- public obedience, and stellations of controlled strict information diet of small-group networks. wartime type. Attempts at diversifying Censorship muted most press landscape took place media people, encouraged after glasnost and pere- conformist self-censor- stroyka, launched by ship, introduced total sur- Mikhail Gorbachev in veillance and suspicion in 1985. After TODOR PETEV the professional guild. Chernobil disaster is professor at the Distorted news bulletins, only reliable and St. Kliment Ohridsky rumors, false warnings, credible sources of University of Sofia, misinformation, manipu- information were Bulgaria 18 The Global Network / Le reseau global networks of informal contacts although obvious by reading and foreign radio stations. The author’s names, lost any clear- newspapers lost meek credibili- cut profile: marginalization ty they have enjoyed. became a winning strategy in pursuit of high circulation and advertising profit. Emergency transformations The political shifts were total: y early 1990’s direct state author’s families had to be Bcontrol of newspapers and changed; newspaper sections, magazines was officially aban- and language styles had been doned; first opposition daily transformed into aggressive newspapers, Svoboden Narod forms of “street language” (Free People) and Demokratzia (Znepolski, 1997: 75-88). (Democracy) appeared in Nevertheless, certain touch of February 1990. Many periodi- political obedience, or conformi- cals were closed, others ty remained; it had been gar- changed their names, and new nished by economic pressures titles entered landscape. Prices and a stunning ethnic of newspapers soared in step ostracism (hate language) in with general inflation rate. The print news stories, journalism prices of newspapers and mag- investigations (mainly crime or azines rose several times and suicide stories) and disaster many former readers could no sensitive commentaries. longer afford to buy a second or third newspaper, as it had been A perplexing diversity of par- common practice before. ties, political factions, civil movements, foundations, busi- Political pluralism followed by ness clubs, news organizations, pollicentristic moves (regional- and newspaper outlets ization) in print industry; both emerged in opening public brought about diversification of space. The print news media press at national, regional, and failed in promotion of democra- local levels: general output was tic life and social stability. As transformation of political pub- Peter Gross observed similar licity into a matrix of contend- mass media downfalls in ing fragments of global—local Romania : “They failed because news content.. they showed intolerance, partisanship, lack of balance and a Many newborn magazines disrespect for The audience by claimed to function as politica- assuming that it needed to be lly independent structures. directed in its deliberations Their political orientations, rather than informed. They did The Global Network / Le reseau global 19 not present readers or viewers market self-regulation, aggres- with news but rather with sive press corporations, such as views on events and issues of the German Westdeutsche the day , and thus were only Algemeine Zeitung group, indirectly and incompletely established control over two informative.” (Gross, 1996: thirds of daily newspaper circu- 136). lation in 1997; the biggest two print media groups scored the The aggressive, intolerant style broadest audience reach in this of reporting was conceived as country were bought up, devel- modern trait of professional- oped, and transformed into a ism; publishers in their early dynamic network of central steps of emerging open press and local editions. market did not pay due concern to financial matters or to Social Advertising took leap accord- Responcibility Journalism as a ingly and prospered: profits value-normative orientation from it became the main eco- towards modernization and nomic resource for print media. developing modern conscious- Originally the money shares of ness (Kunczik, 1993: 120-122). television and press advertis- Later with advent of commer- ing were in favor of the press. cialization, development of con- (At the turn of the 2000 their centration, and true market respective shares became competition, with growth almost equal: 53 : 47.) Most of regional economics - all that the non-political newspapers emerged as catalyst of a selec- raised the bulk of their rev- tive social transformation. The enues from advertising. split between younger generation of journalists and older In the absence of mass media groups of media professionals regulations the market opened was painfully obvious. The doors to aggressive moves in expected re-socialization the press developments; porno- processes among Bulgarian graphic editions, virtually journalists turned out to be too unknown before 1989, entered complex and difficult in diverse bluntly the opening public media environments and com- space. Institutional attempts to munities (Petev, 1994a: 26). establish certain distribution rules and content restrictions failed. The publishers had Structural Changes found an attractive niche to exploit; they enjoyed unbeliev- nder the auspices of priva- able and never dreamed or Utization, innovation and anticipated freedoms of 20 The Global Network / Le reseau global e x p r e s s i o n .1 The new titles However, the death rate of neglected legislator’s attempts newspapers during that time to ban any, hard or soft, porn in period took a remarkable leap: the public communication 303 newspapers ceased publi- space; it had happened not ear- cation in 1994. Deregulation of lier than 2000 when the first the mass media system in gen- legislative acts and the norma- eral produced impressive, tive professional guide-lines degrading impacts on the against pornography were evolving press market. coined up and adopted by the National Assembly. In 1994, there appeared 781 magazines and bulletins with a While the daily press was obvi- total annual circulation of 16,4 ously diversified, the youth and million copies. The respective children’s periodicals shrunk in figures for 1999 were 631 titles both number and circulation. and 13,5 million copies. (In According to the National 1988, before the changes, at the Statistical Institute, 928 news- end of perestroika period, there papers with a total circulation appeared 878 magazines and of 654,187,000 were issued in bulletins having total annual 1993 compared to 381 newspa- circulation of 69,6 million pers with a total annual circu- copies). After 1989, there lation of 879,663,000 in 1988, appeared less magazine titles before the collapse of the for- that had less copy circulation: mer system.2 ( B u l g a r i a n the magazine reach shrank a National Institute of Statistics, bit, the reading public did not 1995) - See table 1. change much its magazine consumption habits and patterns. - The number of new newspa- See table 2. pers established in the years of the political change and social The early 1990s, opened the transformations merits closer deregulation trends in the print elaboration. In 1990 there media leading to tremendous appeared 81 newspaper titles shifts transforming the press in the press market. In several industry. Competition got off to years aftermath there took a flying start: it gained addi- place an eruptive growth of tional momentum with the newspaper titles: 103 (1991), frustrating polarization of the 174 (1992) 434 (1993). By socio-political environment. 1994, however, saturation Aggressive election campaigns trends and shrinking of the in June 1990 and in October press market occurred: only 1991 gave a strong push to 351 newspapers could be listed. public discourse and cross-fire The Global Network / Le reseau global 21 debates that were covered evant daily facts, offer barren closely by the periodicals. interviews, and theoretical Those were frustrating “golden analysis. To all of this one can times” of the contemporary add the almost complete lack of Bulgarian press industry. utilitarian news—print and broadcast media seemed to be Restructuring of the print produced by journalists for media market brought to life journalists but not for people...” several types of periodicals. (Coman & Gross, 1994). The politically affiliated press seemed to outnumber the oth- The bulk of contradictory politi- ers in number of titles (not in cal views, beliefs and suggested circulation, or readership). The perspectives expressed in the strong weekly leader BTA print media badly damaged the Paraleli (40 pages, fine collor press credibility in Bulgaria. print) enjoyed the broadest A survey carried out by the audience of close to 100 thou- Center for Democracy Studies sand readers. Fragmentations on the eve of the parliamentary of the audience in political elections 1991 showed strong terms was particularly strong. indications of lack of press Deeply biased, the partisan credibility. Only 20.9 percent of press did not offer balanced the respondents answered “pos- information for safe political itively yes,” to the question, judgments. The diversity of “Do you trust the information voices forced readers politically presented in the newspapers?” affiliated/or not to read several (Similar was the value of press newspapers in order to orient non-readers). Nearly half (45.8 themselves in the dynamic percent) answered “to a certain environment. In general, read- extent,” and 33.3 percent of ers experienced social frustra- the respondents answered in tion being manipulated; thus, the negative. Another question only a few were able really to asked respondents to voice pick up the wheat from the their agreement or disagree- chaff. ment with the statement, “The television, radio and newspa- The public space was deeply pers strengthen the tension in contaminated and distorted by this country.” Thirty-seven per- rumors, false-event reporting, cent (36.9) agreed with the and misinformation. As Mihai statement and 36.9 percent Coman and Peter Gross disagreed. Another 24.1 per- observed that mass media tend cent admitted they were uncer- to “raise the false-event, the tain. 3 Urgent need for a social theoretical discourse, the irrel- dialogue was strongly felt and 22 The Global Network / Le reseau global not properly understood by the in Bulgaria since 1993 could be guild: the partisan periodicals traced in the press: did not provide their readers - deregulated political con- with unbiased news and opin- tention, maintained between ionating analyses. Perhaps the and within the major political most telling example of the parties, led to series of splitting need for balanced information and restructuring until certain was shown by the overlap in stability was reached in 1997; readership of Democratize - emergence of a public dis- (Democracy) and Douma course, understanding and con- (Word), the political organs of sensus on priority issues like: the Union of Democratic Forces joining the European Union, and the Bulgarian Socialist NATO affiliation, national Party. A 1993 field survey security priorities, large-scale showed that about 40 percent privatization, nuclear energy of the daily readers of strategy, minority issues, med- Demokratzia read Douma as a ical care and education stan- complementary information dards; source and about the same - growing political apathy number of Douma readers also detached large fractions of read Demokratzia. This reader- intellectuals from the democra- ship pattern of double checking tization processes; people in was considered to generate general felt tired of claimed effects of indirect public dia- democratization incentives logue in a gradually politically (Minev & Kabakchieva, 1996), restructuring society (Petev, of the expected, and postponed 19 9 4 : 1 1 0 ) . understanding and appreciation. The circulation of the partisan press declined over time: in The three major trends had 1989 Douma sold a total of been discussed and elaborated 198.5 million copies; by 1995 in the press. In late 1992, the the annual number of copies UDF lost its parliamentary sold dropped to 25 million. The support. The ethnic Movement respective figures for for Rights and Freedoms Demokratzia were 76 million (MRF), in a radical move unex- (1989) and 15.5 million (1995).4 pectedly joint the socialist opposition. The democratic majority was topled; the MRF Postponed Warnings got mandate to form the Bulgarian government.) The hree main trends in the partisan newspapers, however, Tdevelopment of political life did not uncritically follow the The Global Network / Le reseau global 23 policies of the political leaders; consumption by social and eth- tensions between the affiliated nic groups in Bulgaria became periodicals and the political an important predictor for leadership emerged. Several political involvement and par- editors-in-chief were bluntly ticipation in the election cam- dismissed on political reasons. paigns. - See table 3. As Ivan Nikolchev observed br i l l i a n t l y : The most stable political news “Journalists today do not and consumption was affected by cannot have a clearly formed the Bulgarian Orthodox read- professional awareness as jour- ers while the other groups nalists. They rather have a tended to be out of daily reach: political self-awareness, they the figures of non-readers were see themselves not as creators much higher for the Roma eth- of information but creators of nic group. The press provided politics. For this reason they dialogue grounds for the con- cannot act as a homogeneous tending political players; the professional community, meant assumed function for social to be a comprehensive watch- integration of the print media dog, and joint opposition to in periods of crisis had not been politicians and government” substantiated: centrifugal (Nikolchev, 1998:137). trends prevailed (Petev, 1994: 105-6). Those newspapers and magazines that remained closer to Irrespectively of the economic the attitudes and tastes of their difficulties in all spheres of reading publics, those editors public life, all ethnic minority who followed the expectations groups (Turks, Roma, and political assumptions of Armenians, Jews) issued their their readers, survived, and own periodicals, usually week- established brand new lies or monthlies. Some of them patterns for development of published BI-lingual stories, in pe r i o d i c a l s . Bulgarian in addition to the minority group language; it The tension between political was considered to serve priori- power holders, and the media ties of a linguistic policy plan- guild signaled strive of the ning which, nevertheless, was print media journalists for an of inclusive, integrative type independent Fourth Estate sta- (Znepolski, 1997: 39). tus. The preoccupation of the press reading publics with Political confrontation within political news remained a dom- the Turkish minority organiza- inant trend. The political news tions resulted in establishing 24 The Global Network / Le reseau global of two Religious (Mufti) Offices: Chassa (24 hours) enjoying the one which followed patterns of highest circulation in the coun- institutional establishment, try (213,000 copies in 1996), and the other - of a social move- and three more weeklies, one ment type. Bough facilitated published in English. the change process; they pub- - The Media Holding was an lished newspapers under one established press group which and the same title, graphic and inherited the former trade lexical design, Muslumanlar. union daily Trud (Labor), one These periodicals helped medi- of the most influential indepen- ating the two approaches. dent dailies having a circulation of 182,000 copies in 1996. Most popular periodicals elabo- Another publication of this rated social issues targeting press group is the Noshten the general public: unemploy- Trud (Night’s Labor) evening ment and crime. Claiming to newspaper (73,000 copies). It pursue consensus frameworks was the first newspaper, which of reference they developed pri- had been simultaneously print- ority issues of the transition to ed in two different cities via civil society based on destabi- electronic carriers. Media lization factors: economic inse- Holding publishes also the curity, corporate dependence tabloid Zult Trud (Yellow and personal vulnerability Labor) weekly with the highest (interpreted as survival by pro- circulation in the country socialist sources). (238,000 copies in 1995, and about 280,000 in 1999). The periodicals of that press group Trends of innovation and cater to a wide range of needs, expectations and tastes. concentration In terms of content, both newspaper groups focussed on gov- everal main press groups ernment criticism - economic S were founded by media pro- issues, unemployment, crime, fessionals close to private and the topic of social consen- banks, insurance companies, sus. political and trade union estab- - The emergence of the lishments. The press land- Standard News press group scape showed the following challenged the top position ch a r a c t e r i s t i c s : of the 168 Chassa group in the newspaper market, - The largest press group 168 introducing color paper, Chassa (168 hours) did com- impressive newspaper pho- prise a tabloid format daily 24 tography (Hadjzimishev, The Global Network / Le reseau global 25

1996) and fine print quali- ed modern press was a produc- t i e s . tive move in the media landscape. The popular dailies These opinionating newspapers faced off against the two major presented analyses, topical political party’s organs - interviews and journalism Douma (58,000 copies in 1996; investigations, sensitizing the 35,000 in 1999 ) and publics for emerging vulnera- Demokratzia (37,000 copies in bility or challenges of the 1996; 45,000 in 1999). Rather young democracy. They used than engaging in partisan two-sided arguments (in differ- political rhetoric, the new pop- ent articles) to foster social dis- ular tabloids developed a course attracting large reader- broader audience reach explor- ship. Both (even after the WAZ ing agenda-setting and agenda- bought them out in 1998) news- building functions of their own paper groups feature watchdog (Hiebert & Gibbons, 2000: 132- reporting on state and govern- 133). ment institutions - a sensitive role of civic journalism in times In 1992, immediately after of radical political and econom- their emergence, the indepen- ic transformations. dent newspapers declared economic war on the political It was these two press groups press moguls: the objective was that adopted a new, popular to get rid of the state-con- pattern of graphic design, news trolled structures of print presentation and dynamic lan- paper supply, print services guage articulation. They devel- and distribution. Originally, oped the tabloid newspaper for- the main target drive was to mat providing readers with restructure the newspaper matrix of brief information. market. And it was done radi- They introduced modern news cally by the WAZ corporation. reporting, promoted an aggres- While the political press was sive style of journalistic presen- preoccupied with power clash- tation, focussed on sensational es, the independent papers items. They switched radically focussed their attention on eco- from the formal official prose to nomic success. Along these a more colloquial and narra- lines they scored their first big tive, story-telling style in news hits. In just two seasons they casting. The tabloids embraced managed to find their own that democratic innovation; it sources of newsprint, to estab- transformed the news sections lish technologically modern of the popular weeklies. The printing house facilities, and to emergence of a market-orient- set up a network of distribu- 26 The Global Network / Le reseau global tors. Thus they gained control a high-risk strategy to invest over the entire market-oriented money and efforts.5 The com- cycle. It helped to attract a mon low credibility of the polit- growing number of advertisers ical and sensational tabloids and sponsors. Their sweeping did not disturb newspaper market success of popular publics at all: they enjoyed the press left little opportunities chance to exercise again read- for the emerging quality peri- ing between the lines. As they od i c a l s . used to do in the blurring years of perestroika.

Striving for a Bid Greater The first two quality dailies, Continent and Pari (Money), Than Mere Survival were established in 1992. Continent5 was a more tradi- ewspaper readers pre- tional black and white broad- N tended to lack serious sheet newspaper while Pari broadsheet; newspapers that was a tabloid printed on col- present credible hard news, ored paper. These two dailies interpretive and opinion jour- followed established West nalism. Nevertheless, the gen- European newspaper journalis- eral public enjoyed the tabloids tic standards. They featured of WAZ. Originally the readers contributions from many of the did not care for a ‘serious press’ best columnists and commenta- which does not blur together tors. Their target audience was the news and their interpreta- similar, one more reason why tion. A creative mix of both both failed to attract large, sta- opened doors to speculations ble readership. The general and rumors: fuel and the out- public enjoyed simple language come of the independent popu- used by the tabloids; it was lar tabloids. That confusing schooled to consume hard mix of rumors and unconfirmed news, flavored seductive ads, information generated sense of and sensational stories of the general social insecurity, even popular tabloids. physical vulnerability, spotting and attacking any structure of Initially these newcomers to social stability. The expecta- the newspaper market were tions became poorer than the not considered to be competi- plain reality. tive threats to the large-circulation papers. This “benevo- There was no evident need for lent” posture opened an oppor- quality press; in financial tunity for two additional quali- terms it had been evaluated as ty newspapers to enter the The Global Network / Le reseau global 27 market. The Cash and Capital, ing qualified young journalists two weeklies funded by foreign who were considered to be easi- investors joined the Bulgarian ly manipulated; newspaper market in 1993. - foreign players established rules of their own in the media High quality standards were market irrespectively; demonstrated by special inter- - move to press freedom and est magazines, like Sega (Now), skipping political controls was a political digest and blocked: the political pressures Otechestvo (Fatherland) that had been transformed into eco- had good readership, but did nomic ones, and functioned not attract enough revenues simultaneously. from advertisers and closed. High-quality newspapers and These issues, however, generat- magazines were often used as ed clearly positive effects. The alternative sources of informa- issue of deprofessionalization tion and opinion guidance by of the journalistic guild the reading public. (Kunczik, 1993: 122-123) stim- Opinionating seemed and is a ulated a climate inviting inno- risky business unless you enjoy vations, mass media had been support by political or/and eco- regarded as open agents of nomic circles. It was, therefore, modern consciousness. difficult for them to gain stable readership6, to attract advep- The scope of the popular press tisments and to survive. was broadened by newcomers like Novinar (1997), Sega (1998) and Monitor (1999). This Challenges for a freedom group of dailies offered their readers pragmatic information, press development hot news, setting the agenda for their readers to cast their conomic, political, and pro- opinions and attitudes actual- E fessional bottlenecks could ized by news consumption. be encountered in the processes of emergence of the new press: The decentralizing trend in the - printing facilities and paper press market helped energize supply were distributed by a the local press. The new publi- post-socialist bureaucracy, and cations survived the economic operated by the former elite; recession and some titles - structural changes in the demonstrated stable growth. journalism guild were felt, fol- They enjoyed the confidence, lowing especially the deprofes- loyalty, and support of their sionalization process of employ- audiences mainly because they 28 The Global Network / Le reseau global had dealt with, and focussed Emerging marketplace of specifically at emerging local social and ethnic issues. ideas

Another group of independent he annual ratings of the top periodicals encompassed a Tten newspapers in Bulgaria broad diversity of specialized became a telling indicator of topically periodicals; leisure, public and professional evalua- culture, fashion, feminine tions, as well as a meaningful issues, health care, religion, index for advertising industry. entertainment, sports, eroti- Who was the winner? cism, hobbies and so on. Most Professional development was of them had low circulation, encouraged by national nomi- some of them presented special nations for high journalistic professional design and origi- and/or advertising accomplish- nal content. ments. It set up international professional standards and the The same held true for the national ethos of the print jour- periodicals aimed at age and nalist community. gender audiences. It was among has group of publica- On the other hand, the ratings tions that a new type of celebri- stimulated competition and ty-oriented and erotic maga- innovative aspirations. The zines could be encountered; a conquest of the press market Bulgarian version of “infotain- developed a kind of a hybrid of me n t . ” the tabloid: a working combina- tion of the popular tabloid for- A specific group of publications mat (which mixes fact and is targeting foreign information interpretation) and sections of consumers via periodicals “serious publications”, ideologi- issued in English, German and cal and financial in topics Russian. They are distributed domain (Spasov, 1999: 120). in Bulgaria and abroad, thus facilitating cross-boundary A number of demographic and business networks of commer- sociological surveys (of MBMD cial exchanges. or the National Center for Public Opinion Surveys) con- Media & Reklama magazine firmed that readership of the publishes regularly data national dailies varied strongly reports on media consumption. among different segments of Balkan Media is the first the general audience. The Media magazine in the sociocultural backgrounds for Balkans published in English. age cohorts of reading publics The Global Network / Le reseau global 29 was generally different. flagship, that tried to uphold Traditionally, reading newspa- the social and political identity pers was an important part of of the older generation; not to the male subculture. degrade its social biography. Readership was also considered This explained the large share to be a strong indicator for of older readers of the socialist more intensive participation in daily. Any change in that the political life. closed community would have meaning of a painful revision of By tradition “political will” was the past beliefs, with no chance regarded as a male culture for providing certain new per- domain. The outcome of politi- spective. While readers of cal moves-the anxieties of day- Douma still did tend or seemed to-day survival- seemed to have to be under the power of stereo- been left to women who are types created by the authori- treated as “second class” social tarian propaganda during the subjects. No wonder they were regime, the young reading much more distanced from publics gravitated to modern reading the press. - See table 4. news values, pragmatic styles of tabloid journalism. Almost all-Bulgarian periodi- Essentially, it were the young cals modernized their graphics readers who generate the and layout. The language and nucleus of the reading public at syntax by all publications the turn of the 21st ce n t u r y . became closer to the everyday speech of the readers. At election times newspaper audience functioned as a coer- Most of the newspapers now cive or corrective factor of the feature various themes such as incoming social changes. The corruption of civil servants, same held true for the popular executives linked to shady eco- magazine readers, as well. nomic groups, the looming That boosted the press market Mafia presence, “white collar” growth; it sprang up at really a crime, sexual quirks of public unique pace. - See table 5. figures, piquant stories of life at the top. Newspaper space The data in Table 5 show that was dominated by an even politically affiliated avalanche of news and com- (biased) dailies serve as open mentaries that carried a mes- “marketplace of ideas”. The sage of the publicly shattered Kramer’s correlation coefficient confidence in the state as an is very high; publics do share organizing institution. It was political points of views; thus, Douma, the BSP newspaper they contribute to social dia- 30 The Global Network / Le reseau global logue and slowly emerging paper market attracted strong agreement. British, Swiss, and Austrian investors. In 1997 the German “The social reality is unthink- Westdeutche Algemeine able without its immanent vir- Zeitung (WAZ) bought control- tual dimensions, wrote Georgi ling interest in the two leading Fotev, without social imagina- newspaper groups in Bulgaria; tion as a constructive principle 168 Chassa and Media /.../ The responsibility of media Holding. These newspaper goes further than (currently) groups operated about two available and prominent jour- thirds of the circulation and the nalism catches “work” of mem- advertising revenues in the ory and pocibillities. In such a press market in 1997. way it becomes involved in con- structing and in the re-con- The WAZ combined their structruction of the social advertisement policies, pub- world” (Fotev, 1999: 239). lishing the same ads in all of their dailies down the country. The identity crisis experienced This control of advertising and by newspaper audiences gener- newspaper circulation violated ated strong affiliation of sup- the anti-monopolistic law. Two porters. The observed differen- years later, in 1999, WAZ tiation trends (toward greater transferred part of its owner- individualization and localiza- ship to Swiss and Austrian tion) demonstrated identity cri- companies as to avoid eventual sis in press development. prosecutions under the law.

Understanding differentiation The recent changes in the press processes seemed to be the industry did not encourage pro- basic point of departure which fessional integrity, autonomy, had been considered as a side- professional standards and product of newspaper con- ethics. tentions. Most of the Bulgarian jour- Understanding the differentia- nalists “were facing a diffi- tion trends the press, as a cult choice between work- whole, aimed at shared identity ing between working under legitimization, mutual recogni- political or commercial tion (not appreciation!), and an pressure. Sometimes they agreeable consensus in this did not even have this part of the Balkan region. choice but faced both” (Nikolchev, 1998: 198). The growing competitive news- Destabilization meant The Global Network / Le reseau global 31 money, erosion of social tion, stable news consumption, norms and professional and restless readership. standards. q Conclusion

he evolution of the press Tsystem in Bulgaria in the 90’s demonstrated the following trends: •Booming polycentric and plu- ralist diversity of political, popular, quality and topical period- ic a l s ; •Privatization leading to establishment of print media markets at national and local level; •Concentration of ownership, emergence of international media corporations in national media landscape; •Adoption of professional patterns (global and local) for regular news presentation; •Introduction of new formats and standards, including sen- sationalist, entertainment, and business styles.

The segmentation of the reading audience diversified the press consumption patterns and encouraged pluralistic values aiding the process of social transformation. The press industry experienced general deregulation. It encouraged diverse change gaining shifts. Deregulation and destabilization turned out to be a winning strategy: it meant more money; it provided high press circula- 32 The Global Network / Le reseau global

REFERENCES

Alfandari, Eliezer (1992). Fit to Print. East European Reporter, September - October, 21-23.

Alfandari, Eliezer (1996). Media, politika, biznes [Media, Politics, Business] . Bulgarsko mediaznanie. Sofia: Balkan Media, 120-137.

Coman, Mihai and Peter Gross (1994). The 1992 presidential/parliamentary elections in Romania’s largest circulation dailies and weeklies, Gazette, pp. 223-240.

Fotev, Georgi (1999) The Responsibility Principle in Media World, In: G. Lozanov, L. Dejanova, O. Spasov, eds. Media and Transition, 229-239, Sofia.

Gross, Peter (1997) Mass Media in Revolution and National Development. The Romanian Laboratory, Ames: Iowa State University Press

Hadjimishev, Ivo (1996). Za fotojurnalistikata [On photojournalism] Bulgarsko mediaznanie. Sofia: Balkan media, 185.

Hiebert, Ray and Sheia Gibbons (2000) Exploring Mass Media for a Changing World. Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers.

Minev, D. and P. Kabakchieva (1996). The transition: elites and strategies. Sofia: Sofia University Publishing House.

Nikolchev, Ivan (1998) The Post-Communist Bulgarian Journalist. University of Maryland.

Paletz, David, Karol Jakubowicz, and Pavao Novosel, Eds. (1995) Glasnost and After: Media and Change in Central and Eastern Europe, Cresskill, NJ: Hampton Press.

Petev, Todor (1994). Transitive Democratization of Bulgarian Press: Postponed Victories, in Nikolai Genov, Ed., Sociology in a Society in Transition, 103-112, Sofia: Regional and Global Development.

Petev, Todor (1994a). Bulgaria’s societal changes split young, old journalists. Summit of Journalism Educators from Central and Eastern Europe, Arlington: The Freedom Forum, p. 26.

Spasov, Orlin (1999). Media and Transition In: G. Lozanov, L. Dejanova, O. Spasov, Eds. Media and Transition, 99-136, Sofia: Center for Media Development. The Global Network / Le reseau global 33

Znepolski, Ivailo (1997). The New Press and The Transition. Sofia: Grajzdanin (In Bulgarian).

NOTES

1 The first journalists working for soft porn press had been hired from former communist youth and children press. Those who have been trained to maintain political socialization in years of transformation undertook de-socialization attempts.

2 Bulgarian National Institute of Statistics, Sofia, 1995, p. 57.

3 Field Survey of Center for Studies of Democracy, Sofia, 1991.

4 Bulgarian Book Data (1995). Sofia: St.St. Cyril and Methodius National Library.

5 The author had been Chairman of Publishing House of The Continent, first quality daily newspaper in Bulgaria (1992). It had been published in 32 pages, broad sheet format, and using balanced news coverage. It failed to survive a premature trial to develop social dialogue.

6 Bulgarian National Institute of Statistics, Sofia, 2000, p. 40. 34 The Global Network / Le reseau global

TABLE 1. DYNAMICS OF THE NEWSPAPERS’ LANDSCAPE IN BULGARIA

YE A R NE W S - TOTAL CIR- DA I L I E S TOTAL CIR- WE E K - TOTAL PA P E R S CU L A T I O N CU L A T I O N LIES and CI R C U L A T I O N to t a l th o u s a n d s th o u s a n d s OT H E R S th o u s a n d s 19 8 8 38 1 87 9 , 6 6 3 20 69 2 , 2 3 0 36 1 18 7 , 4 4 3 19 8 9 30 1 89 5 , 2 6 5 17 68 7 , 6 3 8 28 4 207,627 19 9 0 54 0 10 9 8 , 6 3 2 24 80 4 , 9 6 4 51 6 29 3 , 6 6 8 19 9 1 72 7 51 9 , 7 1 8 31 33 4 , 8 5 7 696 18 4 , 8 6 1 19 9 2 91 7 61 6 , 0 3 0 46 39 3 , 2 8 4 87 1 222,746 19 9 3 92 8 65 4 , 1 8 7 54 42 3 , 4 7 1 87 4 23 0 , 7 1 6 19 9 4 10 5 9 61 1 , 3 5 8 68 38 9 , 6 9 9 99 1 22 1 , 6 5 9 19 9 6 92 0 47 0 , 8 1 4 51 33 9 , 0 1 6 86 9 13 1 , 7 9 7 19 9 7 67 3 38 3 , 7 6 5 42 29 7 , 7 5 9 63 1 88 , 0 0 6

TABLE 2. DYNAMICS OF MAGAZINES’ LANDSCAPE IN BULGARIA

YE A R MA G A Z I N E S TOTAL CIR- NEW NEW AND CU L A T I O N MA G A Z I N E S BU L L E T I N S BU L L E T I N S in thousands 19 8 8 87 3 69 , 5 9 9 2 - 19 8 9 82 7 57 , 8 4 9 1 4 19 9 0 83 4 47 , 9 6 0 7 6 19 9 1 72 8 18 , 6 7 4 31 32 19 9 2 68 1 23 , 7 5 9 41 31 19 9 3 77 7 31 , 9 0 1 72 60 19 9 4 69 9 21 , 4 5 5 62 94 The Global Network / Le reseau global 35

TABLE 3: READERSHIP OF POLITICAL NEWS BY ETHNIC GROUPS

IN THE PRESS AUDIENCE (1993) (%)

Ethnic self-identification Au d i e n c e Activity Bulgarian BG Turk BG Moslem Roma All

Every day 44 , 2 22 , 4 19 , 2 10 , 0 41 , 8 3-4 times 15 , 0 12 , 1 7, 7 10 , 0 14 , 7 1-2 times 27 , 6 24 , 1 46 , 2 30 , 0 28 , 1 No n e 13 , 2 41 , 4 26 , 9 50 , 0 15 , 4 To t a l 10 0 , 0 10 0 , 0 10 0 , 0 10 0 , 0 10 0 , 0

TABLE 4. ANSWERS TO THE QUESTION "WHICH IS YOUR NEWSPAPER?"

ACCORDING TO THE AGE INDICATION OF THE RESPONDENTS (%)

Dailies Age Groups

24 Chassa 18 - 2 9 30 - 3 9 40 - 4 9 50 - 5 9 60 and over Tr u d 28 . 7 23 . 0 23 . 6 13 . 0 11 . 8 Do u m a 21 . 7 18 . 2 28 . 9 14 . 7 16 . 5 De m o - 3. 5 3. 9 3. 4 30 . 0 59 . 2 Kr a t z i a 13 . 8 23 . 7 20 . 3 19 . 1 23 . 2 Standart 28 . 6 26 . 5 27 . 7 4. 6 12 . 6 Local Newspapers 14 . 7 21 . 9 20 . 1 21 . 3 22 . 1 No newspaper preference 18 . 5 14 . 2 13 . 8 12 . 0 41 . 5 Do not read newspapers 20 . 9 17 . 3 18 . 1 15 . 9 27 . 9 36 The Global Network / Le reseau global

TABLE 5. READERSHIP OF "DEMOCRATZIA" AND "DUMA" DAILIES (1993) (%)

"Duma" Readership of "Democratzia” re a d e r s h i p Every day 3-4 times 1-2 times Less All

Every day 41 , 1 10 , 0 0, 0 21 , 9 21 . 2 3-4 times 10 , 7 70 , 0 6, 6 6, 7 13 , 3 1-2 times 8, 9 10 , 0 46 , 7 7, 6 15 , 9 Le s s 39 , 3 10 , 0 46 , 7 63 , 8 49 , 6 To t a l 10 0 , 0 10 0 , 0 10 0 , 0 10 0 , 0 10 0 , 0

Chi-Square 120,1 d.f. 9 p < 0,000 Cramer's V 0,421 The Global Network / Le reseau global 37 The Dynamics of the

Electronic Mass Media System

in Bulgaria (1989-1999)

BY LILIA RAYCHEVA

The Radio As early as 1991 two pirate stations began adio broadcasting in broadcasting, but they RBulgaria was a State were banned from operat- monopoly right from the ing when the distribution very beginning of its exis- of broadcast licenses was tence in 1932. Until 1991 enforced. Licensing was there was only one, Sofia- subject to the Provisional based, central broadcast- Council for Radio ing station (operating four Frequencies and TV channels) and five region- Channels established at al stations. The liberaliza- the beginning of 1992. tion of radio broadcasting The chairpersons of was a much slower Bulgarian Radio and process than that of the Bulgarian Television were print media. nominated by the P a r l i a m e n t a r y In 1989 the State Commission for Radio and Committee for Postal Television and approved Services and by the National Assembly. T e l e c o m m u n i c a t i o n s The halfway poli- LILIA RAYCHEVA developed the technologi- cies of the state is professor at the cal and general frame- bodies however did St. Kliment Ohridsky work for FM-range pri- not prove very pro- University of Sofia, vate radio broadcasting. ductive. Bulgaria 38 The Global Network / Le reseau global

By a decision of the Grand Welle. The first home-owned National Assembly on March private radio station, FM+, 6, 1991, Bulgarian National licensed in 1992, paved the Radio and Bulgarian National way for strong competition on Television were proclaimed to air. be “independent institutions” largely financed by the State The availability of highly qual- budget. This set up the begin- ified radio professionals, ning of transforming the state- affordable FM radio equip- owned and controlled stations ment prices and the growing into public ones. By adopting desire of local communities to the Radio and Television Act enjoy their own radio chan- of 1996, a National Council for nels, focused on local events Radio and Television became and issues, contributed to an the official body to deal with unprecedented boom in private program licensing, program radio. Audiences gained access monitoring, sanctioning irreg- to alternative sources of infor- ular advertising practices, and mation. While state-owned appointing the chairpersons of radio stations gave priority to the state owned electronic hard news coverage, the jour- media. According to this law, nalists working for private the National Council might radio stations presented plu- also revoke licenses of stations ralistic views and commen- already on the air. The Act taries. Furthermore, the intro- also outlined the basics of duction of specific audio styles transforming the electronic close to everyday language media from state-owned to patterns became an important public ownership. factor for a closer grip on audiences. Private radio stations In terms of ownership, there which concentrated on moni- are three categories of radio toring current issues of local broadcasting stations in communities successfully met Bulgaria: state, commercial listener’s expectations. and public (still less developed). Competition among the national channels and private Private radio broadcasting in radio stations unfolded in at Bulgaria was launched after least two dimensions. First, licensing of foreign radio net- there was competition to works such as The Voice of attract and stabilize their America, BBC-World Service, audiences. Second, there was Free Europe, France competition to locate and tar- International and Deutsche get advertising profits. In this The Global Network / Le reseau global 39 competitive environment, pri- Another trend denotes the vate radio stations developed growth in diversity of program their dynamic and distinguish- supply. The structure and for- able profiles, an advantage mats of the programs were over state owned radio. changed. Within one year, the number of news programs In the meantime, Bulgarian increased dramatically - from National Radio underwent sig- 19,090 hours in 1988 to 26,154 nificant changes in its own hours in 1989 and 85,062 in right. The four nation-wide 1997. The increase was partic- channels shrunk to two 24- ularly significant in commer- hour channels, including regu- cials. From 1993 to 1994 there lar transmissions from region- was a 44 percent increase, and al stations. Consequently, the by 37 percent from 1995 to regional stations’ share of 1996; a decrease of seven per- audience increased and the cent was shown in 1997. structure of their programs Entertainment programming was considerably diversified. for the period 1993-1994 At the same time, Bulgarian increased by 31 percent and National Radio also had to from 1995 to 1996 there was change its program content only a two-percent increase; and formats.1 Several telling the increase bounced up 27 trends in radio program percent in the period 1995- dynamics could be discerned 1996 and from 1996 to 1997 during this period of transi- there was a modest increase in tion. - See table 1. entertainment programming of five percent.2 The strongest trend was the enormous increase in radio A major shift in radio pro- broadcasting. In 1988 some gramming followed the intro- 46,810 hours of programming duction of new radio formats. were aired. In 1989 the num- Weekend programs on state ber had increased to 48,498 owned radio channels devel- hours; in 1992 there were oped extensively by giving 52,833 hours. In 1993 the much more time to entertain- inclusion of private radio ment, culture and leisure pro- bounced the total number of gramming. The introduction of on-air hours to 161,278. By economic and business news 1997 the public was enjoying programs, combined with topi- 314,773 hours of program- cal radio shows, another novel ming, nearly seven times the element, vitalized radio con- number of hours broadcast in sumption. Emphasis was put 1988. on pragmatic, instructive 40 The Global Network / Le reseau global information such as job tended to use the stations for announcements, business complementary sources of activities, entrepreneurship, information and entertain- health promotion and road ment. It could be assumed as a safety. The radio programs, pivoting trend that in the especially the late talk shows, course of further fragmenta- developed a pleasant hedonis- tion of the audiences, state- tic streak, friendly language owned radio would suffer still and discourse, different in con- greater audience losses. tent and style from the previous radio diet. Music selec- Developing a clear-cut public tions followed along the same profile is the current priority functional guidelines, aiming of local radio stations. Most of at relaxation, sharing, mutual them did quite well, others understanding, increased had to reconsider their entire social sensitiveness and programming formats, time amusement. The talk shows slots, targeted audiences and turned out to function as the communication styles in order most effective change. They to survive. Reaching the audi- served as a market place for ence (within a radius of eight identity demonstration, under- kilometers, according to the standing and co-orientation. new regulations) was the pri- Leading professionals could mary concern of the program- easily weather circumvent mers. Another concern was to bureaucratic delays in state define the socio-economic radio by quickly switching demographic profiles of the over to private electronic radio listeners as an important media, followed by their fans. factor in developing advertising strategies. Third, the man- Private radio broadcasting agers of small radio stations developed explosively in chose to co-operate in their Bulgaria. According to competition with state-owned Committee for Postal Services radio in order to attract broad- and Telecommunications data, er audiences. And finally, pri- licenses for 54 local FM sta- vate radio stations introduced tions and 60 cable radio opera- technological innovations such tors were issued in 1995.3 as computer-run radio programs. Contrary to initial expectations, strong competition For the purpose of successful between the private Bulgarian competition with Bulgarian and foreign FM stations did National Radio, the Union not materialize. The public FRANK was established in the The Global Network / Le reseau global 41 fall of 1993. The Union included a well-developed cable net- ed FM+ in Sofia, TNN in work with thousands of sub- Plovdiv, Galatea in Varna, scribers including local post Glarus in Bourgas, Pristis in offices, hospitals, railway sta- Rousse, AURA in Blagoevgrad tions, banks, enterprises and and BIMAKO in Sliven among various offices of local admin- others. The goals of the Union istrations. Most of the stations focused on program exchanges, gained strong support from shared data from sociological the local communities, devel- surveys and simultaneous oping in terms of program- advertising. This cooperation ming and technological facili- shows how private radio sta- ties. Student-run radio stations can compete for advertis- tions extended the public radio ing revenues with state-owned family, ALMA MATER at radio.4 The tendency for coop- Sofia University and AURA at eration developed further in the American University in establishing the Association of Blagoevgrad. Largely young Bulgarian Broadcasting Radio professionals or graduate stu- Organization (ABBRO), com- dents from the School of bining 94 private radio sta- Journalism and Mass tions. Communication at Sofia University carried out the After 1985 the programs of the innovative movement in public local cable radio stations run as well as in private radio. by city, town and village coun- cils underwent particularly Parallel to the developing significant changes. Their pro- radio broadcasting dynamics gramming ideology was sim- in Bulgaria at state, private ple: keep down-to-earth and and public levels, a disturbing give high priority to local com- situation became apparent. munity issues. Their program Parts of Bulgaria’s territory is strategies were not to target covered by radio and television all the listening public, but transborder flows5. An alarm- every individual listener. This ing circumstance was massive highly personalized approach intrusion of Turkish broad- consolidated the audiences of casting into Bulgarian fre- the local cable radio networks, quencies in violation of the so their audiences remained Stockholm (1961) and Geneva more loyal than did those of (1975 and 1984) Conventions. National Radio. Furthermore, illegal relay stations operating on Bulgarian Early in the 1990s the emerg- soil were airing Turkish pro- ing public radio sector inherit- grams. 42 The Global Network / Le reseau global

Observation of the radio its extensive, live coverage of broadcasting business in the ongoing dramatic clash Bulgaria revealed a diversity outside the Parliament build- of trends and approaches in ing. Darrik Radio’s live reports modernizing radio communica- of the clashes were officially tion in the country. These blamed by the government for trends and approaches among encouraging and coordinating state, private and public radio the social protests.6 - See table broadcasting included multiple 2. financial support, organization, program schedules, jour- Private radio stations clearly nalistic styles, personnel man- worked to sustain the emerg- agement, marketing policies ing civil society. They helped and digitized technologies. In people weather the moments general, the flexibility of the of crisis. If one has to decide small and dynamic radio sta- which medium had “the most tions and the audience’s fasci- human face,” private radio nation with the youthful voices with its active listeners’ feed- and styles allowed them to back undoubtedly would be rapidly gain audience share the winner. It is by no means from state-owned radio. Before accidental that all taxicabs 1989, listeners sought reliable and public transport vehicles information from foreign were tuned to private radio sources; now they relied on stations during the 1997 crisis, domestic private radio stations which opened the eyes and as alternative sources to state- ears of an otherwise isolated owned Bulgaria National people. Radio. The sacking of independent journalists further weak- Another important factor for ened the credibility of state the growing strength of pri- radio.I vate radio is advertising. The advantages of local radio are The new radio stations devel- quite obvious in this respect oped a clear-cut media identity and it quite naturally claims thanks to their support for an increasing share of the democratization. The growing advertising market. credibility of their transmissions considerably expanded Private radio is developing in their audience reach. Their a highly competitive media zenith occurred during the environment. It competes with January 10-12, 1997 political national channels as well as crisis. Darrik Radio seized the with foreign radio stations. opportunity for greatness with Competition and the resulting The Global Network / Le reseau global 43 diversity of radio broadcasts years before the whole country results in bringing radio was covered by TV signals. broadcasts closer to the people Color telecasting was intro- during the difficult period of duced in 1972 and in 1975 a transition. second national channel was launched. For years Soviet To sum up, several features Television was retranslated can characterize the changing and run on Fridays in place of radio landscape in Bulgaria: the First National Channel. A •An established set of legal correspondent’s bureau in regulations; Moscow selected, translated •A general restructuring of and dubbed Soviet TV pro- the national radio system in grams. It also produced origi- state, public and private nal programs in Bulgarian. broadcasting stations, operating at the national and local In the mid-1970s a network of level; four local TV stations was •Segmentation of radio audi- established. County correspon- ences, maintaining a high dents provided films and degree of credibility with the videotapes with local news. audience; The TV news service was •Introduction of new styles, backed by foreign correspon- formats and standards. dents working in Berlin, Paris, Warsaw, Prague, the Middle The pluralistic approach to East and Japan. Most of the radio program supply and con- foreign news coverage was sumption catalyzed unique supplied by Intervision (the ties between the radio stations former international TV orga- and their audiences, broaden- nization of socialists countries) ing social dialogue at different and Eurovision. levels and thus vitalizing authentic democratization Compared to the other media, processes. changes in television came much more slowly. Some major reasons for the slow The Television transformation included the state monopoly over national elecasts in Bulgaria first telecasting, political pressures T began in 1959 with three resulting in frequent replace- hours’ programming twice a ments of TV executives (in ten week. The number of regis- years, eleven General tered TV sets then did not Directors in succession headed exceed 600. It took about 10 National Television), lack of 44 The Global Network / Le reseau global research and development con- to exercise control over the cepts and strategies, ineffi- national mass media (radio, cient management, economic television and the telegraph constraints and obsolete agency) until the adoption of equipment. any legislative regulation. This was one of the basic rea- Despite the slowness of sons for the delay of the Radio change, television did undergo and Television Act. The most significant transformations important contribution of the from 1989 to 1999. In 1992 the Parliamentary Commission two national channels were was the adoption of a separated into competing Provisional Statute of the units. Channel One and Ephir Radio and Television. Two each established its own financial, structural and pro- The Commission also gram policies. Many of the approved coproduction princi- departments of the former sys- ples and advertising norms. tem were closed or modified Currently Bulgarian National and new ones were estab- Television operates on a dual lished. In this process hun- economic structure. Although dreds of qualified personnel state owned, it is not totally lost their jobs, some of them funded from the State budget. owing to a political purge. The principle of coproduction allows an inflow of private After seven years of unfruitful funds and an increase in discussions of several bills, the advertising profits. National Assembly adopted Advertising has been the prin- the Radio and Television Act cipal source of income in addi- in 1996. The road of transition tion to budget allocations. proved rather difficult with Coproductions and sponsor- respect to legislative regula- ship have also produced tion of the electronic media. income. Many political reasons added to the delay in legislative The guidelines adopted for reform. A Parliamentary advertising set out the basic Commission for Television and principles and formats of TV Radio was set up in 1990 to ads and specified their time propose an Act for radio and slots. But, the inconsistent television. The final part of the guidelines and the general eco- new Constitution of the nomic crisis in the country Republic of Bulgaria contains were the main reasons for text according to which the stagnation in the TV advertis- Parliamentary Commission is ing market. Advertising prof- The Global Network / Le reseau global 45 its amounted to $27 million al airwaves for private finan- USD in 1995. Coca-Cola, cial ends. Unilever, Phillip Morris, Procter and Gamble, BAT and The financial impact of spon- WS Teleshop were the largest sorship proved to be meager. foreign advertisers. The The tax regulations existing in biggest domestic advertisers Bulgaria at the time did not included banks, insurance encourage sponsorship activi- companies, different enterpris- ties as much as investment in es, and the state lottery. science and culture programs.

The two state channels Although telecasts increased received quite unequal shares by more than 1,000 hours of advertising profits. In 1995, (8,032 hours aired in 1995 ver- Channel One, covering almost sus 5,918 hours in 1988), the the entire country with an technological equipment was audience incomparable to the outdated and unreliable func- other state channel, received tionally. Thanks to advertising US $22 million. Ephir Two got revenues, new production US $4.5 million and the only facilities and information tech- private station; Nova Televizia nologies were built.8 Thus a received only US $0.5 contemporary equipped news- million.7 room and one of the most sophisticated post-production Coproduction in Bulgarian studio complexes in Eastern National Television was used Europe were constructed for to reinforce organizational effi- Bulgarian National Television. ciency in order to cope with growing financial shortages. It Since 1993, the capacity of the gave established professionals four regional TV centers has a chance to enjoy greater free- been used for airing local pro- dom in their creative under- grams on Channel One. The takings. While the private Russian Television-Ostankino, companies provided funding, aired on separate channel as the television station ensured well as TV5-France production facilities and tele- International, which shared vision crews. However, the another channel with CNN, flexibility was gained at the ceased to be aired in Bulgaria cost of controversial contracts in 1997 due to financial rea- because of a lack of strict sons. financial and advertising regulations. Thus, some producers The statistical reports on TV managed to exploit the nation- subscription presents the TV 46 The Global Network / Le reseau global reach. However, this general media into public operators. statistical data could hardly This gave a strong impetus to show the current growth of the introducing new program television market. Many providers through open compe- households avoid declaring tition. The second nation-wide their TV sets and paying fees. channel was licensed to Rupert Murdoch’s Balkan A national sociological News Corporation in s u r v e yI I reports the following December 1999. The processes data about the distribution of of re-licensing the functioning television sets in operation: TV cable operators enlarged and stabilized the openness of No TV 3.3 % the radio and television con- One TV set 68.6 % sumption. Two TV sets 23.8 % Three or more 4.3 % The changing television landscape in program category According to the same survey, terms, according to the annual in 1994, the year of licensing data supplied by the National the first private television sta- Statistical Institute is notable. tion, about 43 percent of the - See table 3. TV-equipped households used black and white sets, 68 per- A dramatic growth of 500 cent enjoyed color telecasts hours of telecasts occurred and some had both black and during the critical year of white and color sets. Those 1989. By 1994, when private connected to a cable network television was officially intro- comprised only 1.4 percent of duced and cable operators the households, 2.9 percent were practically ahead of the used collective satellite anten- legislative regulations, major nae to watch foreign TV pro- changes occurred in Bulgarian grams. One-fifth of the house- National Television no matter holds possessed video players how slow and inconsistent or video recorders. According they had been up until then. to the findings of this survey, The increase in imported pro- the usual television consump- grams was impressive. In 1994 tion was 2.5 hours weekdays, 4 there were 2,618 hours of hours on Saturdays and 3.5 imported programs, more than hours on Sundays. a 1,100-hour increase over 1989. News show program- The Radio and Television Act ming on Bulgarian National opened venues to transform Television showed a steady the state-owned electronic increase until 1994 when a The Global Network / Le reseau global 47 drop of 42 percent to 832 hours US productions 31.0 % compared to 1,433 hours in British 19.5 % 1993 was observed. By 1997 Italian 9.8 % the news bulletins on all TV Russian 8.5 % stations amounted to 23,585 Spanish 5.8 % hours. Advertising also French 5.5 % increased from only 34 hours Polish 4.7 % in 1989 to 159 hours in 1994 Greek 3.4 % and 5,648 hours in 1997. As Other 12.0 % might be expected, the greatest growth was in entertain- Now, the share of imported ment programming. programming surpasses the Entertainment programming share of domestic production. increased from 2,769 hours in At the emergence of private 1989 to 3,463 in 1994 and to telecasting in 1994 the new 132,349 hours in 1997. channels’ program supply was Religious programming predominantly foreign in ori- increased from zero in 1989 to gin. The current tendency is 31 hours in 1994 and 257 the reverse; program content hours in 1997.9 includes a growing number of domestic production.11 Since 1990 political advertising and political campaigning If 1994 is remarkable for the have been regular features on development of the TV mar- television. The first live televi- ket, it is also regarded as a sion debate between presiden- landmark of liberalization of tial candidates was seen on telecasts in Bulgaria. January 10, 1992. Political campaigning time-slots on Nova Televizia (New state-owned TV ought to fol- Television), the first private low strict quotas and regula- TV station, was launched in tions; no such limitations 1994. Its basic program con- applied to private television.10 tent consisted mainly of imported and domestic drama The national TV channels and movies. The opening of tended to telecast a compara- 7Dni (7 days) TV station in tively small share of imported, 1995 signaled the beginning of but diverse in origin programs. competition in telecasting in - See table 4. Sofia. As an alternative source of information and entertain- In 1994 the shares of imported ment, the private television programs aired on Ephir 2 channels attracted the publics. were: Private television developed 48 The Global Network / Le reseau global

24-hour programming, target- Center for Public Opinion ing diverse potential audi- Studies in May 1996 shows ences. Such an approach, how- high credibility in Bulgarian ever, did not encourage high National Television (55.6 per- quality. Most of the programs cent) as source of reliable were cheap imported produc- information. The Bulgarian tions mostly from North and National Radio has much South America and Australia. lower credibility (37.9 percent) The TV audience because of of the national audience above their common-denominator 18 years. Nearly a quarter emphasis on violence and (23.1 percent) gives the mass action appreciated them. The media no credibility at all and saturation of private TV with 11.1 percent do not follow the such cheap audio-visual prod- mass media.13 ucts often dimmed their original journalistic achievements. The telecasting panorama in Nevertheless, the presence of Bulgaria during the last private television diversified decade was subject to signifi- the landscape of programming. cant changes at the national and local level. While the The existing local TV stations transformations in state- and cable TV operators are in owned TV were painfully slow the process of re-licensing. and contradictory for many Bulgaria is among the first reasons, the private broadcast countries in Eastern Europe to and cable channels made a regulate the receiving of satel- good use of deregulation to lite signals via individual claim their market shares in a antennae. The country also short time. Commercialization holds a license for a satellite of TV channels offered them transponder, which airs the much better chances for adver- Bulgaria satellite channel.12 tising. They proved to be creative, aggressive, efficient and In general, deregulation of the flexible partners, increasingly electronic media system in attracting advertisers. Bulgaria diversified program supply, encouraged higher The new TV channels audience selectivity in pro- launched new styles and for- gram consumption. The insti- mats, which at first might tution of Bulgarian National have seemed amateurish but Television attained high confi- quickly acquired professional dence and credibility. A repre- quality. The disregard for sentative sociological survey State gatekeeping and self- carried out by the National censorship practiced by The Global Network / Le reseau global 49

Bulgarian National Television Television and the private enabled them to act faster and television stations indirectly more efficiently. and unintentionally had contributed to the generation of The catch phrase of one of the additional tension; they esca- former national TV executives, lated the social protest. “Television follows the winner,” had squeezed the most The summer of 1990 witnessed powerful medium in the coun- a similar manipulation. The try into a corset of self-restric- TV program was interrupted tion. Expectations, actual or by an announcement that a anticipated, encouraged self- protester threatened to set censorship in journalists who himself on fire. Many people held privileged jobs at the rushed to the square in front national medium. of the Bulgarian Socialist Party House. The tension esca- A case study of the national lated into turmoil and the TV channels censoring them- building was set on fire. Thus selves was their running of the Bulgarian National animated cartoons during the Television generated informa- turbulent events accompany- tion obscurity and social inse- ing the critical Parliamentary curity. discussions on January 10, 1997. The cameras covered the Both the 1990 and 1997 inci- discussions in the Parliament dents pushed people out into but never turned their lenses the streets to see what was to show the protesters’ unrest really happening. National outside the building. At mid- Television, by not broadcast- night, while MPs and journal- ing the entire story, manipu- ists were still besieged in the lated their “moments of mad- Parliament, Channel One of ness”.14 National Television, instead of showing the earlier promised On several occasions intoler- report, wished its viewers a ant controversy between the good night and signed off. two main competitors (the Fragmented scenes of the BSP and the UDF) flared in clash in front of Parliament, their televised political cam- shown on Ephir-2 only con- paigning. The most significant tributed to information havoc. clash occurred when the BSP It prompted people to go out- aired an aggressive sequence side and search for themselves of a young UDF leader with a in a situation of information clip from Bob Fosse’s film blackout. Both National “Cabaret” depicting the Hitler 50 The Global Network / Le reseau global

Jugend in Germany. In its Conclusion next scheduled program, the UDF fired back; it showed a he transition to a civil videotaped remark uttered by T society and market econo- the Bulgarian President, Petar my involved a number of Mladenov at a December 1989 issues in mass media develop- anti-Communist rally. The ment. These included the gen- phrase was “Maybe it’s better eral insufficiency of financial, to call the tanks.” This contro- technological and professional versial remark later ignited a standards. The development student strike forcing was additionally slowed by Mladenov’s resignation. For delayed media legislation, the first time, television mani- aggressive political behavior fested its power to catalyze and an underdeveloped media fundamental shifts in political market. life. It also showed how readily the electronic media could be Nevertheless, the mass media politicized during times of tur- system was the first to under- moil. go profound changes in structure, management and social Several development trends functioning. Media competi- can be distinguished in the TV tion stimulated the first system over the past ten dynamic open markets in this years: country further stimulating • Fundamental restructuring the already well-developed of the TV system at local, media consumption. national, international and global levels; Decentralization of the elec- • Commercialization of televi- tronic mass media underwent sion broadcasting and develop- a slower pace of transition. ment of private cable opera- The pluralism in radio and tors; television broadcasting was • Diversification of program fostered by the private broad- supplies in emerging audio- casting and cable enterprises. visual markets; The local electronic media • Increasing segmentation of transformed into factors with the television audience; growing importance. The • Maintaining a higher degree state-owned radio and televi- of audience credibility than sion channels gained some other mass media; freedom and lost their privi- • Development of new styles, leged position and social formats and standards. reach. The Global Network / Le reseau global 51

Liberalizing of the mass media information sources. Trends in became an evident outcome of offering specialized, targeted democratization of social life. media could be observed in the Due to political struggles and private electronic media, espe- requirements of European cially in private radio. media legislature the liberal- Audience migration from ization of radio and television state-owned radio and televi- was postponed. The Radio and sion testify to the ebbing sig- Television Act outlined the nificance of the government- prerequisites of transforming controlled media. the state-owned electronic media into public bodies. It Diversification of content and also established the principles format was an important of licensing of radio and televi- trend of the innovative sion stations. A public space changes in journalistic stan- for liberalization of media dards, forms and styles. A new product consumption was media culture both in terms of opened. production and consumption was established after the The mass media market out- departure from the old pat- lined the economic priorities of terns. the media industry, which in turn maintained the process of The growing roles of the elec- privatization at local, national tronic mass media in the peri- and international levels. The od of transition have changed electronic media ownership the status, rights and respon- developed in three categories; sibilities of the media profes- state, private and public. The sionals. Radio and television local private radio stations stay among the powers, which and broadcast and cable TV sensitize the nascent civil soci- operators entered the market ety to the challenges of sus- competition with the state- tainable democratic develop- owned channels. A private, ment. foreign TV operator, Rupert Murdoch, on a nationwide q scale was licensed. Advertising became a prior economic factor for mass media sustenance and development.

Demassification and segmentation of the publics catalyzed the search for competitive 52 The Global Network / Le reseau global

REFERENCES 1. Report of the Committee for Postal Services and Telecommunications. (1995). Sofia: Parliamentary Commission for Radio and Television.

2. National Statistical Institute Reports. (1995). Sofia.

3. Report of the Committee for Postal Services and Telecommunications. (1995). Sofia: Parliamentary Commission for Radio and Television.

4. Dimitrov, Vesselin and Popova, Snejana. (1995). The New Radio. Sofia: Vitrage Publishing House.

5. Sepstrup Preben and Goonasekera Anura, eds. (1994) TV Transnationalization: Europe and Asia. Reports and Papers on Mass Communication, No 109, Paris: UNESCO Publishing.

6. Petev, Todor (1997) “Bulgarian Independent Radio Gains Audience in a Troubled Social Environment”. In Le Reseau. The Global Network. Bucharest

7. Sotirov, Kalin.(1996).”Top 25 in Bulgarian National Television”.Sega 6:29.

8. Raycheva, Lilia. (1995). “Mass Communication in Bulgaria during the Transitional Period (1989-1993) - Points of Research”. In Researching (Investigative) Journalism. New Model of Public Communication, ed. Mario Plenkovic. Zagreb: Nonacom.

9. National Statistical Institute Reports. (1995). Sofia.

10. Raycheva, Lilia. (1995). “The Impact of New Information Technologies on the Bulgarian Mass Media System”. In Drustvo I Tehnologija’95. Rijeka: Gradevinski Fakultet Sveucilista u Rijeci.

11. Zaharieva, Nona (1998). A Year of Reestablishment of the Advertisement Market. In: Media and Advertisement Magazine. Sofia: Market Test Supplement.

12. Petrova, Theodora. (1995). “Radio and Television Legislature: Questioning Trivial Patterns”. In Journalism in Totalitarian and Post-Totalitarian Society. Sofia: The St. Kliment Ohridsky, School The Global Network / Le reseau global 53 of Journalism and Mass Communication.

13. Media Credibility and Journalistic Ethics (1994). Sofia: NOEMA Co Ltd. Social Studies and Marketing.

14. Tarrow Sidney (1997) “Cycles and Collective Action: Between Moments of Madness and Repertoire of Contention”. In Doug McAdam and David Snow, eds. Social Movements. Los Angeles: Roxbury Publishing Company.

I. This also prompted the creation of the Free Speech Forum (December 1995) which functions as a professional association in defense of the freedom of information.

II. Representative sociological survey carried out by the National Center for Public Opinion Studies (1994) in 240 census areas among some 1200 respondents. The method of a self-administered questionnaire on the uses of the mass media in Bulgaria was applied.

* MBMD, January 13-14, 1997

* Including repeated program telecasts. 54 The Global Network / Le reseau global

TABLE 1. DYNAMICS OF RADIO PROGRAMS IN BULGARIA

PROGRAM CATEGORIES 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992

Total 46,810 48,498 48,718 47,946 52,833 State 46,810 48,498 48,718 47,946 49,539 Private - - - - 3,294 Information 19,090 26,154 24,167 24,348 24,440 Education 1,041 1,039 1,444 1,266 1,818 Culture 2,674 2,314 2,275 3,585 3,884 Religion - - - - 28 Commercials 1,020 923 891 1,078 1,268 Entertainment 22,531 17,585 16,869 16,236 19,376 Others 454 483 3,072 1,433 2,019

PROGRAM CATEGO- RIES 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997

Total 161,278 237,483 284,627 302,517 314,773 State 55,579 68,974 43,230 70,688 276,998 Private 105,699 168,509 221,397 231,829 37,775 Information 53,817 72,358 83,739 85,496 85,062 Education 3,194 2,857 3,195 2,450 2,482 Culture 5,931 9,391 8,226 8,471 8,294 Religion 486 459 795 315 425 Commercials 7,004 12,490 13,000 20,541 19,154 Entertain- ment 82,417 120,109 148,253 150,578 180,536 Others 8,429 19,819 27,419 34,666 18,821 The Global Network / Le reseau global 55

TABLE 2. ANSWERS TO THE QUESTION ’WHICH RADIO STATION DID YOU USE FOR YOUR ORIENTATION IN THE SITUATION THESE LAST DAYS?" (IN PERCENTAGE FOR THE RESPONDENTS FROM SOFIA)*

Darrik Radio 55.5 Bulgarian National Radio (Horizont) 24.7 Radio Express 4.8 Radio Tangra 2.7 Radio 99 2.4 Radio FM+ 2.2 Bulgarian National Radio (Christo Botev) 1.5 Radio VOA (Vitosha) 1.2 Did not listen to any radio station 12.3

* MBMD, January 13-14, 1997

TABLE 3. DYNAMICS OF TELEVISION PROGRAMS IN BULGARIA

Program categories 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995

Total 5,886 6,385 6,248 5,998 6,933 6,506 7,178 8,032 I Channel 4,050 4,157 4,246 4,167 4,457 3,748 4,394 4,962 II Channel 1,868 2,228 2,002 1,831 2,476 2,758 2,784 3,070 Domestic 3,220 3,601 3,356 3,537 3,743 3,203 3,902 5,345 Imported 1,540 1,517 2,010 1,785 2,360 2,715 2,618 2,687 Re-runs 1,190 1,267 882 676 830 588 658 124 Informa- tional 869 997 1,396 1,419 1,771 1,852 1,168 1,506 Educational 244 279 211 197 319 86 85 40 Cultural 297 233 116 140 229 109 253 104 Religious - - - - 21 18 31 21 Commercial 34 34 18 44 73 144 159 304 Entertaining 2,699 2,769 2,864 2,446 2,965 3,050 3,463 3,670 Children’s 839 786 665 613 702 644 807 426 Others 904 1,287 978 1,139 853 603 1,212 1,961 56 The Global Network / Le reseau global

TABLE 4: PERCENTAGE OF DOMESTIC AND IMPORTED TV PROGRAMS

TELECAST BY THE NATIONAL TV CHANNELS*

Origin of TV programs Channel One Ephir Two

Domestic 70,3 56,6 Foreign 29,7 43,4 Total 100,0 100,0

* Including repeated program telecasts. The Global Network / Le reseau global 57 Advertising in Bulgaria -

On the Edge of Optimism

From the Typewriter to the Net

BY KAMEN KAMENOV

n the short time span apart in less than half a of eight years, adver- year and advertising was I tising in Bulgaria the first to suffer because moved from reliance on advertisers considered the typewriter to the use advertising a “variable” of high-speed computers expenditure. and the Internet for creat- ing high impact communi- 1997 is almost a “missing cations. year” from contemporary Bulgarian advertising his- Prevailing economic condi- tory. It was not a western tions during this time type crisis or the expected period caused most adver- recession following a peri- tising agencies to have a od of economic expansion. severe case of “indiges- It was sheer catastrophe. tion”. The road traveled Not many was extremely bumpy as believed advertis- KAMEN KAMENOV is lecturer in advertis- one agency after another ing could recover ing at the Faculty of stood in awe of the from the fall. To Journalism and Mass “plunge”. It was not the be sure it has yet Communications - natural slow down or tem- to do so, but there University of Sofia porary drop experienced in are signs the road "Kliment Ohridski", and at the New most business cycles. ahead is becom- Bulgarian University. Rather, the market for ing ever more President of KKP goods and services just fell promising. (fig. 1). advertising agency 58 The Global Network / Le reseau global

The advertisers’ affected the advertising market because companies like natural selection Shell, Phillips, Sony, Kodak are not even among the 50 top any major advertisers in TV advertisers. This means M 1992/93 are not in the these advertisers have invest- market today, especially local ed less than 70,000 USD in ones who in some cases were this media, if at all. outspending international advertisers. In 1996 more than In the current and more 10 banks went bankrupt, mature, disciplined market it many of whom invested signif- seems advertising budgets are icantly in marketing communi- being kept tighter. The phe- cations. The list includes the nomenon of enormous media ‘flagship’ of financial advertis- budgets to support the entry of ers in Bulgaria, First Private a product or service is fading Bank. Privatization funds away. from the 1995-96 campaign, some insurance companies, The agency business - the so called financial pyra- mids, a private Bulgarian air- elevation from zero line as well as importers of baked goods and candies were he agency business blos- national advertisers actively T somed in the period present in media with national between 1992 - 94 when most coverage. Some of them were world wide agencies opened engaged with ambitious adver- offices in Bulgaria or contract- tising schedules in magazines ed with Bulgarian agencies on like Business Week and Global an “affiliate” basis. This surge Finance. Today they are just was backed by the entry into part of history. the market of major international advertisers. Procter & International advertisers who Gamble with many of its invested heavily and success- brands, Coca Cola, Camel, fully built brands like Marlboro, Gillette, Colgate- Hollywood chewing gum, Palmolive, Ford, Kodak, Assoss International (ciga- Wrigley, Kraft Jacobs rettes), Amoco, Rover, Dutch Suchard, Shell, Danone, just Lady (dairy products) have to name few, were the first to also pulled out of the market encourage other world wide for one reason or the other. agencies to think about While they have been replaced advancing their clients prod- by others, the exit adversely ucts and services in the The Global Network / Le reseau global 59

Bulgarian market as well. The media proliferation - from satisfying the consumer to cost The three factors for encourag- effectiveness for the advertiser ing the existence of contemporary advertising - mass media, The period 1990 - 1995 can be mass appeal products, and characterized as time of spon- most importantly, a critical taneous and irrepressible mass of potential consumers - enthusiasm for Bulgarian were present. The newly born media. After the liberation of private media, mainly print the media market the con- and radio, were eager to cap- sumer showed an insatiable ture advertising dollars that thirst for information. “In this business was making available period in Bulgaria were born in its attempt to capitalize on more than 1000 newspapers an emerging free market. and magazines. Hundreds of them did not cope with the The lack of strict regulations new reality and at the end of and an enthusiastic consumer 1995 only about 500 newspa- served to make the most of the pers and 300 magazines were circumstances. The latter still present on the media appreciated these efforts, and scene.” (Nikolov, 1996: p. 35) according to an international The ups and downs of the pub- Gallup research from this peri- lishing business were deter- od, 73% of consumers believed mined by advertising. The in what advertising was offer- publishers had to face the new ing them. (Media and market reality - a publication Advertising, September 1999) could survive only in symbiosis There was also a boom in TV with advertising. In other advertising placed mostly in words, the value they could prime time due to its initial offer an advertiser resided in attractive pricing. Up to 10 their ability to impact a well- minutes of solid advertising defined audience which in (sometimes even more) was practice defined the publica- the ‘commercial break’ norm tion’s reason for being. for the time. No wonder the advertising business skyrock- At the beginning most adver- eted from the outset. (Up to tisers tended to be persuaded that that time there was only to select one publication over one state owned agency that another on the basis of higher today is not engaged in media circulation. The wiser ones advertising, having chosen to sought to select media which specialize in organizing exhibi- could reach tightly defined tar- tions.) get markets, thus avoiding 60 The Global Network / Le reseau global waste circulation while achiev- the advertising business. “I am ing a high degree of cost effec- most impressed by the success tiveness. “If the 60’s was the of the private radio stations decade of mass marketing, the and the development of the 70’s the time for segmentation, radio advertising - it seems the 80’s the time of micro-mar- like this media type is closest keting, the 90’s was the age of to approaching world stan- marketing whose object was dards.” (Doganov, 1999: p.12) the individual.” (Peters, 1999: 77) Agencies were not interest- The Advertising Market ed only in the cost per thousand but in the cost per target Today - Quality Orientation rating point. This led to the profiling of various media he quality orientation of options, each trying to capture T today’s advertising agen- its specific audience and offer cies is at the heart of the busi- it to a business. ness growth realized over the past few years. Successful This focus is highly visible on advertising is no longer simply the radio scene. The first pri- keeping a brand name in front vate local radio station “FM+” of the public in an acceptably started airing in the autumn creative way. The demand for of 1992. It was soon followed effectiveness has brought to by tens of others. Each demon- the surface a commitment to a strated how it could survive on higher order of professional- its own with just advertising ism in communication. Pure support. Today there are all client ambition and creativity kinds of radio formats, each for its own sake are no longer wooing its own specific audi- sufficient for winning market- ence for which advertisers are place acceptance for a product eager to pay. or service. Advertisers, especially the major ones, are The same scenario pertained demanding research based to the first private local TV - strategic thinking and disci- Nova Televizia (started in the plined creativity based on summer of 1994). The interest- research findings. ing thing about newly born electronic vehicles is that - in It’s apparent the international contrast to print media - all business community is impos- have survived to date. The ing its high communication reason: they are coping better standards on a local basis. with the new market realities This has led to an intense and are on better terms with demand for high quality, expe- The Global Network / Le reseau global 61 rienced people on the agency given agency is no longer in and client sides of the market- fashion as it was five years ing equation, i.e. marketing ago. directors to establish short and long term objectives; The media scene brand managers and assis- tants to execute those strate- elevision is the media cap- gies. T turing most of the advertising expenditures in the Almost every week there are marketing efforts of advertis- job announcements in the ers. Leadership in this regard press seeking broadly experi- belongs to Channel 1. (fig. 2) enced professionals. Last In second place is the private month a major international “Nova TV” with a little less agency placed a job announce- than half the advertising vol- ment for four positions - a ume, but it is ‘local’ to Sofia. copywriter, a creative director, Thus, it can be thought of as a media planner, and a pro- an outstanding success when duction manager. Having in considering the national cover- mind the scale of the local age of Channel 1. The remain- advertising business this ing TV outlets are local cable sounded almost like an offer which are doing quite well for buying a medium size from business point of view, agency. Four job positions given the entry fees collected were announced in the press from their subscribers. by one of the largest Bulgarian Obviously there is a place for a agencies. A world wide agency private national TV which in was looking for a media direc- all likelihood will dramatical- tor. In most cases, two to three ly change the competitive years experience in the field is environment after the licens- a must. This suggests organi- ing of the first one. A recent zations are time pressed and competition for licensing was unable to invest in educating won by a foreign investor - newly acquired inexperienced Ruppert Murdoch whose TV staff. channel is expected to begin airing by the end of 2000. In brief, while advertising agency structures may have Television - good for image, been determined, there is a pressing need to hire experi- good for sales enced specialists to make them functionally capable.Changing he advertising market hats of responsibility within a Ttoday is shaped mainly by 62 The Global Network / Le reseau global international advertisers, audience). which have a dominant marketplace presence, especially Another reason for TV’s pref- on TV. As shown in the chart erence to print media has to do presenting the top 20 advertis- with the nature of the product ers (fig. 3) there is only one being advertised and advertis- Bulgarian - Mobiltel, the GSM ing effectiveness. Looking at operator (No. 10). Although the list of the top 20 advertis- some advertisers like ers on TV, 19 are brands of Interbrew, Brewinvest, Kraft fast moving consumer goods or Jacobs Suchard, Nestle, the s called low risk products. Danone, are advertising pure- The exception is Alianz ly Bulgarian brands they are Bulgaria (insurance). really foreign investors setting budgets on the basis of their One may argue that these are international experience. mass products and TV delivers a considerably broader based The picture is not the same in audience which presents a sig- all media (fig. 4). In print for nificant waste in case of small- example there is a relative bal- er markets. But electronic ance between local and inter- media provides possibilities for national advertisers, and in close and narrow targeting on some cases the first outspend- the basis of special program- ing the latter. The first two - ming. Brand image building Mobiltel and Mobikom each, and appeal to the emotions are outspending the third tend to be more easily effected Daewoo Motors by 2 to 1. with TV. Advertising of high risk products require more One reason is purely financial; and longer ‘reasoning why’ for the lower absolute price of which print media is better print and radio compared to suited. TV. Another reason is associ- ated with marketing realities. Press - preferred for sales The market in general has been shaped by major competi- promotion tors who now are turning to ‘competitive’ rather than intro- he allocation of advertis- ductory advertising. For this T ing expenditures tends to reason there is greater need be based on the type of mar- for higher frequency of com- keting communication activity. munication than penetration Media research does not take (which TV offers with its sig- into account the differences nificantly greater potential between advertising and sales The Global Network / Le reseau global 63 promotion as different market- mentary media. These options ing communication tools. The are rarely used as advertising reported figures are for both, campaigns in and of them- but a large portion (especially selves. When used they are in print) relate to pure sales usually for a small advertiser promotion incentives. The con- and are local in character. sumer does not make any distinction between the two. The The radio scene is interesting question of which media to use with the dominant reach of the invariably comes down to state-owned program money. Ad production for print “Horizont” - 52.27%. (fig. 5) media is considerably less National private radio still has than for TV. An advertiser is not appeared on the market not likely to change TV spots but the relatively low reach of offering a variety of sales the local private stations can- incentives every month with not be explained solely by the the high cost of production limited geographical coverage. while with print it is possible. The problem is to a large extent purely technical. The Once again, it’s apparent radio sets owned by older peo- advertisers prefer the press as ple and especially in smaller a communication vehicle residential areas cannot be believing it to be more effec- tuned to the FM frequencies tive when it comes to sending on which the new private radio sales promotion messages, stations are airing. especially when they contain coupons. It would be a mistake There is no hard data about to consider print media a pure- the advertising expenditures ly sales promotion tool. There in radio but most probably the are many image campaign in private stations are capturing press especially in magazines more advertising money in where advertisers take advan- this media because of the well tage of superior printing quali- profiled and higher income ty to make a “quality” state- audiences they offer. ment for its product or service. Advertising production - Radio and outdoor local vs global are helpful ost TV commercials are M not produced in adio and outdoor are uti- Bulgaria. One of the reasons - Rlized mainly as supple- the economies of scale 64 The Global Network / Le reseau global achieved by advertisers using their Bulgarian as well as one and the same spot in sev- worldwide brands. This does eral countries. But this is a not necessarily mean they rather mechanical explana- believe the Bulgarian con- tion, because production costs sumer is significantly different in Bulgaria are attractively from its global confreres, low (10 000 - 40 000 DM). though he or she has specific Given the gross budgets of characteristics and market most international advertis- behavior indigenous to the ers, Bulgarian production country. As elsewhere “the would be easily affordable. housewives are not seeking Apparently money is not the status or identity when they only concern. Some leading opt for the brand name; they advertisers have commis- are minimizing risk to their sioned tailor made spots for families.” (Schudson, 1990: p. the Bulgarian market but pro- 52) duced them abroad. (Interbrew with the beer brands Astika This reality tends to demon- and Kamenitza, Brewinvest strate international advertis- with the beer brand Zagorka, ers are open-minded in the KJS with Svoge chocolate, constant search for resources Bulgarian United Bank - all of to optimize communication them local brands.) There effectiveness for its brands at appears to be a deep-seated the local level. The assumption concern about local production “It works everywhere else, quality. Yet, there are very why shouldn’t it work in good examples of spots pro- Bulgaria?” may be right in duced in the country which most cases. The ‘real’ question meet or exceed the standards is,” but can it work better with of their international rivals. a local touch?”. If the answer is “yes”, it becomes the respon- So, even when advertisers sibility of the advertising believe that the presentation industry to stand behind this of their message is more idea proving that it can signifi- important than what they are cantly enhance the market saying, there are local produc- performance of a given brand tion facilities capable of meet- with local distribution. ing this perceived need. There are of course the happy excep- Some advertisers prefer to be tions. Major advertisers like on the safe side from a man- Procter & Gamble, Danone, agerial point of view, accepting Nestle etc. are locally produc- “already produced” spots. For ing some of their spots for identical markets this is 100% The Global Network / Le reseau global 65 acceptable. The real question cially when the creative con- to be answered is, “how identi- cept and its production are cal is the Bulgarian market local. This does not necessarily (consumer) when compared to mean it is better. In many the country for which the com- cases the ads may seem dis- mercial was originally intend- connected, difficult to decode, ed.”? touchingly naïve. But it must be remembered that to a large Many times advertising tries extent they are a reflection of to seduce the target market the overall market and its with images, lifestyles and level of sophistication. As the personalities which he or she consumer grows in sophistica- cannot identify with. It’s tion with respect to a purchase rather doubtful a Bulgarian decision, so will the advertis- housewife sees herself with ing. The advertising industry detergent in hand, having and international agencies in nothing to care about but the particular have the where- whiteness of her husband’s withal to exercise leadership shirt. in improving creativity and production in print rather As Calkins puts it speaking than wait for the market to about the press (but then in force changes to meet con- the forties there was no TV as sumer demand for higher yet) “These humbler adjuncts standards. to literature may prove more valuable to the future histori- Some agencies are already cre- an than the editorial contents ating memorable and effective (of the magazines). In them we radio spots and print ads. may trace our sociological his- Most of them come from the tory ....changing interests and international agencies who tastes, in foods, clothes, obviously are adapting them- amusements and vices, a selves fast and effectively to panorama of life as it was local specifics. The major lived, more informing than old Bulgarian agencies are closely diaries or crumbling stones.” following suit and in some (Mayer, 1991: p. 30) From this cases even outworking them. point of view the future histo- rian will draw quite distorted conclusions about the What’s in for the Future Bulgarian consumer and the way he/she lived in the dvertising has no choice nineties. The picture is quite A but to improve its output different in other media, espe- and effectiveness with the 66 The Global Network / Le reseau global quantitative development and growth has come from old par- qualitative sophistication of ticipants in the market and the market. It has to live up not from new entrants. This more closely to market reali- suggests that forward think- ties trying to better under- ing, enlightened management stand them and even be one believes in the power of adver- step ahead of them. The signs tising and marketers are will- in this direction are positive. ing to invest in its power for establishing brand identities Today, there are many univer- and driving future sales. sities in which advertising is being studied under one form Recognizing that ‘tradition’ or the other. Advertising is suggests the first three becoming recognized as a pro- months of the year yield the fession. More and more it is weakest quarterly advertising being perceived as a business revenues, the best is yet to with its own characteristics come. With the privatization and rules whose survival program in progress one can depends on the disciplined cre- expect new market entrants to ativity and business sense of enhance advertising expendi- its practitioners. tures as the competition grows What’s more, many agencies for consumer attention. The and advertisers today are challenge ahead for advertis- eagerly turning toward field ing, as it always has been, is to research to build and support keep the marketplace ener- marketing communication pro- gized and the consumer suffi- grams. This in turn has pre- ciently curious so that a posi- cipitated the growth of sophis- tive purchase decision is made ticated research resources for in favor of a specific client’s the pre-testing of concepts, ads product. and commercials as well as reaching a deeper understand- q ing of consumer attitudes, beliefs and purchase/use habits.

In all likelihood, advertising expenditures for the year 2000 will be at record levels.For the first three months TV spend- ing in Bulgaria is up almost 90% versus 1999. (fig. 6) Most interesting is the fact that The Global Network / Le reseau global 67

REFERENCES

Blazsho, Nikolov. Bulgarsko Media Znanie, Balkanmedia (1996).

Doganov, Dimitar. Media i Reklama, (September, 1999).

Marketing, The Economist Newspaper Ltd, 1997

Schudson, Michael, Advertising in Society, Historical Roots of Consumer Culture, NTC Business Books, 1990

Mayer, Martin. Whatever Happened to Madison Avenue?, Little, Brown and Company, (1991). 68 The Global Network / Le reseau global

FIG. 1 - TOTAL TV ADVERTISING BUDGET BY YEARS

1993 30,000 1994 48,000 1995 58,000 1996 42,000 1997 22,000 1998 42,000 1999 52,000

FIG 2 - CHANNEL SHARE - 1999

Bulgarian National TV 66.23 Private Air TV 10.39 Cable TV 19.24 Satellite 4.14 The Global Network / Le reseau global 69

FIG. 3 - TOP 20 ADVERTISERS - 1999 BUDGET (DEM)

1 PROCTER & GAMBLE 8,445,261 2 INTER BREW 3,923,046 3 BREWINVEST 3,040,646 4 COCA COLA COMPANY 2,401,976 5 KRAFT JACOBS SUCHARD 2,321,564 6 UNILEVER 2,064,903 7 WRIGLEY'S 1,723,816 8 NIVEA /BEIERSDORF/ 1,274,874 9 NESTLE 1,119,760 10 MOBIL TEL 979,972 11 JOHNSON & JOHNSON 797,441 12 MOBIKOM 764,911 13 ALLIANZ AG /insurance company/ 697,637 14 BELANA 684,927 15 ELITE COFFE 646,673 16 SMITHKLINE BEECHAM 591,925 17 DELTA 473,361 18 FORMULA 101 454,971 19 CHIPITA 446,383 20 COLGATE - PALMOLIVE 427,321 TOTAL 65,801,280

1 MOBIL TEL 2,238,242 2 MOBIKOM 1,900,683 3 DAEWOO MOTOR 854,918 4 RISK ELECTRONICS 781,475 5 KRAFT JACOBS SUCHARD 768,004 6 FIRST INVESTMENT BANK 574,271 7 PROSOFT 525,865 8 NESTLE 504,969 9 SONY 421,108 10 BULGARTABAC - SOFIA PLC 383,527 11 DANONE 382,547 12 INDEX BULGARIA 368,112 13 FORMULA 101 341,876 14 BREWINVEST 318,108 15 BULGARTABAC - BLAGOEVGRAD PLC. 311,728 16 SOFIA FRANCE AUTO 309,075 17 ROSEKSIMBANK PLC. 279,045 18 NAYVA INTERTRADE BUSINESS CO 277,154 19 COCA COLA COMPANY 268,106 20 ART SYSTEM BULGARIA /computers/ 262,389 TOTAL PRINT 40,754,626 70 The Global Network / Le reseau global

FIG. 4 - AVERAGE MONTHLY REACH, 1999

Horizont 52.27 Darik 11.37 Hr.Botev 10.6 Veselina 7.79 Expres 6.58 FM+ 6.32 Kanal Kom 5.4 Radio+ 5.39 Atlantik 4.25 Viva 3.31

Jan'99 Feb'99 Mar'99 Jan'00 Feb'00 Mar'00 CHANNEL1 890,940 1,581,0252,111,2251405525 1380325 3859800 EFIR2 69,870 48,800 36,750 87225 109875 87450 NOVA TV 310,908 569,931 687,990 911135 1452566 1829941 7 DAYS TV 118,976 193,933 286,590 132342 123326 160615 TOTAL 1,390,6942,393,6893,122,5552,536,2273,066,0925,937,806 6,906,938 11,540,125 2,536,2273,066,0925,937,806

Source: BBSS Gallup The Global Network / Le reseau global 71

A Brief Look at the digital changes in the media Field and the Development of the Web Pages in Bulgaria

BY TEODORA P ETROVA

The communication pol- The technological step icy- making is ack n o w - ledged that the develop- forward and access to ment of access by the information public to the new communications and infor- he development of mation services will be Tthe new information driven by the main t e chnologies has made p l ayers in the field: us accustomed in the public authorities, the last years to constant industry- infrastruc- increase of information t u r e, service providers processing, transmitting and the consumers. and storage of different type of information. Ways of accessing and One of the results wa s dissemination of infor- “democratization” of mation in the midst of personal computing and global information and universal use of infor- c o m m u n i c a t i o n r e v o l u t i o n TEODORA PETROVA, mation. Te ch n o l o g i c a l MA of journalism, change led as well as to changed funda- PhD of Philosophy, is a multiplication of the mentally. professor at the networks enabling Faculty of Journalism access to new products Enforcing the and Mass ch a r a c t e r i s t i c s Communication- Sofia and services. University- Bulgaria 72 The Global Network / Le reseau global of a global media Internet tion technology services; was even called “the new - To outline the use of the mass media”, but the “net” new information tech n o l o- has much broader ch a r a c- gies in media; teristics than that. The pro- - To stress on some of the cessing of information characteristics of the through Internet has strong emerging new media; implication on institutions, - To look at process of media i n d i v i d u a l s, commerce and convergence in Bulgaria; journalism. The Internet - To give a brief presenta- does not mean the end of tion of the tendencies of traditional journalism. The development and most used information tech n o l o g i e s Web sites of the electronic enforce some of the most issues of Bulgarian media. visible characteristics of media in on- line journal- Infrastructure of the ism. IT market The Internet provides ccording to IDG the everyone through a PC a A income from the sales of global access to a friendly IT in Bulgaria for 1999 was e-mail, your bank account, $153mln. 109,1 mln. $ are newspapers radio and TV in the share, of hardwa r e, stations and thousands of 20,7 mln. $ are in the share information sources from of software 23,1mln. $ are all over the world. The in the share of services. Internet structure is decen- (Computer world, 15.04- tralized. It allows millions 21.04.2000). The tendencies of users to access and dis- in the market according to seminate millions of infor- the issue are: mation sources. The use of 1. The market is in the information sources is phase of reconstruction. interactive and user con- 2. The whole growth of the trolled. income is slow because of the falling down of the sales The aim of this article is: of hardware. - To give the landscape of 3. The main incomes are in the IT market and the stage the shares of software and of access to new informa- hardware. The Global Network / Le reseau global 73

4. The development of the to 2003 are exclusive right big projects in Bulgaria of Committee of Posts and influence the investment in Telecommunication now IT sector. Ministry of Transport and Communication. ISDN digi- Different sources give in tal line is getting slowly in the last 2-3 years the num- use in the last 2 years. 8. bers of users about 3-6%. 34% of the main central Every year their number of telephone lines are digital- Internet users is steadily ized. Over 300 mln. $ were growing. invested on tech n o l o g i c a l level in the national The number of PCs in the telecommunication struc- country is estimated about ture in the country in the 350 thousand. Most of them last 5 years. (Data from the are in the offices and educa- Ministry of Transport and tional institutions. (Data Telecommunication from from the Ministry of Bulgaria). Transport and Telecommunication from A great number of Internet Bulgaria). centers and Internet - cof- fees opened in most of the The sales in the market for towns in the country. They 1999 of the IT firms are : are very popular especially others - 60%, HP - 11%, among the young people. IBM - 9%, ExCo - 7%, and Most of Bulgarian sch o o l s Pro Soft - 6%. High speed and all the University cen- Internet connection exists ters have access to informa- in Bulgaria from 1994 and tion technologies all dough the Internet provider is the PC in the PC Centers G U K I S. The number of are old. A special new law Internet providers in the frame on IT and country is 150. (Official Development of Information data - 1999). Some of the Society is settled by the biggest providers are: adopted by the Pa r l i a m e n t G U K I S, Orbitel, Dygsys, Program for Development Te chno-link. By law the of Information Society and monopoly on terrestrial and High-tech Draft Law. There satellite communications up is National Coordination 74 The Global Network / Le reseau global Council for development of works in electronic memo- Information Society in ries and use and reproduc- Bulgaria. There is no spe- tion and transmit ion of cialized regulatory body. A those works via new infor- lot of independent associa- mation tech n o l o g i e s. The tions with representatives last changes of the from the business and the Copyright and Neighboring sector are formed. They Rights Law were published stick to the vision that sec- in the State Newspaper on tor should be self- and co- 07.04.2000. They entered regulated. The market of IT into force on 08.05.2000. products is liberated. The changes were in the light of WIPO (Wo r l d Intellectual Property Regulatory Frames Organization), The WIPO he policy governing performances and T body in the field of Phonograms Treaty telecommunication sector is (WPPT) and other Internet- the Ministry of Transport related copyright issues. and Te l e c o m m u n i c a t i o n s. The re-gulatory body is In Bulgaria as in European State Commission of communication policy mak- t e l e c o m m u n i c a t i o n s . ing there are two views in National Council adopted concern of the regulation of telecommunication Law in R and TV programs trans- 1998. R and TV Law (1998) mitted via new information regulate electronic media technologies: and the regulating body is 1. It is of public interest the National Council of R operators to have some reg- and TV. ulation as to declare the sources of information and The Copyright and respect democratic values Neighboring rights Law and human rights, dissemi- was changed and adopted to nation of illegal informa- European Law due to the tion, defamation and intru- questions which emerged in sion of privacy. All regulato- respect to and the rights of ry mechanism should by the reproduction in a digital introduced in respect of environment, storage of freedom of expression. The Global Network / Le reseau global 75

2. There is no need of wide transmissions of digital range regulation in the broadcasted R and TV pro- field. The regulatory bodies grams but some long- term should have rights and t e chnical projects already instruments of regulation started in that field. The only when the rights and digitalization in the R and interests of users are TV reached a certain state threatened. The regulation in radio and TV program process should include on production process. self- regulation and co-regulation. There is strong penetration Convergence in the sector in the country of cable network television. Most cable n the IT field, the conver- networks are still getting I gence in Bulgaria at the their networks to the start level. There is some requirements of the tech n i- use of Internet services, cal standards. mobile net services and some rare examples in cable Cable networks offer 30 - 50 networks service. According satellite and terrestrial to the regulation the cable regional, national and operators in the country world TV programs. State may offer Internet services. Satellite channel Bulgaria Because of the bad tech n i- is transmitted via satellite. cal level of the most of the National Council for R and cable networks these ser- TV approves and State vices are not yet offered to Commission of the Internet users. Due to Telecommunication from regulatory monopoly of the Bulgaria issues licenses for State Telecom, the low transmission of R and TV speed of Internet connec- programs via satellite and tions through analogue tele- c a b l e. From a year on e - phone lines and the bad commerce is experimentally condition of the services introduced in the net. offered by analogue telephone end points R and TV Bulgarian media web pages programs are not transmitted via new information he analyses of the t e ch n o l o g i e s. There are no T Bulgarian media on-line 76 The Global Network / Le reseau global issues will follow: um for both users and producers on the Internet. 1. The pattern of the princi- /Gary Herman, Information ples media web pages: Society Forum, 17 * The information and ways September 1999, Lisbon/ of accessing it should be easy to manage with. Internet is predominantly * Autonomy- of the informa- A n g l o p h o n e, US based tion structure, visible and medium with about invisible logical structure 100 million potential users. on the screen. It is a global medium in * Easy to use well-struc- r e a ch not by share. There tured design. are about 6000 mother- tongue languages. In the 2. Content analyses of the Anglophone predominated web site and the newspaper Medium the share of the issue. electronic media issues in different languages is rela- Parallel content analyses of tively very small what is the daily issues of the the case of Bulgarian issues choice and structuring of of newspapers, R and TV the top news and the infor- web- sites. They have their mation. share of audience in their national markets, but they Characteristics of the media are of global reach and could be accessed any web pages where in the world. ew very popular sites, F s u ch as AOL/Netscape, The media web sites are Microsoft Network and getting more and more pop- Yahoo, dominate the web in u l a r. Most of them started general. According to in 1995 and 1996. Big news- Nielson, around two-thirds papers have their web site of the web “audience” is and on- line issues. The accounted for by the top ten most circulated newspapers sites. The dominance of the “Trud” and “24 chasa” /over portal sites like most of 240 thousand/ have no web those may effectively s i t e s. It was considered by restrict access to the medi- their owner the German The Global Network / Le reseau global 77

group WAZ, they may loose Capital audience having on- line i s s u e s. WAZ has national http://www.capital.bg editorial satellite connec- Weekly newspaper. On- line tion with all regional issues issue http://www. c a p i t a l . b g. Topic in The newspaper incl u d e s the newspaper Topic in the online issue political and economical Bulgaria Politics a n a l y z e s, well situated in World Business Goods and the media and advertising money Analyzes market. On the on- line Personal opinion Comments issue the analyzes are kept Ext. Ext. in. The on-line and paper - Varna, Burgas, Stara issues look very much alike. Zagora and Plovdiv/. The In the on- line issue the regional issues and the most of the pictures are not regional advertisements are i n cluded except the one sent daily to Sofia where from the first page of the the issues are published. n e w s p a p e r. On the first The editorial rooms of both page of the on- line issue newspapers and all issues there are hyperlinks similar owned by WAZ are best well to the main sections of the equipped and use new newspaper: politics, econo- information technologies in m y, society, analyzes, com- their information process- m e n t s, but they are struc- ing and lay-out. tured differently. This is one of the first and perma- According to the ratings nent on- line issues on the most popular web sites are market. The access to infor- of newspapers Capital mation is easy and quick. It (weekly newspaper) and is also very popular for Monitor (daily newspaper). labor ads. published and Others newspapers with restored in the on- line popular on- line issues on i s s u e. One of the best and the web are: Pari, Sega, very often visited sites. Standart, Democracia and B a n k e r. The sport on-line Monitor issues are: Sport, To t o, http://www.zone168.com Meridian mach, 7dni sport, Daily newspaper. The on- Evrofutbol, PFL, Sport- line issue started in 1999 by Bulnet, Klub-F1. 78 The Global Network / Le reseau global

Press group Monitor- owner the head places of the rat- of the newspaper. The con- ings of the web sites. cept was worked out years before its access on the web. Standart At the beginning the on- h t t p : / / w w w. s t a d a r t n e w s. c o line issue was put on the m web together with the print Daily newspaper. On line of the newspaper. Now the issue- http://www. s t a d a r t- on- line issue is on the web n e w s.com. The content, the in the morning. Free regis- topics and the headlines of tration required. The con- both issues are nearly the tent of the information is s a m e. In the on- line issue nearly the same in the the hyperlinks are on the newspaper and the on- line left. The topics and the i s s u e. The structure the resumed materials from the topics and the hyperlinks front page- in the middle differ. For example: and the editorial- on the There are tree popular top- right. The graphic design is ics in the on- line issue- s i m i l a r. Search function by Comment, Archive and key- word helps the user. I n q u i r y. In the Inquiry The web site is easy to there are 2-3 questions on manage with. Under the the hot- line topics. The materials there are E-mail answers are “yes” and “no”. addresses of the authors. Comment is similar to the The authors say that the Letters in the newspaper. estimate the e- mails from Very easy and well estimat- the audience very much. ed is the function Search . With a key- word there is an access to the materials Sega on the topic in the issue. ht t p : / / w w w. s k y c o d e. c o m / s e The hyperlinks are on the gadaily left side of the screen. On Daily newspaper. The on- the right - the short presen- line issue covers the content tation of the news. The of the newspaper issue. The graphic design of the news- topics with short presenta- paper and the on- line issue tions are structured on the also differs. One of the most front page: Bulgaria, visited web sites which is at E c o n o m i c s, Abroad, The Global Network / Le reseau global 79

Culture, others. Most of the materials are presented on pictures and graphics from the web. the paper issues are not included. Egoist Democracia http://www.egoist.bg Monthly magazine, It is http://www.dir.bg designed towards the young Daily newspaper. On line audience and it is very pop- issue http://www. d i r. b g ular among the young audi- Issue of the Union of e n c e. Modern design and Democratic Forces. The con- p h o t o g r a p h y. The interface tent of the on- line issue includes 3D animation. covers the topic of the news- p a p e r. The front page is The materials are present- structured simple for use. ed in brief with the help of The headlines and short multimedia. The on- line presentation of the text is issue is interactive and the presented there without editorials receive materials photographs and graphics. from the audience. There is on- line story ,opened for Pari / Money discussion. http://news.pari.bg Daily Economical During the last 4-5 years N e w s p a p e r. Online issue in there is a burst of Internet Bulgarian and English - and Information technology paid access. Started in newspapers and magazines 1995-1996. The on- line is on the media market /IT, IT orientated towards the news, PC Mania, Computer business audience. On the world. front page the topics are structured on linear hyper- During the last 4-5 years links. there is a burst of Internet and Information technology newspapers and magazines Banker on the media market (IT, IT http://www.banker.bg news, PC Mania, Computer Economical newspaper. It world, In the world of uses a web site to be pre- Internet, PC World, PC sented on. Resumed chosen Week, Linux-bg, E-zone and 80 The Global Network / Le reseau global others). of CNN, NBC, and BBC.

Bulgarian news agency 7 dni TV http://www.bta-bg.net http://www.bol.bg News presented in 20-30 Web site of the TV. TV pro- w o r d s. Free on- line issue. gram, TV shows and Bulgarian telegraph agency anchors and Intrnet connec- has economical and political tion with the audience. on- line issues, which are Short videoclips of the pro- paid. They are in Bulgarian grams. and English. Radio Vitosha and Radio Balkan News agency Daric have Internet transmission. Others radiosta- http://www.balkan.news.bg tions are ready to start News bulletin. Presentation Internet transmissions. of the news for the day. The access is paid. An interview Training in Journalism in for the day is presented. Context of New Information Bulgarian National Technologies television he functioning of the T media and the use of http://bnt.bg new information and com- It started in 1998. Last year munication tech n o l o g i e s the graphic design wa s changed the professional changed. The change dou- situation and the ways of bled the visit of the page- gathering information in 400-500 per 24 hours. The the field of journalism. The information is renewed 2-3 new information tech n o l o- times a day. There is a logi- gies influence traditional cal structure in the struc- and on- line journalism in: ture of information. The 1. Process of writing, edit- a c t i v i t i e s, the structure of ing and layout; the organization and the 2. Te chnological process in TV program are presented. production of newspapers, The structure is not of the R and TV programs; typical TV site as the ones 3. Use of informational The Global Network / Le reseau global 81 s o u r c e s, connected with p r e s s, R and TV and new Internet and new informa- services and issues offered tion and communication by the use of the new medi- technologies; um Internet. There is fast 4. New law and self-regula- growth in individual tory mechanisms in the telecommunication ser- media field and new infor- vices- voice, image and data mation technologies. transmission in the last two years and especially by the MA of Journalism and PR is services offered by GSM thought in the Faculty of operator M-Tel Trading Journalism and mass com- Ltd. munication- Sofia The existing national and U n i v e r s i t y. During the international media regula- training courses in tory frameworks are mostly Journalism and PR stu- based on a concept of cl e a r dents are trained and work distinction between the var- new information tech n o l o- ious types of media as press g i e s. New Bulgarian and electronic media. University also offers cours- Bulgarian national legisla- es in Communication where tion is currently ch a n g i n g students are thought in the and adapting to changes on use of IT. Specialized cours- t e chnological and telecom- es are thought in Fr e e munication development. Universities in Varna and Digitalized transmission of B u r g a s. There are special- R and TV programs via izations in Journalism and cable and satellite removes Mass media. the restraints connected with legislation and content programming to large Conclusions extent. New questions /edi- he technological devel- torial responsibility, civil T opment and the use of and criminal liability/ arise the new communication in connection with protec- technologies has an increas- tion of content /copyright, ing impact in Bulgaria on right of right holders/ in traditional press, R and TV dissemination of informa- in two ways- process of digi- tion and transmission of R talization of traditional and TV programs via new 82 The Global Network / Le reseau global information tech n o l o g i e s. L aw and self-regulatory bodies try to settle some of these questions / Fi l m a u t h o r, Music author, BSA and others/. The development of the market in the field of new t e chnologies and telecommunications is slaw but it is g r o w i n g. The advertising market in Bulgaria has no significant movement t o wards media transmitted via new telecommunication s e r v i c e s. There are few examples towards that m o v e. Raiffeisen bank is offering services through d i r.bg -most visited Bulgarian web site (September 1999). The existence of national web sites in the original language helps the audience of a certain country in the case the audience of Bulgarian population living in and out of the country to h ave access to the services offered by the new information technologies and to keep cultural and language identification of the country. q The Global Network / Le reseau global 83

REFERENCES

1. Compute world, 15.04-21.04.2000 ?., 1-4.

2. Gary H., Information Society Forum, 17 September 1999, Lisbon.

3. Altschuel,J. Agents of power: The role of the New media in Human Affairs, Longman, NW and L, 1984, 54-63.

4. Brody E.W., Communication Tomorrow, New agencies, New Technologies, New media, Praeger Publ., 1990

5. Internet web sites

6. The Internet addresses of the biggest and most visited Bulgarian (portal) search web sites in Bulgarian and English: www.dir.bg 180000 visits monthly (Data-exTREMETracking-IX”99 System); www.giuvetch.bg; www.search.bg - Bulgarian and English; www.triada.bg; www.news-bg; www.news.bg; www.bunnet.bg; www.hit.bg; www.eunet.bg/bgnews 84 The Global Network / Le reseau global

C A P I T A L The Global Network / Le reseau global 85 86 The Global Network / Le reseau global

M O N I T O R The Global Network / Le reseau global 87

S T A N D A R T 88 The Global Network / Le reseau global The Global Network / Le reseau global 89

The Media - the Possible, yet Unrealized Anti Corruption Instrument

BY VESSELA TABAKOVA

n Bulgaria of the mid mass level. The vast nineties prerequisites majority of Bulgarians I emerged for growth of consider corruption as one the corruption practices. of the most serious and Among those prerequisites threatening problems of we should mention, as society, a great social especially “contributing” wrong. At the same time, to corruption, the delay in however, a considerable the reforms, the financial part of people, mostly due and economic chaos, the to pressing facts of life, deterioration of law and greatly soften their intol- order, the morality and erance and condemn value crisis. The privatiza- towards corruption, per- tion turned out to be ceiving it as “a necessary accompanied by spreading evil” that can help in solv- requette and clientelism. ing some personal prob- The mass consciousness lems. On a mass level cor- started to perceive the pri- ruption was considered vatization itself as a swin- impossible to eliminate or dle. punish.

The processes in effect The changes at PHD. VESSELA TABAKOVA is lecturer at the deepened the resignation the beginning of Department of and cynicism among a 1997 naturally Journalism and Mass considerable number of gave rise to Communication Bulgarians. A dual atti- hopes for an at the "St Kliment tude towards the corrup- o f f e n s i v e Ohridski" University in tion practices settled on a towards corrup- Sofia (Bulgaria) 90 The Global Network / Le reseau global tion, for transparency of the of Bulgaria. Council of Europe, privatization processes as well Strasbourg, September 24, as for effective operation of the 1998). legal system. The struggle against corruption was also Media monitoring of corrup- considered a major precondi- tion: aspects of methodology tion for improving the invest- and method ment climate - as many international analyses show, cor- In such a situation it is only ruption in Bulgaria is among natural that media is not only the factors that rebuff the the voice of public expecta- potential investors. (See tions, but they can also act as Corruption as a Problem of the a powerful tool for anti-corrup- Transition to Sustainable tion disclosures and pressure Market Structure - CSD on institutions. The realization Monitor, 1998). of the media effort for bringing corruption out in the open mir- The political will expressed for rors the state of development fighting corruption brought up of journalism itself and its positive public expectations, potential to act as a “fourth even more so, taking into con- power” beneficial for the social sideration that those are processes. transferred to the process of Bulgaria joining the EC - the The analytical tool of media actual progress in fighting cor- monitoring can give an objec- ruption is a major political tive idea for the actual dimen- condition for Bulgaria in order sions of the media responsibili- to join the EC. The positive ty in fighting corruption. At expectations are further fueled the same time, however, it also by the OCTOPUS II program allows for measuring the level started by the European of development of an anti-cor- Committee and the European ruption disclosure mechanism, Council as an ambitious pro- which functions in a far more gram for increasing the effi- complex system of interrela- ciency of the fight against tions where media is a mere organized crime and corrup- element. tion in the Central and East European countries. (See The media monitoring of cor- Corruption and Organized ruption on which our analysis Crime in States in Transition is bases concentrates around /Octopus/. Final recommenda- the following main objectives: tions and guidelines for action addressed to the government * to present the general quan- The Global Network / Le reseau global 91 titative characteristics of the Due to its nature of breaching corruption issue presence in the established “rules of the the central print and electron- game” or existing on the basis ic media; of unsettled, yet necessary * to reveal the qualitative rules, corruption is a hidden characteristics of the media (invisible) social relation and reflection of corruption with phenomenon. Therefore, the priority on the manner and appearance of the issue in the extent in which media analy- media is of major importance, ses the nature, the displays since media - by exhibiting and types of corruption as a the problem - are a possible social attitude and phenome- tool in achieving anti-corrup- non; tion goals. * to evaluate the media reflection of corruption from the The method of media analysis stand of the possible influence combines research techniques over the formation of public which are functions of the attitudes and opinions; “middle level” theories, ade- * to inform about the media quately operating on the levels presence of the activities of of group, community, institu- Coalition 2000 and other anti- tion. By means of this method corruption initiatives. and on the basis of the empirical material gathered one is In a methodological and able to not only express the methodical aspect, the work on qualitative parameters of the media presence of the corrup- presence of the corruption tion issue is based upon the issue, but also to define and notion of corruption as a social analyze the most characteris- relation between two sides, on tic tendencies and established of which is ready to give some- interrelations and contextual- thing in order to obtain some- izations of its media presence. thing else from somebody who has the means to do it. The The method chosen, precondi- complex relation “corruption”, tioned by the corruption media as revealed by its multiple monitoring goals, integrates exhibits, is defined as an the content analysis as a abuse of power - economic, research technique allowing political and administrative for the objective description of one - which leads to personal the visible content of the com- benefit at the expense of the munication and the communi- rights and lawful interests of cation units and elements of an individual, a certain com- discourse analysis as a munity or the whole society. research technique revealing 92 The Global Network / Le reseau global the attitude towards the characteristics and tendencies events and processes through in reflecting the corruption the manner of writing and issue at different periods; talking about them. * defining the fields of media exposure influencing the pub- The registration card, on lic attitudes and opinions which the print and electronic towards corruption. media are surveyed, consti- tutes of 26 indicators. The lat- The media survey during the ter can be structured as fol- past 1999 included 13 metro- lows: politan newspapers, 9 of which were dailies /10 until March, * indicators for measuring and when “Kontinent” newspaper analysis of quantitative and disappeared/ and 3 weeklies, content media features of the as well as certain excerpts of corruption issue presence, the electronic media broad- such as volume, placement, cast. authorship, type of communi- The newspapers surveyed cation unit etc. were “Demokratsia”, “Duma”, * indicators for measuring and “Trud”, “24 Hours”, “Sega”, analysis of the depth and “Standard”, “Novinar”, “Pari”, peculiarities of the corruption “Monitor” and the weeklies issue media treatment, such “Kapital”, “168 Hours” and as sphere of exhibit, type of “Banker”. The electronic corruptive activity, rigor, anti- media surveyed were BNR, corruption findings and BNTV, Darik Radio, Nova TV actions etc. and 7 Days Television. * indicators for measuring and analysis of some discourse The survey focuses on the aspects of the media reflection media participation and of the corruption issue such as engagement in the fight key words, headlines, intona- against corruption as well as tion characteristics etc. on the possible influence of the media discourse about corrup- The research approaches cre- tion on public attitudes. Due ate the necessary empirical to the specifics of corruption and analytical basis for: being a hidden social relation, the media - in a way - are the * revealing of the major pecu- basis of the “public discourse” liarities of the corruption issue on corruption, they strongly media presence in a given influence the public attitudes, period; the definition of the public * comparative analysis of the “agenda”. This, in fact, was The Global Network / Le reseau global 93 displayed throughout the year during the last quarter the of survey. number of registered texts is almost 6 times larger compared to the first one. “The media expansion” of The electronic media, due to the corruption issue their specifics, can not be invaded to such an extent by a hroughout 1999 the cor- single issue and, on the other T ruption issue “invaded” hand, the summer program and ever increasing area in scheme also influences the the newspapers as well as in qualitative accumulation. the electronic media surveyed. Nevertheless, during the last For a good reason - even quarter, when 191 units were though this was not proven by accounted for, the increase is a frequency dictionary - a more than double compared to headline in “Kapital” newspa- the first quarter when 86 units per at the end of the year pro- were registered, /second quar- claimed corruption as “the ter - 53, third quarter - 25/. It word of 1999”. Other journalis- is worth noting, for example, tic definitions - also private - that during the last quarter such as “the most fashionable the corruption issue appeared issue”, “the hit No. 1 issue” 31 times in “Before all” of also clearly reflect the place of “Horizont” program, 13 times the corruption theme in in “12+3” etc. Its presence in media. “Nedelia 150” was also considerable, the registered 17 units “The expansion” of the issue being situated in comprehen- peaked during the last quar- sive talks and discussions with ter, when 1605 texts were reg- one or more participants (the istered in the papers, which participation of each guest is gives us a reason to say that registered separately in the the last media quarter, espe- case of electronic media). cially in the print media surveyed, was the quarter of cor- The “expansion” of the corrup- ruption issue. The dynamics of tion issue is mostly influenced the qualitative accumulation by a common factor - the actu- is truly revealing - 270 com- al inclusion of the issue in the munication units were regis- public debate, additionally tered in the first quarter, 703 - triggered by external, in the second, while in the “European” evaluations of the third one the number situation in the country. In the increased to 1149. Clearly, same time - especially in the 94 The Global Network / Le reseau global case of print media, under- accentuated. The situation in standably, due to unstated but electronic media was almost displayed “inclinations” and the same - 59% were in such a “rejections” - two more specific position during the last quar- factors acted as a catalyst: the ter of the year. early actual start of the local elections campaign and the The “expansion” of the issue participation of the presiden- was clearly displayed by other tial institution in the debate. parameters too. At its initial And if at the beginning of the stage the survey registered a year the registered texts considerable accumulation of showed that the corruption short informative texts, relat- issue is tackled most by papers ed to the corruption issue. close to the government, this Later and in the course of the tendency disappeared soon year, the larger formats occu- after this, the greatest activity pied an ever increasing space being displayed by the opposi- and in the last quarter they tion-oriented “Sega” and accounted for more than half “Monitor”. This entered the of all registered newspaper “Bulgarian case” in the public texts. At the initial stage of practice of the democratic the survey the corruption states where - as it is well theme had most often been known - the journalistic anti- present in electronic media in corruption investigations are a the form of short pieces of powerful tool of the opposition. information, while in the last The presence of the issue in quarter 34% of the registered “Trud” and “24 Hours” was units were of considerable steady and considerable (the duration - up to 7 minutes, up largest accumulation during to 15 minutes and over 15 the last quarter). minutes.

The corruption theme which, The change in the media dis- at the beginning of the year, play of the corruption theme had rarely been the breaking demonstrated itself in the news or specially emphasized - course of the year by yet both in print and electronic another parameter. At the ini- media - has gradually turned tial stage, even the larger into a main or stressed upon newspaper texts - from 70 theme. It is a revealing fact lines up to a full page - the cor- that during the last quarter a ruption issue was accompany- total of 58% of the registered ing, secondary theme, appear- newspaper texts were posi- ing in relation to another one, tioned as leading, main or thus establishing a symmetry The Global Network / Le reseau global 95 between the print and the tive system, the local authori- electronic existence of the ty. In fact, a transition could theme, since it was in the be observed in this respect, to short informative texts where a greater attention to the state corruption was the main point. institutions, while prevailingly Later, however, the registered relating corruption to the pres- newspaper texts every more ence of administrative posi- often featured corruption as tion. the leading theme, reaching a leading theme presence in 76% of the newspaper texts regis- How corruption is spoken of tered in the last quarter. The lager volume of the texts he initial research hypoth- always implied the assump- T esis and expectations as to tion for analysis of the issue, the manner in which corrup- of its varieties, instances, tion was spoken of and written actions and counter actions. At about were was confirmed by the beginning of the survey, the all too many instances of however, this assumption did general talk and writing about not find its proof - about 1/4 of the issue. Corruption, of the texts featured analysis. course, is not a transparent, Here, too - according to the visible and open social rela- “type of communication tion, yet the general anti-cor- instance” indicator - the ruption rhetoric or assump- change was substantial: dur- tions voicing hardly contribute ing the last quarter 40% of the to bringing this phenomenon newspaper texts were charac- out into the light. The fact terized by an analytical that corruption was most often approach. In electronic media related to the state institu- 31% of the texts /as compared tions in print and electronic to 20% at the beginning/ were media - as was mentioned - analytical - the corruption actually became pointless and issue entered more deeply into melted in the general talk the discourse and comment about corruption. All too often field, that being the main rea- corruption was written about son for the considerable for no particular occasion - cor- “lengths” in electronic media. ruption existed, corruption was everywhere, the public Throughout the survey period talked about corruption. corruption was steadily posi- tioned and most often associat- Public talk very often fueled ed on the media field with the papers, while, in turn, state institutions, the legisla- media talking induced public 96 The Global Network / Le reseau global talk. The general nature of often originated from the high- talking through assumptions, er spheres of power, all of rumors and guessing projected them determinantly speaking the actual futility of otherwise against corruption - that clearly proclaimed goals. In “grave disease of democracy”, spite of the fact that a transi- “a repulsive offense...using tion was also observed in the authority for selfish reasons”, course of the survey, towards a quote by the Vice President search for evidence, investiga- Todor Kavaldjiev. The more tion efforts, we should say that people from the higher spheres the percentage of “general of power joined the condemn of talk” throughout the year corruption, the greater the stayed relatively high - even in number of texts with verbal the last quarter 63% of the reference. In the first quarter newspaper texts on corruption the share of such texts talk generally (71% in the first amounted to 14% for print quarter). However, it should media and 20% for the elec- be pointed out that the per- tronic ones, in the second centage of “general texts” pre- quarter it was respectively senting the typology of the 32% and 47%, while in the phenomenon, the instances of third quarter this percentage social corruption, the “political was 24% and 44%. During the influence trade”, the existing last quarter the communica- pressure tools etc. increased - tion instances with verbal ref- in other words, the general erence were 29% and 33% texts also began revealing the respectively. complex nature and varieties of corruption. The general talk The analysis showed that in electronic media decreased throughout the year the by almost 20%. The decrease greater substantiation per- in general talk about corrup- tained to a single corruption tion is naturally accompanied deed - the bribe. by transition towards search- The corruption deed - regarding for and presenting of evi- less of whether it was verbally dence. assumed or had more specific substance - was dominantly The presence of verbal initiat- situated on the background of ing various texts presented an an administrative position (the interesting feature to the sur- annual average is 50% of all vey. texts).

The sources of verbal events The specifics of the bribe throughout the year all too defined yet another peculiarity The Global Network / Le reseau global 97 of the media presence of cor- towards doctors (first quarter), ruption as well as its transfor- teachers (second quarter), mation. Throughout the sur- policemen and customs officers vey period this peculiarity was (almost throughout the peri- in the predominant absence of od). At the beginning the high- the corrupting person and the er spheres of power seemed very act of corruption, while at unaffected behind the thick the end of the year “giving” curtain and, it was only natur- was even less present than at al that the specific cases the beginning. appeared in the faces of medics, teachers, customs offi- Such a characteristic may lead cers, policemen. The imperme- to the belief that the media ability of the higher spheres themselves shared the atti- led to a n inflated media pres- tude that each and everyone ence of corruption among the could be a corrupting person, medics and, later on, among while the essential figure was the teachers. The “exemplary that of the corrupted, the one actions” of the police for catch- having the status and the ing corrupted persons which means. Such absence of the were widely reflected by the corrupting one might induce media also strongly con- and tolerate the attitude tributed to this situation. Here towards corruption as being a is a simple coincidence, highly possible tool for solving an revealing, though. During the issue, as going beyond the first quarter the highest share responsibility of the corrupting in the relatively small number one, as far as he could obtain of personalizations in print something through a corrup- media went to the doctors - tive deed, and remaining the 6%, that share being 8% in sole problem and guilt of the electronic media. On sixteen corruptive person. instances the print media called corrupted doctors by From the “low” to the their names. In the second quarter the percentage of “high spheres” teachers was among the highest within the instances of per- he field between substan- sonalization - 5% of printed T tiation and generality fea- texts in which specific perpe- tures a major peculiarity with trator was designated and 7% respect to the change of the of the similar texts in electron- media presentation of corrup- ic media. During the second tion. The specific nature of the quarter there were sixteen bribe led the public opinion instances in which corrupted 98 The Global Network / Le reseau global teachers were called by their The names of two Deputy names in print media (in fact, Ministers were also clearly in ten of these instances the stated, evidence was also sup- doer was the same/. It was on plied etc. During the third that level where specific quarter alone, for example, the actions - arresting mostly - name of a presidential advisor, were announced most often. accused for corruption, appeared on 19 instances in a It can be said for certain that corruption context in the the media inflation of corrup- papers. tion in the “low spheres”, introduced mainly through However, the media “explo- showing of the “exemplary sion” of different corruption actions” (very often with a accusations in the higher reporter present at the administration did not lead to arrest?!) has inevitably influ- a clear display of the extent to enced the public opinion. which the corruption processes in the society are clear and If the substantiation of bribe controllable as well as whether during the first two quarters there existed intentional shad- directed public opinion to “the ing of the issue. Even the low spheres”, the reflection of debate regarding the changes verbal events and the general in the government, being a analyses of the phenomenon media catalyst and itself trig- during the second part of the gered by the claims about cor- year and especially in the last ruption among the ruling cir- three months addressed high- cles, did not in fact remove the er positions in state institu- thick curtain. tions. The lexeme “swindle” did not replace “bribe” in the The big problem is to what frequency dictionary, but it extent the media itself is the became the key that summa- cause for the lack of respect rized the abuse of administra- towards the publication on the tive status for personal benefit side of those involved, as well as well as the benefit of a as to how much of the reasons clientelist circle. are beyond media. In any case, the way in which many cases - At the same time, on the level brought up by media - were of personalization, the name of closed did not seem very a former Deputy Prime encouraging for media itself Minister was mentioned (in and for the efficiency of its fact, he was mentioned pressure methods. “The bat- throughout the year), as well tles for discredit”, fought years as those of certain ministers. ago with the help of certain The Global Network / Le reseau global 99 journalists and media mist during the last quarter, inevitably had a negative with 30% of all texts which effect on media efficiency in featured optimism, was again fighting corruption. “Democratsia” newspaper, followed by “Trud” newspaper The neglective silence in the with 20%. The most pro- face of some investigations claimed one among “the pes- was very often the due jour- simists” was “Duma” newspa- nalism had to pay for the per with a 29% share of the “errand aptitude” of some of texts with expressed pes- its representatives. simism, followed by “Monitor” with 25%, “Sega” and “Trud”, Yet another problem was that, with 17% each. There was not as media survey throughout a single “optimistic” instance the year showed, the efficiency registered in “Duma”, as there or inefficiency of the fight wasn’t a pessimistic one in against corruption were treat- “Democratsia”. The accumula- ed differently depending on tions with respect to the skep- the views of the political power ticism and optimism options in towards which the respective “Sega” were three times larger media was inclined. The vari- than those of “moderate opti- ous social worlds of corruption mism”. existed steadily throughout the year and were mostly dis- The media “social worlds” of played in the intonational col- corruption throughout the oring hue of the texts, as well year did not go beyond the as the views presented. The social worlds, represented in skepticism and pessimism as the political discourse and use to the results of the battle of corruption. against corruption was charac- Based on the media survey teristic for media of opposing during 1999 certain general- orientation, while the pro gov- izations and conclusions can ernmental media featured be drawn: larger accumulation of “moderate optimism”. The clear “mod- * The placement of “corrup- erate optimists” (in fact, there tion texts” displayed a clear was no unconditional opti- tendency towards presenting mism) remained such at the them in a leading or accentu- end of the year, too, while “the ated position , the latter being skeptics” and “pessimists” pre- so both for print and electronic served their stand. media. At the same time throughout the year the num- The greatest moderate opti- ber of communication units, 100 The Global Network / Le reseau global featuring corruption as main tion pressure. The scarce and not auxiliary theme, con- results - determined as such stantly increased. The “expan- by factors outside media - gave sion” of the theme, its peak us a reason to believe that a being in the last quarter, was certain media fatigue would revealed in the volume of the occur, even a decrease of separate units, as well as the media activity as investigation greater focus on analysis. and pressure tool. * In the course of the year the media activities regarding cor- It was media itself that called ruption clearly displayed a the corruption issue a media transition from the “low “Hit No. 1”. If that qualifica- spheres” and everyday aspects tion should be used, one could of the phenomenon to the say that “the hit” did not bring higher spheres of state admin- “the income” society expected. istration. The last quarter saw And as far as the problem still the media attention complete- drastically exists, at the begin- ly focused on the higher ning of year 2000 media dis- spheres of state administra- poses of a relatively good pro- tion. The change brought up fessional recapitulation, yet an alteration of the very treat- with strong doubts regarding ment of the phenomenon, their possibilities as being an revealing its nature of abuse of effective anti-corruption tool. authority position for personal Their realization as such is in benefit as well as the benefit of their presence as an active a clientelist circle, as a social participant in “pressure corruption, trade of political groups” which connect media influence etc. and civil structures in * The corruption issue /like addressing their arguments to many other themes/ was a the respective institutions. subject of political use and And the most important - a partisan treatment by media, deliberately declared political which had a negative influence will for fighting against cor- on the actual media effects. All ruption, which to be realized too often the political use as an embodiment of the caused the high and fast death development of the democratic rate of some huge corruption standards and values in the scandals in the course of the society. yeas, e.g. “the cigarette” and “the spirit” affairs. * As a whole, media success- q fully tried to play the role of important tool for anti-corrup- THE GLOBAL NETWORK provides a forum of scientific discussion that includes exchange and comparison of ideas for academics and professionals.

THE GLOBAL NETWORK publishes manuscripts emphasizing philosophical, evaluative, empirical, legal, historical and critical inquiry into relationships between communication and society in the post-communist period of Central and Eastern Europe.

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Sur la première page doivent figurer le titre de l’article ainsi que le nom de l’auteur et sa présentation. Sur la deuxième page, au dessous du titre, incluez un résumé de tout au plus 100 mots. Les manuscrits seront dactilographiés à deux interlignes; les mots et références apparaîtront sur des feuilles séparées, à la fin du texte. Les manuscrits transmis à la redaction ne sont pas rendus. This issue was financially supported by The Global Network / Le reseau global 105

Previous issues / Des numéros antérieures

No. 12 / 1999

MARIE-CHRISTINE MARRIÉ • Ce que parler veut dire

ROGER DELBARRE • Les médias est - allemands

VESSELA TABAKOVA, MARIA NEIKOVA, SNEZHANA POPOVA • Bulgarian Media Seen through the Optics of War

JEAN-PIERRE BACOT • Les mystères d'une irreprésentation nationale

MARGARITA VASSILIEVA • La fin du piratage médiatique en Bulgarie

DANIELA ROVENTA FRUMUSANI • L’identité féminine dans la presse écrite roumaine: topos et réalité 106 The Global Network / Le reseau global

No. 11 / 1999

DANIELA FRUMUSANI • Le “deuxieme sexe” dans la société et les médias

TUDOR CATINEANU • La radio - du poste d’Etat au service publique

DANIELA ROVENTA FRUMUSANI • Women, Media and Society in the Post- Communist Countries

SIMONE LANDRY • Où va le féminisme québécois ?

GINA STOICIU • Diana et la globalisation de l’émotion

ROGER DE LA GARDE • Le téléroman québécois

JEAN PIERRE BOYER • Les femmes dans le triangle des Bermudes

BOGUSLAWA DOBEK - OSTROWSKA • Mass Communication in Polland after the Collapse of Communism

RITA CSAPO - SWEET • Where in the World is Szesám Utca ? The Global Network / Le reseau global 107

No. 9 - 10 / 1998

PETER GROSS • The first nine years - a reappraisal of Romania’s media

MIHAI COMAN • Romanian Media in Post-Communist Era: 1990-1997

CRISTINA SIMION • Media Concentrations in Romania

NICOLAS PELISSIER • L’information contre la communication?

MIHAELA POPOVICI • Local Elections in Romania

VALENTINA MARINESCU •Le marchè médiatique en Roumanie

MARIAN PETCU • La legislation des medias en Roumanie 108 The Global Network / Le reseau global

No. 8 - June / Juin 1997

CLAUDE-JEAN BERTRAND • La déontologie des médias

KAROL JAKUBOWICZ • Freedom of Speech in Poland: An Evolving Concept

RICHARD SHAFER • The Press and the Preservation of Yugoslavia Before 1990: TANJUG’s Leadership of the Non-Aligned News Agencies Pool

CHRISTOPHER BENNET • Media in Bosnia and Herzegovina : How International Support Can Be More Effective

SERGEI KORKONOSSENKO • The “New Politicization” of Russian Journalism

M. COULOMB-GULLY • L’Humour politico-cathodique russe. Kouklis et Guignols: a chacun sa marionette The Global Network / Le reseau global 109

No. 6-7 - 1996/1997

THIERRY WATINE • La productivité et la complexité comme contraintes de la production journalistique

DANIELA LEIDNER, IRENA REIFOVA, LUTZ M. HAGEN • The Czech Election Campaign of 1996 on Public and Private Television Stations

BRUNO STEFAN • The Broadcasting of Political Agents and Actors on TV News in the 1996 Elections in Romania

M. COULOMB-GULLY • Le corps en politique: Incarnation présidentielle et démocratie cathodique

NICOLAS PELISSIER • Les voix multiples de la Transylvanie

TODOR PETEV - Bulgarian Independent Radio Gains Audience in a Troubled Social Environment 110 The Global Network / Le reseau global

No. 4-5 - March-June / Mars-Juin 1996

TAPIO VARIS • Global Communication in the Age of Cyberspace

PETER GROSS, RAY HIEBERT • Departures on an Old Fashioned Track. Broadcasting Laws in Romania, Poland and the Czech Republic

MARIUS LUKOSIUNAS, SKIRMANTAS VALIULIS • Lithuanian Mass Media and its Legal Regulation Between 1991-1995

VESELLA TABAKOVA • Women and Media in Bulgaria: Access to Expression and Decision Making

DANIELA ROVENTA-FRUMUSANI • New Role Models for Journalists in Eastern European Countries

TERESA SASINSKA-KLAS • Transformation of the Polish Media System

FILE / DOSSIER Detailed Presentation of Some Central & Eastern European Schools of Journalism The Global Network / Le reseau global 111

No. 3 - September / Septembre 1995

KENNETH STARCK • The Whole World as a Foreign Place. Journalism and Culture

MARIAN STAN • High School Journalism in Romania

RICHARD SHAFER • Romania’s Image Through Segments Contributed to CNN’s World Report

ROMY FRÖHLICH • Coping with the New System

NICOLAS PELISSIER • Roumanie: Une nouvelle génération de “professionels” de la television

STEFANA STERIADE • Double distorsion d’une réalité - l’image de la Roumanie dans la presse française: 1989-1990

LULIVERA KRASTEVA • The Verbal Violence Phenomenon

SERGEI KORKONOSSENKO • Media Pretends to Be a Social Control

JURAJ VOJTEK • The Media in Slvakia

BRIEF / DOSSIER

CRISTINA COMAN, MIHAI COMAN • Owners, Editors and Reporters: Ways of Recruitment 112 The Global Network / Le reseau global

No. 2 - May / Mai 1995

MARIAN STAN • Editorial

GINA STOICIU • Le post communisme en deroute mythologique

MEDIA ELITE IN TURMOIL (Papers presented at Brasov, Romania, November 24-26, 1994)

KENNETH STARCK • Media Elite: A Contradiction in a Democratic Society?

MARIO PLENKOVIC, VLASTA KUCIS • Structuring Media Elite in Croatia

ZOLTAN A. BIRO, JULIANNA BODO • Hungarian Media elite in Romania

ZHYDI DERVISHI • Mass Media Elites within the Spectrum of the Albanian Elites

PEETER VIHALEMM • Media Elite in Estonia

DANIELA ROVENTA-FRUMUSANI • The Woman in Post-Communist Society and Media

ANTAL ORKENI • Social Mobility and the New Elite in Hungary

CARINA LOUART • Du post-communisme au capitalisme sauvage

IOAN DRAGAN • Les medias roumains: la crise de credibilite