Fri, Feb 10 2012

Gabriel Hershman

Editorial: Media crossroads

Fri, Aug 06 2010 09:58 CET byGabriel Hershman 2145 Views 1 Comment
Bulgaria's Radio and Television Act is currently being overhauled. One possible idea has been merging channels such as Bulgarian National Television, Bulgarian National Radio and state news agency BTA.

Hopefully, Prime Minister Boiko Borissov will keep his promise to resist this proposal. The failings of the UK's BBC, partially because of its vast, unaccountable and monolithic structure,  should be a cautionary tale.

Above all, any tendency towards a media monopoly should be avoided. In particular, the fusion between politics and media – the apogee of which is seen in Italy with prime minister and media magnate Silvio Berlusconi – is always dangerous. The need for transparency, accountability and diversity in Bulgarian media should be the primary consideration in any new legislation.

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Comments

Anonymous Anon Sun, Sep 12 2010 13:27 CET
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If BTV could only get anywhere near the 'failings' of the BBC.

It does rather make business sense for BTV and BNR to share functions, such as a single newsroom, rather than duplicate this basic work.

Certainly though Borisov with his inflamatory comments on the Turkish language news is a man to be very wary of when it comes to leaving the media free of political interference.


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