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SubscribeQuality of Bulgarian Journalism in Decline - MSI 2005
Politics: 1 February 2006, Wednesday.
The quality of journalism in Bulgaria and its compliance with professional standards scored lower in 2005 than in previous years, to a great extent due to the continuing self-censorship practiced by both reporters and editors.
These are part of the conclusions of the Media Sustainability Index 2005 report, which has been prepared since 2000 on the initiative of the United States Agency for International Development. The panel participants include members of the regulating bodies, associations and non-governmental organizations.
According to the report the practice of self-censorship arises because some outlets are either owned by certain business groups or the media owners have certain political or business affiliations. It is more apparent at smaller outlets, especially in cities with more developed business sectors.
"Therefore, editorial policies and sales plans take into consideration the need to protect those interests. As a result, critical coverage or investigations into business partners are restrained, while the improprieties of the competition are widely publicized."
The tendency of enhancing entertainment programming at the expense of news and information has also been blamed for the decline in the quality of journalism in 2005, where the country scores 2.09.
The pay levels for journalists and other media professionals are relatively high and proportionate to other industries, but only at the large national media. The report notes that in the smaller local media journalists become financially dependent on the owners, thereby leading to an unstable workplace, staff turnover, and the loss of a skilled force to other industries.
In 2005, the level of legal and social norms protecting free speech indicates that Bulgaria has begun to move toward sustainability, scoring 2.46 in this objective. The report stresses however that this sustainability is not yet proof against interference from political and government forces.
The plurality of Bulgaria's media environment has not changed significantly in 2005, scoring 2.47 in the ranking.
"The citizens' access to local and foreign sources of information is not openly or indirectly restricted by the government. The online reach of print media is still insufficient due to the still small number of people with Internet access. International media have little penetration because of the language barrier. A meager 16 percent of the population speaks a foreign language with the proficiency that could allow access to foreign sources of information."
In the fourth objective "Business management", Bulgaria scores 2.59. Media outlets and supporting firms operate as efficient, professional, and profit generating businesses, receiving revenue from a multitude of sources.
The efficient market-driven operation of the Bulgarian media is compromised by the lack of reliable ratings and circulation figures, the report says.
"The only people-meter group-TNS in partnership with a local business-producing television viewership figures does not provide information from its sample even to the consumer committee that was set up by the firm's owners. The objectivity of the people-meter system is widely questioned also because its owners have stakes in media outlets and advertising agencies.... A Bureau for the Independent Audit of Circulation exists, but it is not fully functional or reliable. As a result, the figures are not even used by advertising agencies in planning their print media ad campaigns."
The report notes as a clear success in 2005 the continued effort by the media community to invest in ethical self-regulation.
The high scores awarded to the fifth objective "Supporting Institutions" (2.99) reflect the agreement of the media community to adopt a common Code of Ethics, establish an Ethics Committee, and invest joint efforts in drafting the new media law.
This article was originally published by Sofia News Agency, Sofia, Bulgaria.