The Relationship between Media and Politics in Post-Communist Bulgaria (Scholar Research Brief)

Free and independent media are a vital component of any democratic society. This research project focuses on the state of Bulgarian political journalism during the post-Communist transition. It reports the results of (1) a systematic content analysis of political news coverage during each national election since the end of Communist rule (from 1989 to 2011) and (2) semi-structured interviews with Bulgarian journalists regarding their professional norms and practices when reporting political news. The two-pronged analysis applies media framing theory to post-Communist media, offers a longitudinal view of news coverage across elections and provides an inside look at how political news reporters view their professional roles. The research also provides an opportunity to evaluate the level of independence of Bulgarian news media today.

Daniela Dimitrova, of Iowa State University, was a 2011-2012 Individual Advanced Research Opportunities (IARO) fellow.