History of journalism Bulgaria

The media of Bulgaria refers to mass media outlets based in Bulgaria The media of Bulgaria refers to mass media outlets based in Bulgaria. Television, magazines, and newspapers are all operated by both state- owned and for-profit corporations which depend on advertising, subscription, and other sales-related revenues. The Constitution of Bulgaria guarantees freedom of speech. As a country in transition, Bulgaria's media system is under transformation.

Bulgaria's media are generally deemed unbiased, although the state still dominates the field through the Bulgarian National Television (BNT), the Bulgarian National Radio (BNR), and the Bulgarian Telegraph Agency. Bulgarian media have a record of unbiased reporting, although they are deemed potentially at risk of political influence due to the lack of legislation to protect them.

The written media have no legal restrictions and newspaper publishing is entirely liberal. The extensive freedom of the press means that no exact number of publications can be established, although some research put an estimate of around 900 print media outlets for 2006. The largest- circulation daily newspapers include Dneven Trud and 24 Chasa.

Freedom of expression and free competition in the media market were introduced in Bulgaria after 1989. Newspaper publishing is not regulated by law, and no audit office or official record of the number of publications exist. Over 900 print media titles were estimated in 2007, but their number is today greatly reduced after the effects of the economic crisis. The nationally distributed dailies were 14 in 2009; circulation per capita is very low.

From 1935 to 1989 there was a state monopoly on radio broadcasts in Bulgaria. After liberalization, the market now features a high number of private, national and local radio stations. The sector is mainly controlled by four foreign groups: the Irish Communicorp Group, SBS Broadcasting Group (since 2007 part of ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG), US Emmis Communications, and News Corporation Group (owned by Rupert Murdoch). A Bulgarian owner, Focus, joined them in late 2009. They overall control over 20 radio stations. The two national-coverage radio stations are the Bulgarian National Radio (BNR), with two channels (Horizont and Hristo Botev), and the private Darik radio. BNP's Radio Bulgaria broadcasts abroad, as well as in 7 regional centres in the country

Television in Bulgaria was introduced in 1959 Television in Bulgaria was introduced in 1959. Although the Bulgarian media market is small, it is one of the most vibrant and highly competitive in Central and Eastern Europe. Global players such as News Corporation, Modern Times Group, Central European Media Enterprises and Fox Broadcasting Company and others operate the biggest and most popular media outlets in the country. Two of the leading TV stations, bTV and Nova TV, are foreign-owned. The third is the national public service broadcaster, Bulgarian National Television; BNT is deemed nonpartisan, but remains vulnerable to political interference from the government

The Bulgarian telecommunication market, now privatised, is shared mainly among three actors: Mtel (owned by Mobicom Austria Group), Globul (owned by Greek OTE), and Vivacom (owned by American International Group Inc. with participation of the Bulgarian state). MTel and Globul dominate the mobile market, while Vivacom retains dominance on the 2.3 million landlines. Mobile phones in 2007 amounted to 9.87 million lines, with 110% penetration rate. The telephony system features an extensive but antiquated telecommunications network inherited from the Soviet era; quality has improved; the Bulgaria Telecommunications Company's fixed-line monopoly terminated in 2005 when alternative fixed-line operators were given access to its network; a drop in fixed-line connections in recent years has been more than offset by a sharp increase in mobile-cellular telephone use fostered by multiple service providers; the number of cellular telephone subscriptions now exceeds the population.

The end Yordan Kodzhabashev