SHRINKING FREE media space and us

The global tendency shows that civil spaces and civil rights are shrinking from a number of different marginal perspectives, which were marginal up until now, whereas Bulgaria’s position on the international ratings for freedom of speech is radically decreasing. Journalists who are not obeying the dominant status quo are being chased away, threatened, dismissed, and embarrassed. Also, media is as easily bought as chocolate from the closest kiosk. At the same time the discussions on alternative models don’t go out of a small marginalised circle of interested individuals even though we are all paying taxes, which are supporting public media, and each Bulgarian person is practically an employer of the directors of the Bulgarian National Television (BNT) and the Bulgarian National Radio (BNR). The recent solidarity that was expressed by the team of BNR in defence of Silviya Velikova’s position – a host in the morning show of the Horizon programme – is a light shining in the darkness, but it’s also one of the rare cases of public support that has been expressed thus far. How can we claim back the free media space that was taken away from us? Which civil position and strategy should the journalists – and also the non-journalists – choose in order to change Bulgaria’s positon on the ratings for freedom of speech and on our own personal moral compass? An open discussion and a search for solutions facilitated by Association of European Journalists (AEJ) and Ideas Factory. 1 NOVEMBER > 4 - 5.30 pm  > House of science and technics (Gladston 1 str.) background image: Atanas Giew published by (CC-BY-NC-SA)