Nikoleta Daskalova

The Bulgarian Media System after 1989: Restructuring in Three Directions

Abstract

The article diagnoses the macro processes in the post-communist transformation of the Bulgarian media system. Three major directions of media restructuring are presented. The first main course of development refers to the adoption of new democratic standards. Both the positive achievements and the flaws of democratization are discussed; attention is paid to the relationship between media and civil society. The second important direction of restructuring is presented as acceptance of foreign influences. The text illustrates the role of international capital for the building up of the local media market. The third macro phenomenon in the post-1989 media transformation is structural expansion with new media channels and technologies. The spread of the Internet is viewed as part of the unprecedented change in the media system. In a next step, the article comments on the intersections between these three directions with a focus on the democratization factor. It is argued that the transformation has been an uneven process with serious challenges still to be overcome.

 

 

Nikoleta Daskalova is a doctoral student in comparative media studies at the Faculty of Journalism and Mass Communication, St. Kliment Ohridski University of Sofia. Her research interests are in the areas of new media, political communication, media anthropology. She is experienced in coordinating academic projects on the media in Southeast Europe and the media in Bulgaria. Her latest publication is ‘News and Software: The Statistical Construction of Reality’ (Sociological Problems Journal, 3–4/2008 [in Bulgarian]). E-mail: nikoletatd-AT-yahoo.com.


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