Advocacy and Public Awareness through Media (Media Program)

DEVELOPMENT CHALLENGES Bulgaria has a wide variety of both state-run and independent privately owned media outlets, offering a wide choice of information and opinion. Independent media in the country have fostered public debate abut the main policy issues facing Bulgaria. However, with the exception of a few mainstream publications, the quality of reporting in key areas like rule of law, corruption, local government, business reforms, and social issues remains critically low. The Bulgarian media has shown critical vulnerability to political and economic pressure typical of countries with less advanced reforms. Professional standards, though well established in a few mainstream print and broadcast media outlets, are still not the rule of the media industry. Reporting is often biased, facts and opinion are rarely separated, and tolerance towards minorities or people of different opinion is rare. Bulgarian media regulation has suffered a series of setbacks since 2001. Changing regulatory bodies have failed to guarantee the independence of the licensing process.

USAID INVOLVEMENT USAID has supported the development of independent media in Bulgaria since 1995. Through its Professional Media Program, USAID has promoted the reform of media legislation, contributed to increase the professionalism of media outlets, and has been instrumental in the establishment of the professional associations of the independent media that will sustain the further development of the sector. Media professionals were trained to inform the public on issues such as anti-corruption, rule of law, government, decentralization, relieving ethnic tensions worked with NGOs, media associations, and legal experts to better cover reforms and bring the population into the process. USAID assistance was crucial for eh establishment of new media legislation and passage of key acts dealing with access to public information. USAID supported the establishment of the Association of Bulgarian Broadcasters, currently eh strongest broadcasters association in South East Europe (SEE), and the Bulgarian Media Coalition, a unique alliance of 14 media associations.

In 2004, USAID continued its work with the newly established Broadcast Training Center (BTC), an indigenous successor of IREX/ProMedia, the Washington-based implementer of USAID. Bulgaria’s earlier media activities. The BTC produced the first regular syndicated television anti-corruption investigative program Na Chisto (Clean Slate). The program, aired weekly by Nova TV and a network of nine TV stations across Bulgaria, is the only Bulgarian TV program focused on corruption and based on investigative journalism.

GOAL The Goal of USAID’s media program is to promote reform in key areas of Bulgarian society through media advocacy and the active involvement of an independent media.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION The current USAID media program focuses on providing media support for the rule of law reform, the fight against corruption, decentralization of government, resolving ethnic tensions and help to vulnerable groups. It provides professional support for high quality coverage of the key policy issues in the Bulgarian media and assists USAID-funded programs in achieving their goals by providing media support for their advocacy activities. In order to achieve these goals, the program works in the following areas.

• Journalism legal support center. To enhance journalist protection, the program works with Bulgarian partners like ABBRO, BMC, MLSG and the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee to establish a Journalism Legal Support Center. Some of the services which the centre will provide include support for journalists prosecuted for exposing corruption; legal training aimed at avoiding libel and defamation charges against journalists; on-demand pre-publication legal advice; protection against institutional pressure and intimidation.

•Media advocacy for reform. This component of the program is aimed at increasing the effectiveness of USAID’s reform programs in the rule of law, anti-corruption, and decentralization of government, economic development, and ethnic and vulnerable group issues. The program involves independent media in advocacy campaigns and fosters professional independent production of programs aimed at rule of law reforms and exposing corruption. The component provides media relations training to all key USAID Bulgarian counterpart organizations.

SUCCESS STORY BTC ProMedia, working closely with a national network of nine independent Television stations, launches the production of the television series Na Chisto, a groundbreaking investigative reporting show that has exposed local and regional corruption in the country. As a result of the program, a dean "selling" university degrees resigned, health inspections were rid of payoffs in one city, the government has had to address issues of corruption in customs, and many more changes were initiated through the power of television.