Freedom of Speech in Bulgaria is Declining, Says a New Media Report

Freedom of speech in Bulgaria in 2018 has diminished, and this reflects the overall weakness of the rule of law and, among a number of other factors, the fact that laws are applied selectively and there are people with political protection against persecution.

In addition, professional standards weaken on a media scene from fragmented editions used to promote the interests of their owners and weaken the positions of their rivals. Journalists are increasingly imposing self-censorship to protect themselves from political, corporate, and criminal pressure.

This is the assessment in the annual report on the The Media Sustainability Index (MSI) of the Washington-based IREX-based NGO. The analysis is considered to be one of the most profound in the world because it assesses not only the media freedom, but also the legal, professional and technical environment in which journalists work and how far they protect the state and their employers. MSI for Europe has been working since 2000 in cooperation with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), writes Dnevnik. 

The indicator for Bulgaria has slightly improved this time - from 1.81 to 1.89 points. But this is far from the best result in 2007 and puts the country in the "unsustainable mixed media" category for media and journalists. This is the penultimate, best-in-class category of "countries covering minimum requirements in which there are separate segments in the legal system, as well as in the government that oppose a free media system, if there is visible progress in defending the freedom of the press, the improvement of professionalism and the emergence of new media companies, such phenomena are too new to judge how sustainable they are. "

Bulgaria, Romania and Croatia...