The murky media environment in Bulgaria has been raising a host of questions. The fact that it is not known who owns so many of the media outlets as well as the interests they so obviously cater for, has undermined confidence in them, bringing it down to a critical low. That is why the campaign News Remission by a group of young people is an attempt to offset the wave of news coverage that is manipulative or spurious.

More about the idea from its author Venelin Dobrev:

“Our target is the audience of people who are better informed and expect more. People who will not put up with what they are being offered and will change the channel every time they see something that is repellent. It is very important to note that I am not talking about coverage of negative news, but about the way news is covered. When tragedy struck in Hitrino I saw two reports in the media, in the first case the reporter refused to go and ask people questions, but there was another report when journalists went and talked to people, but the questions they asked were really distressing to them. We would like to see a time come when any viewer seeing something like that will change the channel or turn their TV off. If a sufficient number of people do that, then the TV stations will have to alter their policy and the way they cover news. Because a reporter’s paycheck depends on the station’s ratings. And as soon as people stop watching this distressing, sensational kind of news coverage, I feel sure it will change. When there is a different kind of demand, then then the supply will change too.”

The campaign was launched in August 2016 with an appeal to all media outlets to broadcast one news bulletin that only has positive news. Now, eight months later, one of the leading TV stations in this country has responded to this appeal and will air one such news bulletin every week. Perhaps others will follow. The work journalists put into it will not be in vain, it will benefit the reporters themselves and affect the rating of the media outlet they work for.

To be well informed one needs a high level of media literacy, so as to be able to tell which is fake news and which news is really important. Cheap sensationalism must not distract readers and viewers from the really important stories. The media have more and more often been guilty of dereliction of their main duty to society – to inform the public accurately and impartially, instead, they opt to keep viewers amused. And that now seems to be the new normal, with fewer and fewer people even noticing. Replacing real life problems with the torments of some reality show character doesn’t make them go away, it compounds them by adding one more – envy. This trait that is so ingrained in our national psychology is what underpins so many of the problems we face as a society. One of the ways to deal with that is to have more positive news and good examples in broadcast media and on the internet. There will always be people who will not be happy to learn of someone else’s happiness or success, but by telling their stories, the media will be able to regain the credibility they have lost.

English version: Milena Daynova