For the eighth consecutive year the Bulgarian National Radio brought journalists from its national and regional channels together for a radio journalism master class. The participants were selected competitively to be trained under the training programme of the European Broadcasting Union – the EBU Academy. They finished their training today successfully, having gleaned new knowledge and experience.

“I think that, whatever their age, journalists need to be au courant,” says journalist Svetlana Dicheva from the BNR’s Horizont channel, a lecturer at the Academy. “They need to see what their colleagues are doing, what direction their efforts are taking, what new ideas can emerge so as to enrich their own work in the studio. New ideas are something that is really important, change is important too because the world around us is changing at a blistering pace. And we need to adapt, sometimes even as journalists we have to try to be two steps ahead of what is going on.  Especially now, after the pandemic, we have come to realize how important it is to be part of the big team of the national radio. We all feel the kind of togetherness that helps us keep our sound judgement.”

In Svetlana Dicheva’s words, the Academy has helped them all gain more self-confidence. “They all have their individuality and that helps piece together the bigger picture of individual voices,” she says.

The members of Radio Bulgaria’s team who have honed their skills at the BNR academy in the past have made their contribution to the unique content Radio Bulgaria offers. Aylin Topleva from Radio Bulgaria’s Greek-language service and Maria Stoeva from the French-language service took part in this, 8^th edition of the Academy:

“To be honest, the BNR Academy was a real challenge for me,” Aylin Topleva says. “I knew it would be difficult when I applied, but I wanted to find out more about the inner workings of the BNR, what it is like to create radio content. I am an absolute beginner, with no experience in journalism, very introvert, and at times it was such a challenge but I am happy with the final result, with the knowledge I have acquired, with the experience and the wonderful people I met – the other trainees as well as the lecturers who were true professionals.”

Aylin says doing radio is a difficult thing, especially with the high standards the Bulgarian National Radio sets down. And that what appeals to her is the enormous diversity of radio channels, programmes where one can find the place that suits them most. “And Radio Bulgaria is definitely the place where I belong,” Aylin says. 

Maria Stoeva from the French-language service agrees, and adds that the Academy master class has given her an overall idea of the BNR and its various channels, and has made her feel she is part of the team:

“I got to know different aspects of journalism – things our work at the Radio Bulgaria foreign-language services rarely involves. It was very intriguing to do reporting, to plan ahead, then to do the sound editing. And it made me feel more a part of the BNR team. I met colleagues from different channels, including the regional channels, and I saw there were different approaches to radio, and each one offers a unique kind of experience. I particularly liked the practical project – recording a podcast on a given topic that we find interesting, doing a personal, creative project was very inspiring. And it is a sad thing that the Academy is now over. I really enjoyed working with others and discovering new things, so I hope this is not the end and that it will continue in some form.”

Here is what Svetlana Dicheva says about the two girls from Radio Bulgaria who took part in the Academy:

“They are very intelligent, but more than that, they listen carefully and they learn, they are polyphonic, meaning they can assume many different roles. Radio offers all of these opportunities – to host shows, to do interviews, to cover events in many and different areas, and they demonstrated they can do it all, and they are capable of honing their skills. And that is a very important thing for a journalist – to learn their whole life.”

Photos: Ani Petrova, BNR