BTA. Report Looks at Media's Attitude toward Migrants, Minorities, Vulnerable Groups in Bulgaria

YEREVAN, JULY 18, ARMENPRESS/BTA. The image of minority and vulnerable groups present in Bulgarian media was the focus of a new report presented at the BTA National Press Club on Tuesday by its author Assoc. Prof. Ivo Indzhov, political scientist Rumyan Russinov, chair of the board of the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee Krasimir Kanev and Tanya Kaltzeva of NPO Organization Drom.

The report was based on 739 publications released between January and February 2023 by 13 media outlets.

Indzhov said that his report focuses on Bulgaria's historical minorities: Roma, Turks, Armenians, Jews, Muslim Bulgarians and citizens with Macedonian identity. The report also included members of the LGBTI community as well as migrants from the Middle East, North Africa and Ukraine.

The study shows that migrant stories dominate the Bulgarian news flow, with such stories being twice as many as the stories about minorities and other vulnerable groups combined. According to the report, the fate of migrants is relatively rarely in the focus of attention. "An exception is the case of thetragedy near the village of Lokorsko, close to Sofia, which saw many dead and injured. But here, too, sensationalism prevails at the expense of humanity and understanding," Indzhov said.

The report stated that most migrant stories are dedicated to migrants from North Africa and the Middle East rather than to Ukrainians. On the other hand, 85% of stories about Ukrainians present them in a positive or rather positive light.

Regarding the attitude of the Bulgarian media towards Roma, Indzhov pointed out that in 25% of the reports it is positive or rather positive. In every third publication, however, the attitude towards Roma is at least somewhat negative. Anti-Roma discourse has begun to fade, without disappearing, Indzhov said.

There has been a significant drop in the number of Roma and anti-Roma publications. Authors also seem to be trying to use more politically correct terms when writing about the Roma community.

Indzhov's study hypothesizes that members of the LGBTI community are becoming the new target for "the media's poisoned arrows", however, further research will be needed to check this hypothesis.

Russinov said that the media's attitude towards Armenians, Jews, Bulgarian Muslims and Turks is largely positive, and they are not treated as non-Bulgarians.

(This information is being published according to an agreement between Armenpress and BTA.)