International Journal of Communications Law & Policy

JOURNALISTS AS LAWMAKERS: GRASSROOTS INITIATIVE FOR MEDIA REGULATION IN BULGARIA, 1996-1998
By Ivan Nikoltchev

Download the Paper in PDF Format: IJCLP Web-Doc 11-2-1999

Abstract

More than eight years after the demise of communism Bulgaria still does not have a functioning media legislation. Unhappy with the consequences of the legal vacuum, non-governmental organisations of journalists, media owners and managers have joined forces in a grassroots movement for fair media legislation and for self-regulation of journalism. This paper traces the last two years of the history of this movement and analyses three main issues: the changing role of the journalist in post-communist Bulgaria; the gradual forming of a journalistic community; and the interplay between grassroots initiative, political, economic and social factors in the democratic transformation of the Bulgarian media scene.

The analysis suggests that, after eight or nine years of struggling to define their role in society, Bulgarian journalists and media owners are beginning to unite behind their common interests. In this process, a sense of community is gradually developing, and the importance of self-regulation is slowly being recognised. While fighting their own war, journalists might also further the cause of democracy in Bulgaria.