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2 E. Eur. Const. Rev. 48 (1993)
Media Wars in Sofia

handle is hein.journals/eeurcr2 and id is 148 raw text is: EA~sT EUROPEAN CONSTrmrrIONAi. REVIEW These provisions, viewed in the post-Communist po- litical context, indicate that the goal of participatory representative communicative democracy remains in force, but has been redefined. What it seems to mean in practice today is not access, representation and participa- tion in the operation of the media by society as a whole, but by the political class, the power elite which seeks direct involvement in, and influence upon, broadcasting policy and particularly the state/public broadcast media. Although the situation is changing and gradual improve- ment is noticeable, it will take some time yet before the consequences of the immediate post-revolutionary pe- riod-when in most countries the power structures considered broadcasting their exclusive domain-are su- perseded by a different approach. In any event, though, because the stress is on freedom rather than equality as the underlying value of public communication, access will largely be governed by market mechanisms. KarelJakubowicz is media policy advisor to the Prime Minister of Poland. Media Freedoms In Eastern Europe: Bulgaria MEDIA WARS IN SOFIA By Rumyana Kolarova and Dimitr Dimitrov In Bulgaria, as everywhere in Eastern Europe, the process of media liberalization encompasses two distinct tasks: the institutionalization of democratic norms of access and publicity, and the establishment of a free and private media market. The process began with government plu- ralization of access to state subsidies and the abolition of government censorship. But even during this first stage the unequal treatment of the press and the electronic media was obvious. While state regulation of the print media was limited to the distribution of state subsidies and thus further liberalization depended on privatization and the establishment of a free market, in the case of radio and TV a special body was established with the aim of introducing democratic norms of access and publicity. Print media During the first phase of liberalization the print media were not subject to any specific normative regulations. According to a special Bill on Parties passed by the Communist parliament in March 1990 as part of the Round Table agreements, all political organizations were entitled to issue their own newspapers, magazines, jour- nals and other printed matter. State regulation took place predominantly through allocation of paper at state-subsi- dized prices. Paper was also allotted to the few emerging private publishers-aJanuary 1989 Decree of the Council of Ministers authorized and regulated the activities of private and state firms. When state subsidies were cut less than a year later, a competitive newspaper industry could emerge. The quick privatization of print media could be seen as a preemptive defense against expected retributive legislation punishing old-regime organizations (the Communist Party, the Communist Youth Organization, the Agrarian Union, trade unions, the Fatherland Front) which issued the six major dailies and a number of other magazines. The law on confiscation of the property of these organizations was passed by the parliament in De- cember 1991, but by then practically all the major politi- cal organizations that existed under the Comnmunist regime had transferred their property rights to newly established, legally independent publishing firms. Not all of the new editions survived the changes, but when entering the competitive market all of them relied on the assets of their precursors. One of the two most influential and successful press groups in Bulgaria today is the privatized publishing house of the old-regime trade unions. One of the two dailies published by this press group still consistently promotes trade union policy. Another fact peculiar to the privatization of print media in Bulgaria is that there are no substantial foreign investments. The new private newspapers that have ac- quired a dominant market position were founded by local entrepreneurs (as a rulejournalists) and are closely related to local financial capital (the newly established private banks). For example, the biggest daily, 24 Hours, with a circulation of 300,000, was founded and initially con- trolled by the biggest private bank, First Private Bank.

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