Media and Opinion Leaders was the topic of the second panel discussion on Tuesday at the 21st World Meeting of Bulgarian Media, organized by the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA) in the Hungarian cities of Budapest and Esztergom. The second day’s panel discussions are being held at the building of the Bulgarian Republican Self-Government in the Hungarian capital.
The panel was moderated by Bulgarian National Radio (BNR) Digital Programmes Director Ivo Todorov. Participants included Aksinia Ivanova and Ivan Tsankov, founders of the Los Bulgaros portal (Argentina); Anna Terzivets, host of the television programme The Voice of Bulgarians (Ukraine); Prof. Veselina Valkanova, Dean of the Faculty of Journalism and Mass Communication at Sofia University of St Kliment Ohridski (Bulgaria); Violina Hristova, Vice-President of the Foreign Press Association in Italy (Italy); Gabriela Naplatanova, Chair of the Council for Electronic Media in Bulgaria; Gergana Milcheva, Editor-in-Chief of the BG Chronicles website (Ireland); and Milena Milotinova, Director General of BNT (Bulgaria).
Digital platforms are no longer merely channels for distributing media content but have also become competitors to traditional media, as they determine what reaches audiences without necessarily prioritising credibility, BNR Digital Programmes Director Todorov said.
Media must provide a platform for public debate because without debate, there can be no journalism and no democracy, Faculty of Journalism and Mass Communication at Sofia University St Kliment Ohridski Dean Valkanova said.
The role of the media is to inform the public and stimulate debate on important issues, BNT Director General Milotinova said.
Bulgaria’s Council for Electronic Media Chair Naplatanova also addressed the relationship between the media and opinion leaders. She described it as an extremely important issue for media worldwide, closely linked to public trust and its decline amid changing patterns in how people consume news and current-affairs content. These changes are taking place not only nationally and across Europe but also globally, she said.
Aksinia Ivanova and Ivan Tsankov, co-chairs of the Bulgarians in Argentina Civic Association, also took part in the discussion. They founded Los Bulgaros, an information portal serving the Bulgarian community in Argentina, which also operates the online radio station My Bulgaria, Los Bulgaros TV and a podcast.
Ivanova described the media and opinion leaders as the two main pillars supporting cultural dialogue between Bulgaria and Argentina. She noted that Argentina is home to one of the world’s oldest Bulgarian emigrant communities. When the media and opinion leaders work towards a common cause, she said, the distance between Argentina and Bulgaria becomes much smaller.
Tsankov outlined the association’s activities and initiatives, noting that its information portal is the first and only Bulgarian media outlet in South America. The bilingual website publishes content in both Spanish and Bulgarian.
“For me, opinion leaders are the heroes, the Bulgarian men and women who appear on the platform or on social media every week and share their personal stories,” Anna Terzivets, host of the television programme The Voice of Bulgarians in Ukraine, said.
“Unfortunately, information posted in Facebook groups for Bulgarians in Ireland is not always reliable. That is why we decided to create a website that would serve as a trustworthy source of information,” Gergana Milcheva, founder and Editor-in-Chief of BG Chronicles, an information website for Bulgarians in Ireland, said.
“We need to distinguish between opinion leaders and social media influencers, who are more accurately described as attention leaders,” Violina Hristova, Vice-President of the Foreign Press Association in Italy, said. “We must be very careful when selecting these figures,” she added. The media play an important role in introducing established and respected voices to the public, Hristova said, but they can also contribute to the popularity of people who attract attention through provocation.
BTA is organizing the 21st World Meeting of Bulgarian Media in Hungary with the support of DSK Bank, OTP Group, Aurubis Bulgaria, A1, SOF Connect – the operator of Vasil Levski Sofia Airport, Geotechmin, Postbank and the 13 Centuries Bulgaria National Endowment Fund. The forum brings together participants from 25 countries, both in person and online.

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