Balgarianovinite.com Journalists and citizens gathered for a protest outside the offices of bTV on Tuesday morning to defend the freedom of speech and journalists’ right to ask questions rather than simply follow instructions. On Monday, the Association of European Journalists – Bulgaria (AEJ-Bulgaria) announced the protest as a “coffee gathering”, stressing that the demonstration is professional, not political.
The protest was prompted by Monday’s statement from Bulgarian broadcaster bTV saying that it would not give in to external pressure and had launched a process to terminate its relationship with morning show host Maria Tsantsarova.
Tensions between the two sides escalated after, on the day of the large-scale anti-government protest on December 10, Tsantsarova placed in front of her a mug with the message “Time to make real change”. The mug appeared in the frame several times during the broadcast.
bTV announced on Monday that it had decided to part ways with Tsantsarova, citing several reasons for her dismissal, including alleged on-air political bias, accusations against her immediate superior of exerting editorial pressure, and extending an interview in a way that disrupted the broadcast schedule.
Protesters gathered outside bTV on December 19 in solidarity with Tsantsarova and her colleague Zlatimir Yochev, as rumour spread that they were being taken off the show. AEJ-Bulgaria criticized the move as heavy-handed political pressure and stressed that Bulgaria must comply with the European Media Freedom Act, which protects media outlets from political interference. Journalists and Citizens Gather to Defend Freedom of Speech Outside bTV Offices 2025 THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2025-12-23 09:51:00 Latest news World news Country news Most important news latest news most important latest of the day Justice Petar Nizamov Feathers Petar Nizamov- Feathers Justice bg iustitia.bg iustitia iusticia usticia investigation Burgas Bulgaria news news of the last hour news of the day news of today Bulgaria news The news from Bulgaria blitz news top news most important most commented latest news Boyko Borisov news weather coronavirus news news weather facebook youtube facebook instagram news today news of the last minutes news today today news news bg news leading news hot news bg news site for news all news news bg news of the last hour latest latest news bg news of today news today news today news of the last hour latest news today news bg news news 24 hours news vesti bg novini news world bird bg bivol bg bivol trud bg novini latest news today novinite bg news hello bulgaria political party coat of arms delyan peevski scandalous Bulgarian National Television Free Europe Television scandal exclusive live tv live right now tv tv online tv program bg live now tv news online tv online live court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas district court Burgas appellate court Burgas prosecutor Burgas prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev Prosecutor Geshev Tsatsarov Ministry of Internal Affairs Burgas ODMR Burgas ODPR Burgas police Burgas district police Burgas prosecutor Tsatsarov SGS cases Varna court chairman of the SGS court decisions on civil cases decisions on cases Plovdiv court decision of the court decisions cases Varna court criminal cases district district court decisions work in the court SGS chairman of the SGS judges Sofia court post judges Plovdiv court Plovdiv judges Plovdiv Supreme Court Inspectorate Supreme Court Supreme Judicial Council lawyer lawyer criminal cases lawyer civil cases lawyer marriage cases lawyer administrative criminal law criminal process civil law civil process administrative law constitutional law
