“Public service media are among the mainstays of democratic societies, and their mission is more important than ever in the age of disinformation,” Bulgarian National Radio (BNR) Director General Milen Mitev said on Tuesday at the opening ceremony of the Public Broadcasters International (PBI) Conference, which is taking place in Sofia.
Mitev said that at first sight public service media seem stable: they are large organizations, with long history and rich archives that form an important part of national culture. A closer scrutiny, however, reveals a different picture.
“Journalism has never ran into more serious challenges than today. To reach our audience, we already rely on our main competitors: the large online platforms. They are so powerful that we cannot operate without them and become dependent on them,” the BNR Director General pointed out.
He emphasized that the imminent changes entailed by the growth of artificial intelligence raise even more serious issues about the future of journalism and keeping the public informed. “Do we want verified and credible information, or do we prefer to live in a comfortable bubble with select content created to please us?” Mitev asked.
In his opinion, public service media cannot be used as an offensive tool but are a “wonderful line of defence against disinformation, manipulation and lies”.
Mitev also discussed the financial pressure under which public service media come in many countries.
“Cost cutting and journalists’ redundancy often lead to the closure of programme services and erosion of the media public value. The pressure does not come because people mistrust us but because of the wrong impression that we are too big to fail,” he went on to say. “Now more than ever before we need confidence and stable financing so as to keep abreast of technological and social advancement,” the BNR Director General concluded.
The Bulgarian National Radio is hosting the annual Public Broadcaster International Conference (October 20-22, 2025), which is taking place in Sofia for the first time. This year’s conference is mottoed “Making the Case for Public Service Broadcasters”. The agenda includes fundamental topics like freedom of speech, independence, crises and and funding of public service media, as well as topical cases like reaching out to young audiences. “Public Service Media Are Defence Line against Disinformation,” Bulgarian National Radio Director Says THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2025-10-21 10:23:35 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
