site.btaBTA Triples Municipal Reporting, Eyes Full Council Coverage Nationwide

The Bulgarian News Agency (BTA) has significantly expanded its coverage of the activities of municipal councils in the country, Director General Kiril Valchev announced on Thursday at the opening of a two-day seminar on the Commitments of Municipal Councils under the Spatial Development Act, organized by the National Association of Municipal Council Chairs (NAMCC) in Nessebar.

BTA has built a network of 43 national press clubs with two correspondents each, only Silistra, Gabrovo, and Kardzhali, still have just one correspondent. There are three correspondents in Ruse and five in larger cities like Varna, Plovdiv, and Burgas. Valchev added that starting this year, BTA's goal is to cover the meetings of all municipal councils. The Director General said that correspondents have electric cars, which allows them to travel around.

Starting this fall, BTA plans to provide more in-depth coverage of municipal council meetings, publishing separate brief articles on all key points and reflecting the opinions of various political forces, Valchev said. He added that it is important for municipalities to assist BTA’s correspondents so that they can better understand the issues discussed and decisions taken at the municipal council meetings, which will make it easier to report on them in a clear and understandable way, to make them comprehensible for citizens and the media.

"We have compiled a report, which we will now present to you for the first time, so that you can understand the scale of coverage that BTA already provides. In 2023, when we began systematically publishing freely accessible news from municipal councils after signing an agreement with the NAMCC, the total number of articles was just over 7,000. For the first six months this year, the total number of reports published by BTA is over 25,000. This is 3.5 times increase in just two years," Valchev said.

Another opportunity not everyone is taking full advantage of is the free publication of official announcements from municipalities, mayors, and municipal councils that BTA runs in its Courier section. “In 2023, there were about 2,800 such publications, while in the first six months of this year, the number of these announcements was close to 4,500," Valchev added.

"About 70 municipalities have never sent us any announcements. We will send a letter to these municipalities explaining this opportunity to report on their work. Thanks to our correspondents, we have seen a fivefold increase in publications for the first six months of last year compared to the first six months of 2023. This is an excellent opportunity to gain more publicity and inform Bulgarians about your work," Valchev said. 

He said that the agency is also working on the Bulgaria in Four Seasons project, which aims to illustrate settlements in Bulgaria with new, up-to-date photos. "Our goal is to photograph more than 5,000 settlements and landmarks to leave a record of our time. On the other hand, this is an opportunity for all Bulgarian media to use up-to-date photos. And one more thing, with your help, we want to start presenting Bulgarian festivals in their entirety. This is an opportunity to attract tourists. That is why we will rely on your cooperation," the Director General added, addressing the municipal council chairs and mayors attending the forum.