site.btaPresident Iotova: Investment in Public Media Is Investment in Free Society's Future

President Iliana Iotova believes that investment in public service media, when accompanied by strict transparency requirements, is an investment in the future of a free society. "Journalism is the most reliable and credible way for any politician's message to reach the audience," Iotova said at the opening of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) Media Summit in Sofia on Wednesday.

The President said that her knowledge and experience as a former journalist have helped her greatly throughout her political career.

Iotova pointed out that freedom of speech, the right to reliable information, and media independence are written into numerous documents, declarations, and resolutions. "Paradoxically, the more they are discussed, the less they are respected," she said.

"We supposedly live in a democracy, yet the attacks on its foundations are constant and take different forms. The media in particular face increasingly insistent economic, financial, and political pressure. These forms of pressure often overlap. The question arises whether the media can exist without financial support from entities whose origins are not always clear, or without a political umbrella," the President said.

According to her, in this environment it is even more important for the community of journalists to be stronger and more visible. "This community must remind with a united voice that if free and independent journalism is under threat, citizens lose their own independence and their own freedom," she said.

"Today the commitment of public service media to serve citizens is especially difficult," Iotova said.

According to her, fundamental rights are being trampled, creating fertile ground for populism and manipulation. "Public service media also face unequal competition from social networks, where millions can be reached in seconds with no guarantee of accuracy," she added. "This is precisely why the journalists' role becomes even more important: to be guardians and masters of words," Iotova said.

She noted that new technologies, artificial intelligence, and social networks are challenges for public service media that require vision and resources.

According to her, the EBU sets standards and thus enables journalists from different public service media to share content, knowledge, and technology, and to build trust beyond national and geographical borders.

The EBU Media Summit, April 22-23, taking place in Sofia for the first time, brings together leaders of public service media and professionals in radio, television, and digital media from all over Europe. It is a strategic high-level forum focused on the future of public service media – their sustainability, public role, digital transformation, and joint stance towards global technology platforms.