How many Times were Diplomatic Relations between Russia and Bulgaria Severed
If we look at history, there are not many cases in which relations between Bulgaria and Russia at the state level were as bad as they are at the moment.
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Photo by Yuliana Nikolova (Sofia Photo Agency)
By Petya Sabinova
There are two types of media-involved people - those who don't scare easily and often suffer for their bolder decisions and those who shiver with fear every time someone looks at them the wrong way. And while journalists all over the world grieve a colleague, whose daring reports got her killed, those in Bulgaria are split on whether to condemn a colleague, who "slanted" the president, or to frown at the medium that sacked him.
Bulgaria's media are still struggling to establish some ground rules and apparently many people in the country, the very president included, don't even know what libel is.
A libel suit is one of the hardest to win, my Media Law teacher used to say, because if you are a public figure you have to prove malicious intent. Still Parvanov not only threw accusations at a Bulgarian journalist who made public information he had received from a third party, he also got him fired.
The president's biggest enemy in the re-election run - the reminiscence of his communist past can only be reinforced by that incident. When a high-ranking member of the Central Election Committee badmouths a candidate it's fine, but God forbid someone rises against the president.
Parvanov may have been right - an experienced journalist should have checked his sources carefully, but his "I'm-too-good-for-the-dirty-games" play is starting to annoy everyone. Last time I checked there was no halo around his head, regardless of what his election HQ is trying to make us believe. And systematically refusing to appear in live debates doesn't quite say "I have nothing to hide," or at least that's how it looks to me.
There are two types of media-involved people - those who don't scare easily and often suffer for their bolder decisions and those who shiver with fear every time someone looks at them the wrong way. And while journalists all over the world grieve a colleague, whose daring reports got her killed, those in Bulgaria are split on whether to condemn a colleague, who "slanted" the president, or to frown at the medium that sacked him.
Bulgaria's media are still struggling to establish some ground rules and apparently many people in the country, the very president included, don't even know what libel is.
A libel suit is one of the hardest to win, my Media Law teacher used to say, because if you are a public figure you have to prove malicious intent. Still Parvanov not only threw accusations at a Bulgarian journalist who made public information he had received from a third party, he also got him fired.
The president's biggest enemy in the re-election run - the reminiscence of his communist past can only be reinforced by that incident. When a high-ranking member of the Central Election Committee badmouths a candidate it's fine, but God forbid someone rises against the president.
Parvanov may have been right - an experienced journalist should have checked his sources carefully, but his "I'm-too-good-for-the-dirty-games" play is starting to annoy everyone. Last time I checked there was no halo around his head, regardless of what his election HQ is trying to make us believe. And systematically refusing to appear in live debates doesn't quite say "I have nothing to hide," or at least that's how it looks to me.
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