The Bulgarian media trends are extremely alarming, according to the expert in political science and mass communications, Ivo Indzhov.

Indzhov spoke Monday during the presentation of the research titled “Corruption in Bulgarian Print Media,” carried out with the support of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Liberty and the US Embassy in Bulgaria.

The pressure on Bulgarian media continues, both political and economical, leading to journalism's self-censorship - findings confirmed by the Assembly of the Council of Europe and the study of “Freedom House,” ranking Bulgarian media 76th from a total of 196 countries by media freedom.

Indzhov pointed out the monopolization of media, and the lack of standards for independence.

The expert further defined the most serious problems of the media in the country - lack of public media; lack of serious media and dominance of the tabloids; turning media and reporters into PR of economic and and political structures, which leads to the lack of value system for the development of a civic society; concentration of media ownership, making many publications dependent from big corporations or political circles; lack of transparency in media ownership; the failed attempt to create a registry of electronic and print media; media financed by offshore companies; inadequate State policy in media regulations; the decision of the Parliament to allow owners of advertising agencies to also own media outlets; the continuing State financing of the national radio and television; the effects of the crisis leading to increased publishing if hidden advertisement, and low pay for journalists making them dependent and easily influenced.

The first stage of the project involves as study of corruption media practice in Bulgarian print media between 1989 and 2009, while the second will include electronic and online media.