The 'geeky' world of blogging, to my surprise and horror, has proved a more insightful and honest source of opinions than the online media in Bulgaria.

A brand new survey however shows my opinion is an exception, rather than the rule.

Bulgarians continue to associate blogging with raw and unedited material, meant for the fun of pimpled teenagers, self-anointed pundits and self-styled scourgers, according to the poll results.

Well, I want to tell the majority of Bulgarians that they are wrong. Bulgarian blogs do churn out erudite and thoughtful opinion pieces and analyses. I strongly recommend that they follow the blogs of people with a background in economics, politics and journalism more often than the editorials of local online media.

Especially given the declining quality of the Bulgarian-language online media.

For apparent reasons the sister online versions of major print publications are subject to the near monopoly on the media market, which is the biggest threat for free speech in Bulgaria.

There are three centers around which these media line up as loyal satellites – they are epitomized by 24 Hours, Galeria weekly and Weekend weekly, mouthpieces of Ognyan Donev, Alexey Petrov and Boyko Borisov respectively.

The monopolists and the authorities live in a mutually benefiting symbiosis, which poisons the media market and hurts the interests of society.

True, it's hard to kill a three-headed monster. But the web is  big and salvation lurks around the corner.

The choice is yours, my dear reader.

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