Politics and Media Bulgarian Style - Circus Maximus

Bulgaria has been democratizing itself since the fall of communism in 1989. For almost 20 years of democracy in Bulgaria "many things happened but nothing changed" or "many things changed but nothing happened."

For these 20 years, Bulgaria was governed by the Socialist Party (the former Communist Party), the Union of Democratic Forces, the party of the former Tsar Simeon II, and a coalition among the former communists, the tsar, and the Turkish party. No matter who is in power though, the media have always been kind to the party of power. The reason for this is that for over 10 years after the collapse of communism the main and the only television station was controlled by the party that is in power. However, currently there are 4 national channels and countless cable televisions but still the ones that criticize governments and parties are very few.

The reason for this is that everybody - members of ruling parties, members of opposition parties, reporters, respected journalists - used to be members and agents of the old Communist Party. They are friends, they play the same game. When the files of the Communist Party were opened it became known that famous journalists (Koritarov, Garelov) were agents of the Communist Party. The prime-minister is a former communist and his girlfriend is supposedly one of the best investigative journalists in Bulgaria. Coincidence!?

Now when a politician is about to be interviewed by a respected political journalist, it is clear to everyone that two agents are going to discuss the agency. Isn't that a circus...

Assign. # 14 "US Democracy"

"American democracy is not the Italian democracy" post touches upon the meaning of the word "democracy" and the different meanings it has been given in different places during different times.

Western world has 'accepted' that the "American" form of democracy is the best type of democracy to have. Based on this perception, Bush and other presidents in the past have led a number of wars aiming the "spread of democracy." The ultimate goal of wars such as the war in Korea or the Vietnam War was to defeat the commies and spread its alternative - democracy. The ultimate goal of wars such as the ones in Afghanistan and Iraq is to defeat the Talibans or the evil dictator and "spread democracy." As a result, currently, as everybody knows, Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan, and Iraq are the most advanced and hailed democracies in the world.

What? Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan, and Iraq are NOT the most advanced and hailed democracies in the world. So, America did not spread its democracy in these countries! What a shame...or is it really a shame?

The USA is a democratic country with a two-party system. But two-party system is supposed to mean that there are currently just two elected parties, not that there are only two major political parties in the entire political life of a country. Unfortunately, this is the case in America. And to make things even worse, there is not a clear difference between those two parties. To an American political science professor the two parties may appear entirely different, to a regular American citizen the two parties might be somewhat different, to the rest of the world - they are the same.

The bottom line is that the American democracy is a two-party system which in actuality is a democracy with one party system. Is that a democracy?

"They've already built communism." ~ Leonid Brezhnev, General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, after his visit in the USA.

Assign. # 2 Fox News vs. CNN

The news aired on April 27, 2009 on Fox Channel and CNN was literally the same. Fox Channel aired the conference of the Homeland Security Secretary live from Washington, D.C. regarding the spread of Swine Flu around the country and what measures the American citizens should take. Fox Channel also covered the cases of Swine Flu in California and neighboring Mexico. The other major pieces of news of Fox Channel were connected to the Swine Flu outbreak too. For instance, the oil price dropped because of the Swine Flu outbreak.

CNN's main information for the day was the Swine Flu as well. The channel showed Homeland Security Secretary's press conference live from Washington, D.C. CNN commented on the flu outbreak in Mexico. Unlike, Fox, however, CNN referred to other news besides the Swine Flu outbreak. For instance, CNN informed about a tornado in Oklahoma and pointed out that Wednesday will be the 100th day of President Obama in office.

To me there is no big difference between CNN and Fox. Actually, on that particular day, there was literally no difference on the way they covered the Swine Flu at all. Even though CNN could be hardly referred to as an objective medium, especially after its coverage on the gas crisis in Bulgaria, it produced more diverse news on that particular day, while Fox was constantly informing only about the flu outbreak. In general, I, personally, do not see any big differences among the news of Fox, CNN, ABC, or NBC. They are all practicing "pack journalism" and their braking news reportages follow the same stories all the time.

Assign. # 7 "The Girls Next Door"

I have never watched "The Girls Next Door" before and I will never watch it again. It is a waste of time. In the show I watched, one of the girls in the Hugh Hefner's mansion was very proud of her new boobs. The three girls went to New Orleans for charity because of hurricane Katherina.

All the girls are blond, posh, beautiful,...annoying, dumb, and fake. It is the worst reality tv show I have ever seen. It is extremely boring, stupid, and annoying. I can't imagine that someone would watch such a thing. Aside from this, the show may have a very negative effect and influence over young teenage girls. The show teaches them that if they are young, good looking blonds they could find an older man who could take care of them which is disgusting. This is immoral and irresponsible because the life lesson of the show for young girls is - be a whore.

The show portraits that it is fine three young girls to be in the company of an eighty year-old man and call him "honey." And the producers probably say "that's OK."
It could be OK for American girls, but if I have a girl one day, she will never watch such shows.

Assign. # 8 Hannity

Hannity is one hour political show hosted by Sean Hannity. The main theme discussed in the show on April 27, 2009 was the Swine Flu outbreak. There are 20 dead cases in Mexico and 45 people are sick in the USA. Another discussed topic was if Nancy Pelosi knew about the waterboarding or not. The show also provided analysis of the media's behavior towards President Obama. It turns out that media have been extremely positive towards him compared to Bush and other presidents.

In the "Great American Panel" part of the show, Hannity and his guests discussed the Swine Flu outbreak and the waterboarding issue once again. Hannity showed a video of a very low flying plane over skyscrapers in New York City which bothered many of the people who witnessed it. At the end of the show, in "One-On-One Interview" guest was Kim Kardashian who talked about what is like to be a celebrity. I have never heard of Ms. Kardashian... therefore what kind of celebrity is she?

Overall, the show is not bad, but at the same time it is not something that is worth to watch every day. Guests like Kardashian are one big minus to Hannity Show, because it should be either a political show or an entertainment show, not both.

Assign. # 9 Rush Limbaugh

Rush Limbaugh is a conservative American who is a host of a radio talk show. During one of his programs he expressed his negative opinion towards the immigrants in the United States of America.

According to Rush Limbaugh immigrants should speak English. They have to be professionals if they want to work in the USA, and no unskilled labor should be tolerated. There should be no bilingual school programs. No government business should be done in a mother tongue different than English. Foreigners do not and should not have the right to vote and occupy political offices. People should come to the USA if they are going to invest in the country. Immigrants cannot get welfare and buy land.

Rush Limbaugh also states that foreigners should not be allowed to protest, demonstrate, or wave their national flags. Immigrants should not speak against the government and the president. Foreigners are also not supposed to have political organizations. Everyone who is illegal must be sent to jail.

All of these rules and regulations might appear a bit harsh, but according to Limbaugh these should be the laws that apply towards foreigners in the USA since there are so many illegal immigrants in the country. I agree with most of them but they need to apply only towards the illegal immigrants, not to foreigners who are legally in the country or the ones who have become American citizens.

Assign. # 1 CBS 6:30pm News

The 6:30pm news show on CBS hosted by Katie Couric reveals mainly national and international news. However, the news show aired on April 21, 2009 contained more domestic news and less news related to international issues.

The top story was the eventual investigation of the previous administration on the issue if prisoners were tortured. Another leading news was the suspicion that bailout money might have been stolen because of public corruption. It was also reported that there is a security breach regarding the way F-35 planes are constructed. The officials suspect that Chinese might be responsible, because they want to build similar planes. A murderer who stalked women through Craigslist was arrested.

The top news towards the end of the news show was the fact that a Somalian pirate was arrested and he is going to be sued in New York. This is the first time that someone is going to be sued for being a pirate in the United States for the last hundred years. In another story, the case of a girl suing her high school for a strip drug search reached the Supreme Court.

I think that the news stories were ordered fine by importance, but on the other hand they appear very neutral which means that they could have been ordered in a reverse way and still seem that they are presented correctly. The one thing which is very annoying about American news shows is that they are constantly interrupted by commercials.

Assing. # 15 "Good Night and Good Luck"

"Good Night and Good Luck" is a movie directed by George Clooney. The movie deals with the CBS reporter Edward R. Murrow and his producer Fred W. Friendly who are trying to do a serious investigative journalism during the era of the Cold War. During that period Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin takes advantage of the paranoia that America may be overtaken by communists. McCarthy supported by the FBI of J. Edgar Hoover accuses many people for being communists. This turns into a witch hunt.

Edward R. Murrow and Fred W. Friendly's efforts against Senator McCarthy helped a FBI investigation to be started against McCarthy and his communist witch hunt. Even though that Morrow and Friendly's program demonstrates the power of the serious journalism, the program is moved to 04:00pm on Sundays because of people's demands to watch entertainment on television.

"Good Night and Good Luck" shows that journalism, if practiced as it is supposed to be practiced, could be truly the "fourth branch of government." Even though that Americans and the CBS owner experienced the power of the media, they betrayed this form of journalism for the commercial profits of the capitalist society. It is truly a shame that the American society gave up on the real journalism, because it proved that it could serve as a real social and political helper in a democratic society. Unfortunately, this form of journalism was "eaten" by commercial capitalism.

New York Times and Bulgarian Mob

One of the top headlines of "The New York Times" newspaper on October 16, 2008 was "Mob Muscles Its Way Into Politics in Bulgaria." If this is a top headline for "The New York Times" in 2008, then this newspaper definitely has to be shut down, because this is not a piece of news. It could have been... 20 years ago, but today it is obvious for anybody who follows even a little bit what is going on in Eastern Europe that Bulgaria is ruled by the mafia.

Even though that the article contains embarrassing information about Bulgaria, it is true information. The article states that different mob groups fight for real estate deals and millions in European aid. The European Union froze $670 million that were supposed to be used for Bulgaria's economical and infrastructural progress. Presidents of soccer clubs were publicly shot. Former wrestlers transformed into gangsters. Mobsters hang out in night clubs. Wealthy businessmen buy local elections. The member of the Parliament Atanas Atanasov said: "Other countries have the mafia. In Bulgaria, the mafia has the country."

The article states that Nikolov-Stoykov group is involved in criminal actions. Liudnil Stoykov, part of this group, financed the campaign of President Georgi Parvanov. In the meantime Mario Nikolov, who is charged with fraud, gave $137,000 to Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev and his Socialist Party (the former Communist Party). All of this information was provided by Sofia's mayor Boyko Borisov.

An European or American reader would think that things in Bulgaria are pretty bad and they truly are, but a Bulgarian reader would see something more in this article. Bulgaria is presented in the worst possible political and social way. The President and the Prime Minister are internationally embarrassed by Sofia's mayor Boyko Borisov. For a Bulgarian, it is obvious that this is a pre-election campaign for the upcoming parliamentary elections.

Boyko Borisov who gives all this information is the unofficial leader of the political party GERB ("The New York Times" does not mention that) which is going to win 2009 parliamentary elections and he is going to be the future Prime Minister of Bulgaria. The article aims to embarrass the currently ruling coalition because it does not say anything at all about Mr. Borisov. The same Boyko Borisov was a bodyguard of the former Bulgarian communist leader Todor Zhivkov and a founder of a private security company, which was illegal at the time. Later he became a secretary of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in the cabinet of Simeon Saksgoburgotski. When Saksgoburgotski's party was not reelected, Borisov abandoned it.

Another reason to consider the article as a part of Borisov’s campaign is the fact that Bulgaria has never received so much attention by "The New York Times." The article is a headline on the front page and got an entire page in the political section of the newspaper. As mentioned before the information in it is not new and it hardly could be treated as a piece of news.

Guardian: "Stalin" is Bulgaria's highest peak.

After the American television CNN aired a manipulated reportage about the gas crisis in Bulgaria in the beginning of the year, now the British newspaper "Guardian" publishes false facts about Bulgaria on April 18, 2009. "Guardian" published profiles of various countries including Bulgaria.

According to "Guardian," Bulgaria's highest peak is called "Stalin." The highest peak in Bulgaria and on the Balkan Peninsula was called "Stalin" between 1949 and 1962. After Stalin's cult of personality was taken down by Khrushchev, Stalin Peak and many other things named after him were given back their original names. It has been more than 45 years since Stalin Peak was renamed to its original name Musala, which means "Close to God" in Turkish, but the British journalists did not updated their information. For me, as a Bulgarian, this is offensive and shows disrespect towards my country. Besides, journalists are paid for their publications, which means that they could at least check their facts before publishing them. Another incorrect information published in "Guardian" is that the three languages spoken in Bulgaria are Bulgarian, Turkish, and Macedonian. Internationally, no authority has ever recognized the existence of a Macedonian language. According to a treaty signed in Paris, France the so-called Macedonian language is a dialect of the Bulgarian language.

"Guardian" newspaper did not change its information on Bulgaria until after the Bulgarian online news agency Vesti pointed out the mistakes. Now the edited version of the article states that the highest peak on the Balkan Peninsula is called Musala and the three languages spoken in Bulgaria are Bulgarian, Turkish, and Roma.

It is obvious that western journalists pay less attention to the accuracy of their information regarding small countries, but the British journalists at least correct themselves when they realize they are wrong, unlike the American journalists of CNN.

Assign. # 4 Network News vs. The Daily Show

The CBS network news show at 6:30 pm on March 31, 2009 was aired from London, Great Britain, hosted by Katie Couric. Its highlights were the first major visit of President Barack Obama in Europe and the upcoming G20 summit in London. The network news show revealed Obama's agenda and his popularity around different European countries. The second leading piece of news was Afghanistan, its development, and the fact that Afghanistan produces 90 percent of the world's supply of opium. The CBS news provided information about the new Israeli prime-minster Benjamin Natanyaho, the GM business problems, the 19 percent drop of the housing costs, the salmonella scare, and the fact that in London President Barack Obama will meet for the first time the British Queen Elizabeth II.

In contrast, The Daily Show, hosted by Jon Stewart, aired on the same date provided very different type of information. The major topic of the show was the new euphemisms used by the Obama administration. For instance, the expression "war on terrorism" is replaced by "oversea contingency operation" and "terrorism" is replaced by "non-casual disaster." Other pieces of "news" in the show were the fact that traffic and metal could actually kill people. The Daily Show played a video in which a man fights with a shark. Stewart's guest was the comedy actor Seth Rogen who commented on his new movie "Observe and Report."

People may get information from both TV programs. However, the CBS network news show provides much more relevant and important information in the sphere of politics, business, sports, and life. In the meantime, The Daily Show's news are informative and entertaining, but they could hardly serve as a serious and reliable source of information if one wants to know what are the current major news topics in the United States and around the world.

Assign. # 3 Local News

The local news of CBS aired on March 31, 2009 had many different topics. The leading news were the salmonella scare, the eventual MTA bailout, and a man who tried to kidnap girls with his car by offering them candies and money. The entire news show had only two political news. The first one was about the first European trip of President Obama. According to the CBS local news this was the sixth major important news of the day. The second reported political news was the fact that Benjamin Natanyahu became a prime-minister of Israel. This piece of news was pushed back towards the end of the news show.

The CBS local news show did not provide enough political news. I think that only two political news for a news show that is long over an hour is not enough. Moreover, the two political news were major ones and they were not even presented in the beginning of the show as leading news. The news of the G20 summit and Obama's European trip were not even in the top five news of the day. The other political news concerning the new prime-minister of Israel was pushed behind news such as "YMCA profits go up," "Bedbugs infections increase," "New pill - 5 in 1," the weather forecast, and many others.

The purpose of local news shows is to concentrate precisely on the local news. However, I think that political news, especially the ones having international implications, such as Obama's European trip, have to be the leading ones. It seems to me that the local news show was unnecessarily long and full of commercial breaks. The pieces of news were summarized to a couple of sentences or very short reportages. This made the CBS local news show uninteresting and even annoying at times.