Slow Change for Bulgaria and Romania State Broadcasters

Michael Hedges January 5, 2007

Bribes, favors and turning a blind eye swallow the Bulgarian and Romanian political and business cultures. Concerns by European Commissioners turned to warnings, threatening to delay or postpone both countries accession to the European Union. The State broadcasting institutions were far from exempt.

As EU Membership became a looming reality those nominated by parliaments and regulators to create West European-model public service broadcasters from the rusting hulks of state institutions wasted no time attempting creative solutions to cut bloated payrolls and keep the State in de facto control. Employees and their unions had their own ideas, stoked by fears known and unknown. Adding drama to it all was the well rehearsed Eastern European fatalism and well-known cultures of corruption.

Transitions have been particularly difficult for Bulgaria’s State radio and television bodies, one closely following another. Although the Bulgarian Constitution adopted in 1991 officially ended the state broadcasting monopoly, the state broadcasters continued to function much as before, controlled and funded directly from State budgets.

In late 2000 the Bulgarian regulator (NTRC) opened nominations for General Director of Bulgarian National Radio (BNR). Led by the two journalists’ unions and a coalition of NGOs, the staff revolted, crying irregularities like closed-door nominations and unqualified nominees. Their pick for the BNR post was the much-admired Radio Bulgaria director Raina Konstantinova.

The NTRC rejected appeals for a different general director and Ivan Borislavov took charge of BNR, naming a new managing board. Over 500 journalists began daily protests within a week, including dramatic hunger strikes.

Mr. Borislavov, a poet and former BNR employee fired for “poor work habits,” suffered a heart attack after an explosive on air interview. Regaining his strength, Borislavov fired several journalists including Lili Marinkova, the famous interviewer.

By April 2001 the Bulgarian Supreme Administrative Court suspended Borislavov’s appointment. The NTRC appealed, its chief legal officer resigning in the midst, and Polya Stancheva was appointed General Director of Bulgarian National Radio in May. Mrs. Stancheva rehired Lili Marinkova and other BNR journalists.

In the aftermath, the NTRC was disbanded in 2002 when a new Law on radio and Television took effect, replaced by the Council for Electronic Media (CEM). Mrs Stancheva was re-elected to become the longest serving DG of BNR. Mrs. Konstantinova left Bulgaria for the European Broadcasting Union as head of the radio department.

Bulgarian public television did not escape the upheaval. Bulgarian National Television operates one national channel – channel 1 – and four regional channels. Five general directors in five years is close to the Eastern European record and points to the muddle that occurs when real-politik faces social theory.

Employees and their unions cast a wary eye at the appointment in 2002 of a new general director for Bulgarian National Television (BNT). Key to their concerns was then as it always is separation between administration and content creators, essentially preventing the accountants and managers from asking anything from journalists.

The newly formed CEM attempted to remove BNT general director Liliana Popova, as well as the entire BNT board, for lacking broadcast experience mandated by the new radio and TV law. Mrs Popova had previously served as director of Bulgarian National Radio in the later 1990’s. Bulgarian courts ruled that the new media law could not be applied retroactively and the removal was illegal. But it was too late. Mrs Popova’s contract had expired by the time the wheels of Bulgarian justice moved at notch.

Kiril Gotsev was nominated as Mrs Popova’s replacement. He came bearing promises of ratings. Unions panicked at the thought of performance based management, though Gotsev signed collective agreements with 20 unions. He lasted 40 weeks, not counting the three months as acting director. Among other things, he cut a deal to sell commercial time with Video International, the giant Russian TV sales house, without consulting the CEM.

Charges against Gotsev were dropped and CEM nominated Emil Vladkov to run BNT. He quit after six weeks, citing health and “innumerable difficulties” with CEM, in September 2004. Unions threw a hissy-fit when Vladkov complained that journalists demonstrate a political agenda and threatened to fire a few.

Vladkov was replaced in later 2004 by Mrs.Uliana Prumova.

Bulgarian National Television operates one terrestrial channel, one satellite channel and a small production company. Funding, and therefore the appearance of independence, remains a challenge as direct State aid provides about 60% of its financial support, advertising making up the difference. Bulgarian National Radio (BNR) operates two national radio channels: general interest Horizont and cultural channel Hristo Botev. Radio Bulgaria is its international service offering broadcasts in 11 languages. BNT and BNR are organized as separate public companies.

Romania created a media regulator, National Audiovisual Council (NAC), in 1992 when the Act on Radio and Television services was adopted. The Act was amended in 1999 and several times in 2002 pushing Romanian law closer to EU standards.

Prior to 1999, Romanian State radio and television were considered to greater editorial sympathies to the government than privately owned outlets. And private broadcasters were seen as offering “occasional” sympathetic coverage to political factions, according to a contemporaneous article written by Carol Capita of the University of Bucharest.

Since their formation in 1990 Televiziunea Româna (TVR or SRTV) and Societatea Româna de Radiodifuziune (SRR or RRBC) have faced accusations of political attachments to ruling political parties and censoring political opponents. As well-financed private broadcasters took to the stage with well-produced programming and only a modest level of corruption charged, State broadcasters floundered.

Image was a continuing central concern at TVR as General Director Valentin Nicolau contracted with international designers in 2004. The campaign and new images was launched with the requisite complaints. Image, or the image of image, overcame other concerns during Mr. Nicolau’s management of TVR. In 2005 he revealed in a publicized debate that several TVR journalists were dismissed in 2002 for taking bribes from a political candidate.

Shortly thereafter, the Romanian Parliament rejected the annual reports of both TVR and SRR, firing the general managers, citing non-financial “problems.” Tubor Giurgiu, a well-known Romanian music video director, was named TVR general director and Maria Toghina, a journalist, named director of SRR.

TVR’s broadcast output includes two terrestrial channels with national coverage – TVR1 and TVR2 – plus TVR Cultural, TVRi for Romanian’s living abroad and four regional stations. SRR operates four national channels, 11 regional channels and an international service. A radio/television license fee, direct state aid and advertising finance both companies.

The European Broadcasting Union’s emergency action team has not been sent yet to Bulgaria or Romania as it has to Hungary. By 2005, after a decade and a half of faux pas, both countries public radio and television systems made progress, sometimes significant, as their governments finally start to understand that the microscope, owned in Brussels and operated by dozens of NGOs, will not go away.

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