Head of State Rumen Radev congratulates Bulgarian journalists on the 180th anniversary of the periodical press in Bulgaria and 130 years since the beginning of the organised journalistic movement in Bulgaria

 

Journalism based on professional standards remains the guarantor of objective reporting of information, protection of the public interest, pluralism and democracy. This is what President Rumen Radev said in a congratulatory address to the Union of Bulgarian Journalists on the occasion of the 180th anniversary of the periodical press in Bulgaria and 130 years since the beginning of the organised journalistic movement in Bulgaria. The two significant anniversaries are an occasion to recall the rich history of Bulgarian journalism, the power of words and the great responsibility of the people called to handle them, the Head of State said.

 

The President stresses that the evolution of media platforms, advertising markets and corporate dependencies does not cancel the moral foundations of journalism. It is still called to fight for the truth, inform with integrity, enlighten, build and contribute to the formation and development of a critically thinking and active civil society, Rumen Radev said. 

 

In his congratulatory address, the Head of State also highlighted the role of the media in preserving and transmitting our history, our national traditions and customs, the development of Bulgarian culture and the promotion of our scientific achievements. Defending the moral foundations of society requires not only denouncing the negative phenomena, but also highlighting the positive examples that are of key importance for the future of our country, the President said.

 

In the conditions of increasing influence of self-serving corporate and political interests in the media, the responsibility of Bulgarian journalists to uphold the standards and principles of journalism, without which its future is unthinkable, is also growing, the Head of State said, stressing that only the professional community of Bulgarian journalists, united around a solid moral foundation, for which the public interest is the guiding principle, can be a reliable barrier against attempts to subjugate the media, deviate from professional standards, impose a censorship and self-censorship. Continue to be fighters for the truth, the Head of State wished the Union and all Bulgarian journalists.

 

In the Head of State's words, the Union of Bulgarian Journalists, with its intensive activity, continues to be a pillar of professional standards and a factor for their promotion in journalism. At critical moments in the past years, it was the positions of the Union in defence of Bulgarian journalists and against the violation of journalistic ethics that showed the importance of the unity of the professional community around clear principles, President Rumen Radev concluded.