Objectives

The main objective of the project is to create and develop research databases on the media environment in Bulgaria. These databases will be created, preserved and updated through the formation and organisation of a Media Research Centre, which will operate on a permanent basis. The team of the project intends to reach this main goal by organizing and conducting annual surveys of the media environment in Bulgaria for the entire three-year duration of the project proposal with subsequent analysis and meta-analysis of the data, as well as annual meta-analysis of the researchers' interpretations in various publications. As there is no existing centre in Bulgaria at this stage engaged specifically in the monitoring and research of the media, their development and change, and the trends of the journalistic profession, the team aims for the results of the three-year work to contribute to the formation of a national Media Research Centre, which through appropriate methodology and active research efforts will provide a clear and accurate picture of the state of the national media market and all aspects - economic, social, political, educational, professional-ethical, guidelines towards the audience - that are linked to these media.

One of the team's goals is to explore and clarify the content of the concept of "media environment" from the perspective of communication knowledge and media studies, which will be achieved through comparison with other concepts in the scientific field and theoretical analysis of their content. Existing notions of the concept come from other scientific and professional fields^[1] and lack specificity. The same applies to the specification of the content of the concept of 'media environment' to distinguish it from the similar 'media ecology', 'media landscape', 'mediasphere', etc. This work on the concepts is important for the team in order to strengthen and enhance the educational potential in the FJMC and other higher education institutions where communication studies are taught and is a part of fundamental research. Without clearly delineated concepts, the knowledge taught in the respective disciplines may suffer from a lack of sufficient credibility and relevance.

The results of the research efforts will be publicized and discussed in a variety of scholarly forums and published in prestigious academic journals. They will also serve the purposes of journalism education and other communication specialties. As a result of future professional discussions, the journalistic community will be more motivated to provide comprehensive, systematic information about the media and journalists themselves on a regular basis and as a primary source.

The main hypothesis of the project is related to the method of meta-analysis, which for the purposes of the project denotes an analysis that summarizes and combines the results and data of regularly conducted and periodically systematized interdisciplinary research. Based on the results of the meta-analysis of data from successive studies and the homogeneous conclusions obtained, the team aims to draw a reliable picture of the trends of the media environment in Bulgaria:

-          Risks for journalism and media in Bulgaria;

-          Media legislation and ethical standards in journalism;

-          Professional standards;

-          Media and democracy;

-          Media as an industry;

-          Processes and mergers in the telecommunications, media and online industries;

-          Media financing;

-          Public media funding and regulation;

-          Regulation and self-regulation of the media environment;

-          Media market dynamics in the country;

-          The role of media and journalists in the new socio-economic conditions.

A part of the contribution of the project is the regular elaboration of recommendations and guidelines for overcoming some deficits in the general picture of the media in Bulgaria on the basis of the research. These will be announced at regular public presentations, workshops, conferences, seminars, open to all those interested in these key issues for contemporary democracies.

The results of the project research will be useful for researchers in the field of media and communication, as well as for all those who are practically engaged in this activity, especially in the new conditions of the media market in Bulgaria. One of the objectives of this project is also to help provide a clear orientation of the media environment in Bulgaria, especially in view of the changes due to digital transformation. This has been achieved in all countries that have declared freedom of speech and media freedom as the highest values of their social development. Although not as a main objective, the project will also have a positive impact on education in the field of communication studies. Such research is directly related to the National Strategy for the Development of Scientific Research of the Republic of Bulgaria for the period 2017-2030. 

The main research approach for the implementation of the project entails the application of the principles of meta-analysis in the field of media and communications and their role in public life and their socio-cultural impact. In order to achieve the research objectives, the following methods, techniques and approaches will be precisely adapted and used: an initial investigation through quantitative and qualitative methods of the media environment in Bulgaria and the elements that make it up; the proposed theoretical concepts will be formulated, proven and defended; a conceptual model will be constructed, providing an innovative starting point for the study of the research field of interest.

This approach includes analysis of journalistic structures, review of information resources, structuring of statistical and other information, interviews, surveys, observations, expert assessments, etc. It can be described as interdisciplinary, as scholars from different scientific fields will be involved in conducting the research, in analysing its results and in their generalisation. The methodology used also includes theoretical, theoretical-empirical research methods such as a study of scientific sources, as well as methods such as: research on media transformation and its impact on the communication professions and on public attitudes in Bulgaria, changes in the perception of the communication professions in the work environment and the authority of the communication professions, content analysis of theories and concepts; bibliographic analysis of thematic publications; methods of observation, monitoring, trends of change in the audience and in the training in communication disciplines.

An interdisciplinary approach is necessary and will be used for the successful implementation of such research, and consultants from different fields of science and practice may be involved in specific tasks.

The specific objectives, related to the study from different research perspectives of the research problem, will also be achieved through meta-analysis of data and research on news media in Bulgaria. The final result will give researchers in Bulgaria, Europe and the world a reliable picture of the media environment in the country in development and in the context of:

-                     media law;

-                     media accountability;

-                     sustainability of journalism;

-                     journalistic skills;

-                     media consumption patterns;

-                     media competencies.

The ultimate goal of the project is the establishment of a permanent Media Research Centre, which will unite the efforts of communication specialists, sociologists, data analysts, practitioners from different media, students, PhD students and postdocs and which will become a sustainable unit for monitoring the media process in Bulgaria, following the example of a number of democratic countries with a high culture of media freedom, to which community the Republic of Bulgaria aspires to belong.

[1] On 23 June 2023, a Working Group on Media Environment and Access to Information was established, composed of magistrates and political representatives. See https://www.bta.bg/bg/news/bulgaria/480465-sazdava-se-rabotna-grupa-za-mediyna-sreda-i-dostap-do-informatsiya.