There is no democracy and freedom without freedom of speech and pluralism, said President Rumen Radev at the opening, in Sofia, of the annual Public Broadcasters International Conference (PBI 2025). For the first time, the Bulgarian National Radio is playing host to the forum, in which 24 radio and TV stations from 5 continents are taking part.

• BNR hosts the 2025 edition of the annual Public Broadcasters International conference

Rumen Radev pointed out that the media “must seek the truth and share it, whether it is convenient to the powers that be, economically and politically or not, and must be able to withstand the pressure to be suppressed and censored.”

Public service media are one of the pillars of democratic societies and their mission is more important than ever in the age of disinformation, said BNR Director General Milen Mitev at the opening of the international conference. Public media may look stable at first glance, Milen Mitev said further – they are big organizations with a history going back many years and with rich archives which are an important element of national culture. But a closer look reveals “a different picture and journalism has never come up against challenges that are so serious”, he said.

“Media financed by public funding, but independent of public authority – that is what gives us the freedom to pursue one interest and one interest only – the interest of society. Public service media in any democratic society cannot be weaponized, but we are a superb defence line. Defence against disinformation, against manipulation, against lies,” Milen Mitev said.

To reach out to our audience, we now rely on our main rivals – the big online platforms. They are so powerful that we cannot work without them and are becoming dependent, BNR’s director general cautioned and went on to lay emphasis on the need for stable financing for public service media.

The theme of the forum is "Making the Case for Public Service Broadcasters". Discussions will continue on 22 October.

Among the featured speakers at the forum are: Jean Philip De Tender - Deputy Director General & Director of Media at the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), Robert Šveb - Director General of Croatian Radio and Television (HRT), Mr. Park Jang-beom - President and CEO of the Korean Broadcasting System (KBS), Hugh Marks -Managing Director, ABC, Australia, Kristian Porter - CEO of Public Media Alliance, Natalija Gorscak - President of the Management Board of RTV Slovenia, Jean-Paul Philippot - CEO of RTBF (Radio Télévision Belge de la Communauté Française) and others.

Edited by Ivo Ivanov
Translated and posted by Milena Daynova
Photos: Ani Petrova, BNR