How to preserve and maintain public trust in media - this is the central topic for participants in the Public Broadcasters International (PBI) 2025 Annual Conference, which is taking place in Sofia.
The event, organized by the Bulgarian National Radio, was opened on October 21 by President Rumen Radev and Director General of the Bulgarian National Radio, Milen Mitev. The forum brought together representatives of 24 public radio and television stations from 5 continents in the Bulgarian capital, who exchanged experiences on how to deal with problems such as lack of funding, loss of viewers and listeners due to new technologies, as well as maintaining high-quality journalism even under pressure.
Our job is to ensure that the facts remain inviolable and to continue to provide them to the public, said David Jordan, PBI Secretary General and Director of Editorial Policy and Standards, BBC:
"We heard the President of Bulgaria speak very passionately about the importance of freedom of expression and journalism. I am really encouraged to hear the Bulgarian President say that, as I would be encouraged to hear any politician say that anywhere in the world. We need that perspective, that attitude," David Jordan said.
The Director General of Croatian Radio and Television (HRT), Robert Šveb, said that even with the progress of artificial intelligence, the role of journalists will not disappear.
"At some point, people will learn how to think critically about everything they see on the Internet and they will need a fact-check from someone they can trust. These are the public media," Šveb said.
According to Jean Philip De Tender, Deputy Director-General of the European Broadcasting Union, the role of this type of media is key to the functioning of a democratic society.
"Public media are very important for democracy. We see that politics is under pressure because of people who enter it for their personal interests. Public media are actually always serving the audience. It is great to see that so many people in Europe and in Bulgaria are working for the independence of public media, really defending them and creating wonderful content," Jean Philip De Tender said.
The meeting of public media representatives from five continents continues on October 22 with discussions on independence and freedom of expression and the role of public media in times of crisis, after which the guests will have the opportunity to explore the cultural attractions of the Bulgarian capital city.
Report: Maria Petrova
Editor: E. Karkalanova
Publication in English: Al. Markov
Photos: BTA, Ani Petrova - BNR
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