Bulgarian independent media operating in a `captured state´
(World News Austria)

Bulgaria`s media concentration in the hands of oligarchs with close ties to the government, captured state institutions and, more recently, smear campaigns against critical media form a trifecta of pressure on independent journalism in the country, which joined the European Union in 2007. It is difficult to understand the environment in which Bulgarian journalists operate without first understanding the impact of oligarch and MP Delyan Peevski on the country`s media landscape. Media concentration According to a by the Union of Publishers in Bulgaria, Peevski`s New Bulgarian Media Group (NBMG) controls close to 80 percent of the newspaper distribution market and owns circa 40 percent of all...