Bulgarian journalism is not what its consumers would like it to be, writes Vera Slavtcheva-Petkova, of University of Chester. The author analyzed readers’ comments on two Bulgarian news websites. Out of 1 538 investigated comments some 11 per cent dealt with journalism, some of which decried the current state of it and some pictured its ideal form.

According to the author, the readers find Bulgarian journalists corrupt or manipulated from above. The comments were captured in from stories involving the power struggle within Bulgarian media, and this is reflected in the cynicism of many of the comments. The ideals the readers hold dear, however, are the very same generally recognized by journalists all over the world, the author notes.

The article We are not fools was published by the International journal of press/politics. It is available online (free abstract).

Picture: Untitled by peter67, licence CC0 1.0.