In his welcome address to the participants at the Annual Conference of the Public Media Alliance, the Director General of Bulgarian National Radio (BNR) Milen Mitev declared that journalism has never faced such serious challenges as today.

“Media funded by public resources but independent of public power — that gives us the freedom to serve just one interest: society’s. Public media in a democratic society cannot be used as a tool for attack, but we are a superb defensive line. A defence against disinformation, manipulation, lies. And it is very important that our societies and governments understand that; understand that if we lose this defensive line, the resilience of our societies will decrease, the very fabric of which they are built will thin.”

The conference’s theme is “Public Media — The Power of Arguments”, and it is being hosted by BNR in Sofia for the first time. It brings together leaders and representatives of public radio and television from 24 countries.