BTA today presented the November issue of LIK magazine, which marks 180 years since the first Bulgarian newspaper, "Bulgarian Eagle", and looks at how the press has grown in Bulgaria. The event was held in the agency's Maxim hall, and BTA press clubs across Bulgaria and abroad joined by video link.
Silvia Shatarova, editor-in-chief of the Black Sea Lighthouse (Chernomorski Far) newspaper, spoke online from Burgas. In late October the paper's new graphic design won a Golden Pen award for graphics from the Union of Bulgarian Journalists. Shatarova called running a regional newspaper an act of heroism, and said a new design and a new concept were an even greater feat. Chernomorski Far has a history of more than 100 years. The first issue of the weekly Far, which covered trade, economy, farming and news, came out in 1920, the year the newspaper was founded.
Inside Bulgaria, the BTA press clubs in Blagoevgrad, Burgas, Varna, Veliko Tarnovo, Vidin, Vratsa, Gabrovo and Gotse Delchev were on the link. So were those in Dobrich, Kazanlak, Kardzhali, Kyustendil, Lovech, Montana, Pazardzhik, Pernik, Petrich, Pleven, Plovdiv and Razgrad. The clubs in Ruse, Samokov, Svishtov, Silistra, Smolyan, Stara Zagora, Troyan, Targovishte, Haskovo, Shumen and Yambol joined them. Athens, Odesa, Taraclia and the ship NIK 421 took part from outside Bulgaria.
"With the arrival of the press, a Revival-era triangle appeared in our culture: print, knowledge, freedom," said Assoc. Prof. Georgi Lozanov, editor-in-chief of LIK. He tied the rise of the press to the self-confidence that led to Bulgaria's liberation, and later to the idea of freedom and free speech. Lozanov said print "makes it possible to spread information on a scale and with a speed never seen before, which gives people a new way to look at the world".
Yanitsa Hristova, managing editor of the magazine, noted that the Bulgarian press began in an unfree Bulgaria and in hard conditions, while newspapers and book printing elsewhere already had successes and followers. She said the press quickly found its place in "shaping citizens", not only their way of life but also their way of thinking.
The trial issue of the magazine "Lyubosloviye" by Konstantin Fotinov, from 1842, marks the start of the Bulgarian periodical press. Four years later, in 1846, Ivan Bogorov published "Bulgarian Eagle". Prof. Zdravka Konstantinova teaches the history of Bulgarian journalism at the Faculty of Journalism and Mass Communication of Sofia University "St Kliment Ohridski". She said that by 9 September 1944 Bulgaria had more than 10,000 periodical titles. Konstantinova said that in the years before the Liberation, when the state had not yet been restored, journalism took on state-building and creative roles.
Prof. Albert Benbasat, a literary historian, critic, writer and publisher, spoke about "Kyriakodromion" ("Sunday Book"), with which Bulgarian book printing began 220 years ago. He explained that the book aimed to educate people by giving them church reading in a more democratic, newer and more modern Bulgarian.
Prof. Mihail Nedelchev teaches and researches literary theory and history at the New Bulgarian University (NBU). He considers reading newspapers a necessity and part of the life of a cultured person. He is amazed and worried that colleagues in academic and literary circles no longer read newspapers, while people abroad still read print editions. Historian, journalist and NBU lecturer Assist. Prof. Dr Todor Panayotov said cultured people still read newspapers, but students do not. He added that truth in journalism is not a matter of point of view, even though in many places people try to present it that way, and that it must be a required principle.
Speaking from the Varna press club, archaeologist and print collector Alexander Minchev showed a copy of the first and only issue of Botev's newspaper "New Bulgaria", printed days before the poet set out for his homeland and died. The oldest paper in his collection is an issue of "Tsarigradski Vestnik" (the Istanbul newspaper) from 1850, edited by Alexander Exarch. Minchev bought it from an antiques shop. The paper is very rare and in good condition.
Stanislava Georgieva, head of the State Archives in Pernik, and Bozhidar Pantev from the chitalishte (community cultural centre) in Breznik joined from Pernik. Between 1895 and 1901 there were 5 newspapers and 3 printing houses in Tran. On 2 January 1895 the first issue of "Erma", the first local newspaper in today's Pernik region, came out there.
Slaveyko Dokuzov, curator of the History Museum in Samokov, said the museum keeps many issues of "Lyubosloviye". He added that Konstantin Fotinov was not only a teacher of the people but also a leading journalist of his time. From Pleven, artist Diyan Pavlov-Jimmy, curator of the art centre "Tvoritelnitsa O'Pismenehu", spoke about Johannes Gutenberg's system of mass book printing. He said the invention changed the world. Journalist Zarko Marinov and librarian and journalist Svetlana Hadzhieva took part from Smolyan.
Journalist Anna Terzivets spoke from Odesa about the Bulgarian press in Bolgrad in the 19th century. Two Bulgarian periodicals, "Obsht Trud" and "Bulgarian Voice", were published there. She said they laid the foundations of national journalism and kept the Bulgarian identity of the settlers alive.
Captain 2nd Rank Radko Muevski, commander of the research ship "Saints Cyril and Methodius", joined from the port of Antalya. The ship and its crew are taking part there in the UN Climate Change Conference (COP31). Muevski said the periodical press and the written word endure, and the print edition on board passes from hand to hand. LIK has a special issue from the second voyage of NIK 421, and the ship carries other themed issues as well.
Gergana Georgieva, organiser of "Plovdiv Reads", spoke from Plovdiv about the fourth Reading Day – Bulgaria, due on 20 November. She said more attention is needed to how children's books look and are laid out, which topics interest children today, and what the illustrations should be.
The magazine was revived in 2022 and has been free to read since January 2024. All issues since its revival can be downloaded from the BTA website, and the November issue is at https://www.bta.bg/bg/lik-magazine.