5. Civil Society against Corruption (PDF, 293 kb)

110 ANTI-CORRUPTION REFORMS IN BULGARIA
In the late 1990s, corruption was typically discussed by the media
in general and non-personified terms. Now, increasingly corruption
coverage deals with specific cases. Print media, which tended to resort
to sensationalism, are gradually adopting a much more professional
attitude in the investigation of this issue. Already there are reporters who
write unbiased pieces on both concrete cases of corruption and on the
underlying causes of corruption.
CHART 32. DEGREE OF CONCRETENESS OF CORRUPTION-RELATED ITEMS IN
THE MEDIA (AUGUST 2004)
632
Corruption as a phenomenon in most general terms
Corruption in a particular public sphere
Corruption in a particular state authority, public organization, professional group
Specific data on corruption
Specific case of corruption
Source: Media Monitoring by Coalition 2000
103
25
131
246
One notable development has
been the shift of focus from
petty to high-level corruption
without this being used
for party political confrontation
(Table 18). If soon after 1997
the topic of corruption was
usually brought up in the context
of political antagonism, in
recent years the public debate
on corruption has shifted away
from partisanship and more towards
a broader civic agenda.
The subject of anti-corruption
is increasingly treated in the
context of the need to establish
a political culture of transparency
and accountability. The
perfunctory partisan discourse
is gradually being replaced by
an understanding of the underlying
causes of corruption.
Further, there has been a relative increase in the number of success stories
on anti-corruption measures and a considerable increase in the average
number of items reporting successful punishment of corruption.
Political corruption has increasingly been spotlighted by the media and
journalistic interest in it has been sustained by disclosures of corrupt
abuse of power, but also by the overall process of adoption of modern
standards of transparency in the context of the country’s European
integration.
Undoubtedly, the media rely on civic organizations and initiatives for
assessments of the scope of corruption, as well as for information on
the related perceptions and attitudes of Bulgarians. The level of trust
achieved between the media and non-governmental organizations in the
context of anti-corruption critique of governments is an important step
toward reinforcing civil society.