Although few people or buildings were seriously harmed in a 5.8 degree earthquake that rocked Bulgaria on Monday night, the media has spread panic among the population, writes the weekly Kapital: "The media have caused mass hysteria at a time when society needs objective and precise information from them. Cracks in house walls suddenly became deep crevices. Crows that defended their nests reportedly 'flipped out after the earthquake' and attacked people. The spring rain in the days after the earthquake was a sign that heaven had 'collapsed'. Such headlines are not just in bad taste but are an extreme and inappropriate way of grabbing attention. When natural disasters occur, the media are the main source of information for the population and should not be tempted to spread fear and panic for no reason." (24/05/2012)

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More from the press review on the subject » Natural disasters, » Natural disasters, » Media, » Bulgaria

The Romanian tax authority Anaf on Tuesday blocked all the accounts of public television channel TVR, naming the broadcaster's debts of roughly 77 million euros as the reason for its move. In reality this is a ploy by the new government aimed at bringing the broadcaster to heel, the daily Adevărul suspects: "True, the government is using the debts as an argument. But in our little country, where everything is compared with everything, one could point out that there are companies with much larger debts whose accounts haven't been blocked. This is the problem: everything is relative, even principles and stringency. … But the state's ruthless steps since the change of government are completely off the mark. The public broadcaster TVR has had debts for years, and it has always paid them. The broadcaster will always have debts because reforms are always blocked. It just happens to be a toy politicians are fond of playing with. And the worst of it is that we, the viewers, have no part in this story." (24/05/2012)

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More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Audiovisual Media, » Press freedom, » Romania
All available articles from » Mircea Vasilescu

According to a study by the University of Gothenburg, many of Sweden's journalists have close ties with the left-wing camp, in sharp contrast to the general population. Several chief editors have indignantly denied that this produces biased reporting, provoking the criticism of the liberal daily Dagens Nyheter: "Studies like these are a friend to this profession, not a foe. Journalists mustn't and can't precisely reflect the distribution of seats in parliament. But just as with membership of a class, gender or ethnic group, it's dangerous when editing teams become a bubble of political unity and mutual back-patting. The first important step is to acknowledge the problem, analyse it and discuss it. To deny it indignantly doesn't exactly boost confidence in us journalists." (11/05/2012)

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More from the press review on the subject » Politics, » Media, » Sweden
All available articles from » Erik Helmerson

Bulgaria ranked 78th alongside Hungary in the American "Freedom House" foundation's most recent press freedom ranking list and was given the rating "partially free". Freedom House has got it all wrong, writes the opposition daily newspaper Duma with more than a hint of irony: "The newspapers, radio, television and online media all communicate freely with the government in Bulgaria. In what other country do top reporters receive text messages from the prime minister himself? In what other country do journalists freely discuss with the prime minister what they should serve their venerable audiences, and above all how to do it so that they understand the lengths the government is going to to make Bulgaria a dream country? The government has immense respect for the media: whenever the media makes a mistake in its reporting there's a friendly call from the cabinet of ministers reminding the journalists of their right to correct their slip-up." (03/05/2012)

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More from the press review on the subject » Press freedom, » Media, » Bulgaria
All available articles from » Pavleta Davidova