Lilia Raycheva

Interactivity as a Metaphor of Online News

Abstract Have users challenged the power of incumbent media through interactivity, and, if so, to what extent and to what end? The front pages and their linked features of online newspapers in Bulgaria, Estonia, Ireland and Italy are examined as instances of interactivity in practice. A methodological path to analyse interactivity practices in online newspapers is proposed. The structures and the more frequent models of interactivity applied; the types of forums; the communicative flux between readers and editorial staffs; modalities of self-presentation, both of readers and journalists; and the rituality of their relations in forums are set out and analysed from a number of perspectives. The study demonstrates that online newspapers in the first stage of internet diffusion remain in a stage of pre-interactivity.

The Transformation of Reading Among the Ageing Population in the Digital Age

The processes of globalization, the Internet, the broadband technologies, and the convergence are among the main milestones tracing the dimensions of humankind’s development in the 21st century. They are also the fundamental points that trace the basis of social transformations. Today these transformations are catalyzed by the intense development of information and communication technologies. As positive as their impact might be on progress in all areas of life, it is no less true that they pose challenges for the social stratification of society. The trend of population ageing determines the need for urgent prevention of elderly people’s social exclusion from the modern information environment.

Transformations in Mass Society and Emergent Properties of Human Behavior in Contemporary Media Space

There are several fundamental changes related to the communication transformations in modern society resulting from the interaction between communication technologies and society. Chronologically, the transformation of communications into mass communications is one of them. Their appearance began to be seen as a panacea for its “healing”. Labels such as the new “hammer and anvil” of social solidarity are the new socializers and trainers. Mass communications are interpreted as a strong bonding mechanism with socio-cultural consequences. They are associated with a natural cultural bridge between the past and the present, between the national and the world heritage. The mass media, however, often destroy traditional cultural and political values and norms, lower aesthetic taste, profane culture. In today’s society - the 21st century society there have been other types of complications. In the paper, based on media content analysis, an emphasis is placed on these negative aspects, which we perceive as a pollution of the media environment and as “non-ecocultural” effects.

Overcoming the Vulnerability of Older Adults in Contemporary Media Ecosystem (International Policies and Bulgarian Survey)

Population ageing and the development of modern media digital environment are two interlinked processes in contemporary world. A new media ecosystem, combining the traditional and the online media, has been formed. The trend of population ageing determines the need for urgent prevention of digital generation divide, i.e. of the vulnerability and the social exclusion of older people from the modern information and communication environment. In order to deal with the challenges to population ageing, it is important to analyze how these issues are presented in the media, and to seek information on the current good practices and deficits regarding media and older adults. For this purpose, the proposed text is based on a selection of important general and specialized institutional documents of the United Nations, the Council of Europe and the European Union on age discrimination and media policies. Against this background the paper presents the results of a survey, conducted to measure the extent of vulnerability of older users of media content, compared to younger generations in the constantly changing media ecosystem.

The Brave New E-world of the Human-Centered Media Ecosystem

Using the PEST analysis, the proposed paper examines the political, economic, social, and technological aspects of the demographic and literacy trends and disruptions in the media and communication ecosystem (with regardto Bulgaria). It concentrates on: the political and regulatory commitment to the fundamental values in the process of developing new trajectories in technology, business and governance; the transformation of the business models for personalized interaction at all points of the consumers’ experience; the scaling up of human-centered technologies as phenomenal opportunities for human progress, that also create serious societal challenges.

A Negative Touch in Posters and Spots

In our study, we focus on negativity in different member states in the 2014 campaign as well as the main targets of this negativity through a concentration on political advertising, both video commercials and posters. In defining negative ads, the different cultural, social and historical context that is embedded in them by the different member states must be recognized. Based on our content analysis study of poster and videos in the 2014 European Parliament elections, we make use of data related to negativity to determine to what extent parties and candidates ‘went negative’ in this campaign.

The Impact of Television in Bulgaria on the Electoral Process and Voting Behavior

After 45 years of communism, Bulgaria held its first democratic elections in May 1990, following an interparty coup that had ended the totalitarian rule in November 1989. A new Bulgarian Constitution was adopted in 1991. During the following years of transition to democracy, a normal political environment was gradually established. Among the major achievements during this period were that the country joined NATO in spring 2004 and entered the European Union in January 2007. During this period of transition to a democratic political system and marketplace economy, the processes of decentralization, liberalization, and privatization led to a completely new media landscape with strong social impact. The past two decades have witnessed five presidential (1992, 1996, 2001, 2006, and 2011), seven parliamentary (1990, 1991, 1994, 1997, 2001, 2005, and 2009), six local (1991, 1995, 1999, 2003, 2007, and 2011), and two European parliamentary elections (2007 and 2009) and the appointment of twelve governments in Bulgaria. The main objective of the proposed paper is to present the impact of media and, in particular, of television on the democratization developments in the country.