The information that the ministries will give the selected radio and television stations a total of 14 million levs in ads for OPs certainly impressed many people. It, however, is virtually the way the Cabinet is courting the media with euro money. Due to the extreme market decline in recent years the state advertising has quietly become one of the largest and most important players. There are media whose bank accounts are credited primarily from contracts with state agencies, others are less dependent, but certainly the European millions are a target. Of course, there are media that are not invited to the party.
The problem is that almost nobody dares to talk about these funds, to tell how and why they were won. Those who do, however, bring to light only sparse facts and do not intend to inform the public.
The more observant people may have noticed that exported data for the coming advertising expenditures in 2013 did not find covering in any of the electronic media. The difference between electronic media and print editions actually stems from the fact that the former can tap directly from the funds – radio and television operators receive money without any competitions and procedures – but just at the sole discretion of Ministers. This in turn makes them almost secret (unless some MPs decide to ask or refer a request under the Access to Public Information Act). Thus they cut off any possibility of control on the spending, and open a loophole for backroom bargaining
As for the press, they can get European money only through agencies employed by advertising and PR agencies, which greatly complicates the procedure. And so the amounts disperse among more players. For newspapers, there is another privilege that it is not to be underestimated. Because they do not conclude direct contracts with ministries, there is virtually no way to know exactly who gets how much money. As already mentioned, official funds are allocated through hired agencies. But they are no public institutions and laws cannot force them to reveal the contracts they sign with other private entities. So what comes to light is only the total sums given for advertising in print media, on flyers, billboards, etc.
Without any doubt the most generous to the media is Agriculture Minister Miroslav Naydenov. He gave away more money than all his colleagues put together, even though his entrusted Rural Development Programme (RDP) is the only one to which Bulgaria has officially lost tens of millions of levs. It is absurd that this year spending will continue in full force and is even expected to reach 18 million levs – as much as they paid totally for the period from 2009 to 2012. In this respect, officials in agricultural department are not wasting their time.
The BANKER
