Nicholas Johnson and Bulgaria

Bulgaria

Contents

Nicholas Johnson Presentations and Papers

English Language Translations of Newspaper Interviews

Background Note: At the invitation of USIA/USIS Nicholas Johnson spent September 10-19, 1999, in Bulgaria. He met with a range of journalists, government officials, and others concerned about the role of mass media in a democracy in general, and more specifically the media's coverage of politicians during campaigns. (A month long campaign for local offices began September 16, 1999.) His wife, Mary Vasey, accompanied him on this trip. She was one of the first national faculty members of the U.S. Coalition of Essential Schools, and a long-time teacher at the award winning "alternative school," Metro High School, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Because he also serves on his local (Iowa City Community School District) School Board, they also consulted with educators and officials regarding Bulgarian K-12 education. This Web site is currently (September 20, 1999) "under construction." Present plans are to include links to (a) Web sites with general information about Bulgaria, as well as (b) those of the individuals and organizations they met with, (c) Bulgarian newspaper articles about their visit, and (d) materials presented or otherwise referred to during the seminars and conferences in which they participated. Of course, Nicholas Johnson has sole responsibility for this site; it has not been reviewed or approved by the U.S. Government, USIA or USIS. -- N.J., September 20, 1999

General Bulgarian Web Sites
Bulgaria Online (one of the best general sites with which to start)

Tourist-oriented sites include: the Bulgaria Travel Guide [Old Site: http://www.interrinet.bg], Peak View Tourist Web Guide, Bulgarian Photo Album [Old Site: http://www.mrl.uiuc.edu/~petrov/english.html] and Welcome to Sofia (all with numerous links to general information about the country) [Old Site: sofia.com]

Bulgarian Institute for Legal Development ("BILD") maintains links to English language translations of Bulgarian law [Old Site: http://www.bild.acad.bg]

The Center for the Study of Democracy provides useful information

Internet Resources on Bulgaria (a useful collection of Web sites offered by the School of Slavonic and East European Studies University College London)[Old Site: http://www.ssees.ac.uk/bulgaria.htm

President of the Republic of Bulgaria (the President's page, with useful links to resources)[Old Site: http://www-us.capital.bg/president/engl/index.htm]

The United States Information Agency has its main site as well as the Welcome to the American Embassy Sofia Homepage [Old Site: http://www.usis.bg] with many useful links (of course, neither bears any responsibility for this Web site)

Yahoo! has a Bulgaria site [Old Site: http://dir.yahoo.com/Regional/Countries/Bulgaria/]

Bulgarian Media Web Sites

Applied Research and Communications Fund (the ARC site has a number of useful links on Information Age issues) [Old Site: http://www.arc.online.bg]

Bulgarian Internet Television

Bulgarian National Business and Financial News Daily ("PARI"; by subscription only) [Old Site: http://www.news.pari.bg/cgi-bin/pari-eng.home.cgi] and its Bulgarian Economic Review (in English, and free) [Old Site: http://www.news.pari.bg/cgi-bin/ber.home.cgi]

Bulgarian Press Digest [Old Site: http://www.capital.bg/bp_digest/index.html] (provided by the well regarded Sofia newspaper Capital, the Digest is a free, English language summary of major Bulgarian news stories offered with a two-week delay -- or more current as a subscription); see also the Capital Weekly index. [Old Site: http://www.capital.bg/weekly/index.html]

The Telecommunications Law of 1998 is available in English language translation. [Old Site: http://www.cpt.bg/EN/newdok/law/zd.htm]

Yahoo! has a Bulgarian News and Media collection. [Old Site: http://dir.yahoo.com/Regional/Countries/Bulgaria/News_and_Media/]

Bulgarian Education Web Sites

Public Council of Science and Education to the President of the Republic [Old Site: http://www-us.capital.bg/president/engl/services/science.htm]

Yahoo! has a Bulgarian Education site [Old Site: http://dir.yahoo.com/Regional/Countries/Bulgaria/Education/

Nicholas Johnson Presentations and Papers

Elections Reporting in the U.S. and Bulgaria: Talking Points (an outline/handout used by Nicholas Johnson in seminar presentations in Varna [Elections Reporting Workshop, Lotos Hotel, Varna-Riviera, Bulgaria, September 11, 1999] and Sofia, Bulgaria [see below], during his visit September 10-19, 1999)

Elections Reporting in the U.S. and Bulgaria (a transcript of extemporaneous remarks presented to the Regulatory Issues of Elections Reporting Conference, The American Center, Sofia, Bulgaria, September 14, 1999)

"Much is Accomplished with Little" Iowa City Press-Citizen, September 28, 1999, p. 13A. (While in Bulgaria Nicholas Johnson and his wife, Mary Vasey, also visited schools and education officials to exchange views regarding K-12 education. This column is his effort to share with the Iowa City community some of their insights about Bulgarian education that might be useful in Iowa City and of interest to those in Bulgaria.)

An Autonomous Media (a paper used on three prior occasions as well to explain to Former Soviet Union journalists and officials the operation of the U.S. media system)

Georgia's Media Future: A Personal View of Options and Opportunities (a paper prepared for meetings in Tiblisi, Georgia, February 24 through March 3, 1998, that may be of use to those shaping Bulgaria's media future)

Law of Electronic Media: Concepts, Perspectives and Goals (although prepared for Johnson's University of Iowa College of Law class in "Law of Electronic Media," Fall 1999, it was also made available to Bulgarians as an insight to some of the challenges, and opportunities, presented by "the information age")

English Language Translations of Newspaper Interviews

"Nicholas Johnson: The Show Is Part of Election Coverage," Democratsiya Daily [Sofia, Bulgaria], September 16th,1999, p. 17.

"I don�t Want a Bulgarian Election Campaign in the USA" 168 Chassa Weekly ["168 Hours," Sofia, Bulgaria], September 17, 1999, p. 23.

Kapital, September 18-24, 1999, p. 42 [not yet translated].