In the era of the revolution of the media - which has been going on for some time - something unexpected may be in store almost every minute, as forms, instruments and methods are in continuous transformation. An assessment of the situation and a recording of experiments - from technological innovations to different new genres - is a task of great importance for those working for the foreseeable future. Yet a classification of the information, efforts and documents in an encyclopaedic way is perhaps of even greater importance. Assuming that this evident need is acknowledged by (almost) everybody, one is still startled at the current situation. Entire legions of people are flooding into the areas of the media - mushrooming nowadays, - without a thorough knowledge of that particular area's history, background, psyche or prospects. Béla Balázs's warning haunts us even after half a century /this outstanding aesthetician contemplated the dangers of the lack of education on the pages of the printed Filmkultúra /, and all you need to do today is substitute the word "film" for "media": "Who would not know or acknowledge that film has a more powerful influence on the psyche of the masses that any other genre of art today. Official guardians of culture recognise this with some concerned regretfulness. But nobody draws the conclusion that would be the logical consequence of this, namely, that we must be knowledgeable about film, that we must be equipped with a taste, resulting from culturedness, that is capable of providing guidance, in order to avoid being helplessly at the mercy of this most peculiar, great intellectual influence of our age, as if exposed to some mindless, elemental force. The film culture that we can teach a nation will be decisive for that nation's mental health. "
The comparison is perhaps forced (let us, however, avoid arguing about the level and intensity of the "touch of the Muses" in the daily practice of the media). Those who are familiar with the environment experience it every day: announcers of radio and television are unfamiliar with the rules of talking to the public, and illiterate journalists, faithless priests, musicians who do not read note-heads, deaf-and-dumb orators and social climbers without morals or dignity are bustling and stirring in great numbers in the machinery of the media today. Fortunately, they are not the rulers, but their influence is substantial. They are badly in need of a codex of conduct, an activity scheme, methodological advice, historical summary, an assessment of the tasks and possibilities. Such a thing would of course be useful also for those who devote their entire lives to the media and are excellently knowledgeable about the theory and practice of this increasingly important area.
In Bulgaria, Balkanmedia Association - with exemplary domestic co-operation and substantial international sponsorship - has recently published a thick volume which is a gold-mine of the theme mentioned above. Dr. Rossen Milev's editorial concept plan has been appealingly ambitious: embracing everything on heaven and earth that can be squeezed into the fashionable term "media", and, mapping up almost every single segment of it, he asked selected authors for summaries, the distribution of certificates, meditation, statistical assessment, predictions, - depending on the status, the habits, the experiences and the descriptive talent of the different authors. Strangely enough, this eclecticism did not harm the cause. The contributors - respected representatives of special fields of expertise, professors, theoreticians, researchers - ensured a versatile picture exactly because of their different optics. The relative completeness is attributable to the fact that this anthology of over 50 pages wishes to compete with lexicons. Just a few of the topics discussed: Media Philosophy and Theory. Media History. Media Politics, Media Culture. Media Law. Press and Publishing. Audio-visual Media. Telecommunication. Computer-communication. The Media and Art. The Profession of the Journalist. A Panorama of Media Education in Bulgaria. An Overview of Bulgarian Media Literature. Documents. A Chronological List of Events. And what a multitude of exciting issues within the larger brackets! The Media and the State. The Influence of the Media and the Business World. Transformations in the Strategy of Radio and Television. The State of Film Criticism. Past. Present. Future. Information-Overflow from Yesterday. Figures and Tables. An Outlook to the International Scene. Applicable Law. An Up-To-Date Chronicle. Although the volume makes pleasant reading, its editors have devoted considerable energy to ensuring its scientific credibility /notes of philology, origins of citations, references, index of publications, etc/. Some debatable views, however, have also found their way into the volume, but that is hardly objectionable. The publication entitled Balgarszko media znanyie gives a fair picture of the current state of affairs.
This undertaking deserves praise and inspires a trifle of jealousy. In Bulgaria, the war-posts occupied by politics and economy, culture and sports have become rather disarranged of late. This book is of the highest quality. It provides encouragement to follow its example. It sets an example. It inspires debate. In Hungary, the need for a similar publication is hardly questionable. It is our urgent duty to put together our own media education course, and in the meantime - as advance-payment - make this excellent piece of Bulgarian basic literature available in translation.
(Balgarsko media znanyije, Balkanmedia Association, Szófia 1996.)
