Free to Hate : How Media Liberalization Enabled Right-Wing Populism in Post-1989 Bulgaria / Martin Marinos.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Marinos, Martin, author.

Series:

Geopolitics of information.

Geopolitics of Information Series

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Mass media--Political aspects--Bulgaria.

Mass media.

Communication in politics--Bulgaria.

Communication in politics.

Populism--Bulgaria.

Populism.

Right and left (Political science)--Bulgaria.

Right and left (Political science).

Bulgaria--Politics and government--1990-.

Bulgaria.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (327 pages)

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

Urbana, Illinois : University of Illinois Press, [2023]

Summary:

"Bulgaria's media-driven pivot to right-wing populism parallels political developments taking place around the world. Martin Marinos applies a critical political economy approach to place Bulgarian right-wing populism within the structural transformation of the country's media institutions. As Marinos shows, media concentration under Western giants like Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung and News Corporation have led to a neoliberal turn of commercialization, concentration, and tabloidization across media. The Right have used the anticommunism and racism bred by this environment to not only undermine traditional media but position their own outlets to boost new political entities like the nationalist party Ataka. Marinos's ethnographic observations and interviews with local journalists, politicians, and media experts add on-the-ground detail to his account. He also examines several related issues, including the performative appeal of populist media and the money behind it. A timely and innovative analysis, Free to Hate reveals where structural changes in media intersect with right-wing populism"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Intro

Cover Page

Title Page

Copyright Page

Dedication Page

Contents

Acknowledgments

List of Abbreviations

Introduction

Political Economy of Media and Populism

Right-Wing Populism after 1989

Neoliberalism and the Retreat of the Left

Left-Wing Mimicry and Racism in Right-Wing Populist Discourse

Outline of the Book

Sources and Methods

1 Social Justice Journalism and Cultural Enlightenment: Socialist Humanist Media after Stalin

Urbanization, Consumption, Youth, and the Emergence of Socialist Humanism

Socialist Media in Pursuit of Cultural Enlightenment and Education

The Socialist Journalist: The People's Representative

Education, Culture, and Social Justice Journalism after 1989

2 Media and the Post-1989 Anticommunist Hegemony

Global Anticommunism

The Perils of Postsocialist Anticommunism

Glorifying the Interwar and World War II Right-Wing Regimes

Hostility toward the Left

State Media against Communism

Habermas and the Idolization of the Commercial Press

State Media, Street Pressure, and the Birth of Anticommunism

Purges and Opportunism

Anticommunism after the 1990s

3 "The Language of the People": The Tabloidization and Monopolization of the Postsocialist Press

Tabloidization and the Populist Right

New Market Laws: The Monopolization of the Press

From Media to Political Populism

4 "Commercial Television with a Public Role": Nationalism, Mediatized Social Responsibility, and the Porous Border between Political and Media Populism

The Wild 1990s and the Emergence of Commercial Television in Bulgaria

News Corporation's Ascent and Dominance of Bulgarian Television

Entertainment, Mediatized Social Responsibility, and Nationalism

5 Media Concentration and Right-Wing Populism's Love-Hate Relationship with the Media.

TV and the Corporate Commercial Bank Debacle

Economedia against the Media of the Oligarchs

Is Prokopiev an Oligarch?

The Neoliberal Quality Press

"America for Bulgaria" in Support of Independent Media

AFB and the Bulgarian Media System

Is There No Positive Side to the Bulgarian Media Wars?

The Populist Right's Contradictory Position on Media

6 Labor, Money, and the "Populist" in Right-Wing Populist Media

Labor and Exploitation in Bulgarian Media

The Funding of Populist Right-Wing Media

The "Populist" in Populist Right-Wing Media

Rural and Small-Town Audiences

Viewer Participation

Commentary, Objectivity, and Expert Knowledge

Conclusion

Notes

Bibliography

Primary Sources

Secondary Sources

Index

Series Page.

Notes:

Description based on print version record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Other Format:

Print version: Marinos, Martin Free to Hate

ISBN:

9780252055126

0252055128