site.btaBulgarian News Agency with New Version of its Website

The Bulgarian News Agency Wednesday presented the new version of its website, with open access news. The launch coincided with the marking of 124 years since the issue of BTA's first bulletin.

BTA Director General Kiril Valchev said that the Bulgarian News Agency to this day remains the media for real news, because it has been developing for 124 years. Wednesday's launch of the renovated website is yet another example of development, he noted.

Minister of e-Government Bozhidar Bozhanov said that information technology requires constant renovation, therefore one needs to constantly be in step with the times. He expressed the hope that the new version of BTA's website, particularly with its open access policy, will allow the Bulgarian News Agency to reach more people.

Ivaylo Filipov, Executive Director of Information Services, the company that renovated BTA's website, said this is the first successful step together with the provision of new computers at the agency, and the next step should come towards mid-2022, resulting in a complete technological makeover at BTA.

Iliya Goranov, head of the team behind the new version of bta.bg, said the main focus in their work was the development of a contemporary vision with big images, putting an emphasis on text as well as on rich multimedia content. The website is now more accessible for persons with disabilities and users with various devices, much more information can be published, and the menu is richer and allows users, including through an interactive map of Bulgaria and the world, to reach almost all the information available on the website, Goranov explained.

Valchev noted that BTA marked a new beginning to open access to its news both for all media and all readers. The Bulgarian News Agency has several big goals, one of which is open access to information and real news. The flow of information in the agency will now be clearly distinguishable. Press releases received from other institutions will be displayed as such, so that these be distinguished from BTA's own articles written using trusted sources, adhering to high standards, and bias-free.  The website's content has been enriched with three big topics: knowledge and culture (LIK); economy (business news where company names will no longer be omitted); and news from Bulgarian communities across the globe, Valchev explained.

The Bulgarian News Agency Wednesday affirmed its Code of Ethics. "We will not have a separate code of ethics different from that of Bulgarian media adopted in 2005," Valchev specified. The Code includes a list of internal rules adopted for the first time in the late 1990s when Panayot Denev was BTA director general. Another part of the Code concerns those whose press releases BTA is obliged to publish by law, including all budget-financed organizations; they should not send press releases containing hate speech or instigating violence.

Wednesday also saw the entry into force of the rules for internships at BTA.

To the attention of subscribers: The archive will be accessible by clicking on My BTA. All user profiles will be moved to the new BTA website. The archive will also be accessible on the old website at old.bta.bg