An 11-year-old Romani girl from the the Nadezhda (Hope) ghetto in the Bulgarian town of Sliven has given birth. Clearly, there has been a violation of the law (and, moreover, a moral wrong). This is not a Roma tradition, nor a widespread fact of Romani life.

It makes me angry and disgusted when great and “competent” Bulgarian journalists dissect a case that involves Roma. I would never comment on an issue that I am not qualified on or informed about.

The journalist from the TV program Cheliusti (Jaws), Diana Naydenova, treated the case of the 11-year-old girl superficially and disrespectfully. I do not know what kind of preparation goes into her show, but it smacks of unprofessional journalism. At university I was told that when I take up a case, I need to acquaint myself with its specifics and its background. A friend of mine, an American journalist living in Slovakia, calls the process “journalistic Darwinism.” Just as Darwin traced human evolution throughout the centuries, so must journalists track changes in a certain condition or issue throughout the years. Alas, our best journalists do not have a sense of this, or the motivation to think in terms of cause and effect. They prefer to make a sensation out of ugly “effects” while enjoying a cup of coffee in the warm, cozy studio. At the end of the day, my least favorite aspect of Bulgarian journalism resurfaces – a generalization is made about a whole group of people.

Unfortunately, Ms. Naydenova is ignorant of another lesson of journalism. Usually she hosts two guests. But her bias for one side never remains unnoticed. I know from another journalist, the editor of a popular Western newspaper, that a journalist must always be at war with his personal judgment. He calls it “journalistic jihad: for short. Reporters should fight their personal opinion by trying to keep it to themselves, and not show it and press it on their studio guests in order to channel the conversation into some preordained direction! After all, journalism has to be objective.

But in Bulgaria, anything goes. Not only is everyone an expert on football and politics, but every citizen and journalist is already competent on the problems of the Roma and DANS (State Agency for National Security, recently implicated in corruption scandals).

Whoever invented journalistic “areas of expertise” must have been an amateur. Look here, another “area of expertise”! Tough! There is only one big area and it’s apparently open for everyone.

- Ognyan Isaev

P.S. I am expecting Bulgarian cabinet members Boyko Borissov, Simeon Dyankov, and Tsvetan Tsvetanov to soon express their own expert opinion on the 11-year-old mother from Sliven.

Welcome to Transitions Online’s Roma blog, a resource devoted to spotlighting issues concerning Europe’s Romani communities. With support from the Open Society Institute’s Media Program, TOL has since 2005 implemented projects aimed at helping professional Roma journalists from Central and Eastern Europe and the Balkans acquire new reporting skills. Journalists from these regions have taken part in a number of seminars and internship programs with TOL staff and many participated in collaborative reporting assignments, with TOL field trainers working side-by-side with the trainees on stories in their home countries, resulting in published articles in English and local languages. Many will take advantage of the opportunities offered by this blog.

Whether you are Roma or not, whether you are a journalist, activist or academic or simply someone with keen interest in, and knowledge of, Roma issues, you should feel at home at this blog. It will provide you with that crucial little bit of extra information and color you rarely find in traditional reporting. And if you have something interesting to say on issues related to Romani communities, consider sharing your information and views here. Whatever your way of keeping finger on the pulse of Roma life, others may be keen to hear your insights.

Clearly, banal or frivolous topics will be of little use to the blog users. Focus on real stuff that truly tells us something relevant about the life of Romani communities. If you are a journalist, tell others about stories you have worked on or those you are about to start researching. Share anecdotes that don’t make it into your published copy. Feature full-length interviews with your sources, or blog photos, video or audio you didn’t use. Tell others about articles and books related to Roma issues or public and social gatherings you attended.

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