"The independence and pluralism of Bulgaria’s media has eroded steadily over the past decade. The downward spiral in media freedom that threatens to drown public debate on important policy issues is unrestrained since 2006, when the country was ranked 35th on the Reporters Without Borders Index. Nine years later, Bulgaria has fallen to 106th place [...] Bulgarian authorities are increasingly employing tools of “soft censorship” to dominate the country’s media and narrow public access to information and informed policy debate. This analysis defines official “soft censorship” or indirect censorship as any of an array of official actions intended to influence media output, short of legal or extra-legal bans, direct censorship of specific content, or physical attacks on media outlets or media practitioners. These indirect forms of censorship include selective media subsidies and partisan allocation of advertising, as well as biased application of regulatory and licensing powers that can influence editorial content and affect media outlets’ viability." (Executive summary)