Ankova re-appointed as head of Bulgarian National Television
Incumbent director-general of public broadcaster Bulgarian National Television, Vyara Ankova, has been appointed to a second three-year term, the Council for Electronic Media said.
Ankova (47), first elected director-general of BNT in July 2010, was chosen for a second term after the shortlisted six candidates were interviewed by the CEM panel at hearings shown live on television.
A graduate in English from Sofia University, Ankova joined BNT in 1991. Her career included newsreading and being BNT’s correspondent in Greece, as well as attending a specialist course in journalism in Wisconsin and another with CNN.
Ankova’s plans for her second term including expanding the number of channels, including a dedicated culture channel, expanding BNT’s internet presence and using external funding from EU to supplement the broadcaster’s tight budget.
Amid the more than a month of anti-government protests, BNT has been criticised by parties in power for its coverage, with socialist Speaker of Parliament Mihail Mikov alleging that it was party to stoking protests, while ultra-nationalist Ataka leader Volen Siderov barged into BNT to confront Ankova. In turn, protesters held a special event outside BNT to praise it for its objective and professional coverage of the protests.
