"I think it will continue to be a mixed situation, with changes coming down from the top but also with a big push from below," a Bulgarian journalist said.

By offering high salaries and relative freedom from party biases, the 168 Hours Press Group attracted some of the most talented Bulgarian journalists.

"That was an unbelievably cruel thing to do," said Vera Djambazova, a Bulgarian journalist.

Member of The Union of Bulgarian journalists.

Nadezhda Kehayova is a Bulgarian journalist and television producer.

Alexenia Dimitrova is a Bulgarian journalist and author with more than 21 years of experience.

Contradicting three years of official denials, a Bulgarian journalist has said that about 40 people died in clashes between militiamen and the country's ethnic Turkish minority.

The Bulgarian Foreign Ministry demanded the quick release of two Bulgarian journalists travelling in the convoy.

Sevda Shishmanov is a Bulgarian journalist with practical television and radio experience.

Nor did any of the Bulgarian journalists rush out to file stories.