Communication in Media and Society
DOI 10.55206/AWII7845
Tanya Dimova
University of National and World Economy
E-mail: tanya.dimova@unwe.bg
Abstract: This article examines the cultural function of the Bulgarian National Radio (BNR) in a digital media environment, with a focus on the Hristo Botev Programme for the period of January – December 2025. The hypothesis is that Hristo Botev, as a programme with a multilayered cultural and public profile, fulfils its cultural function in a digital media environment by adapting its content and modes of distribution to changing communication conditions. The aim is to examine the relationship between the public mission of radio, cultural content, and changes in the ways in which such content is produced, distributed, and accessed by audiences. The methodology combines documentary analysis and programme content analysis, focusing on the thematic profile, genre diversity, programme organisation, and digital forms of access to content. The theoretical framework addresses concepts related to the cultural function of radio, the specific characteristics of the radio programme, and the impact of digitalisation on media communication. The analysis of the Hristo Botev Programme demonstrates a stable and multilayered cultural profile in which literature, music, theatre, cinema, documentary content, science, and education are combined with informational and public affairs formats. Audience preference data are analysed as part of the observation of diverse patterns of content consumption. The study shows that the Hristo Botev Programme fulfils its core public and cultural function under conditions of digitalisation and changes in the communication environment.
Keywords: Bulgarian National Radio, Hristo Botev Programme, cultural function, public radio, digitalization, cultural content, radio programme, media communication.
Rhetoric and Communications Journal, issue 69, October 2026
