Radio Bulgaria is at the beginning of the professional path of the journalist Rumen Stoichkov –
30 years serving listeners. This is how we can succinctly describe the professional life of journalist Rumen Stoichkov. Since 1988, when he first crossed the threshold of the Old House, he has not betrayed the BNR for a single moment, although he has not been given a single chance to work for better remuneration in private radio stations. He is the epitome of the unspoken saying that working in the oldest media in our country is a privilege, a responsibility, but above all a cause. Stoichkov began his career in the Main Editorial Office “Program” – a unit whose functions are now performed by the Program Directorate, where the program schemes for all programs are collected and coordinated. Only a few days after he started there, however, he was invited to become an associate of Radio Bulgaria, thus combining the two functions.
“It was a dream for me to start doing something like a reporter and journalist, so I didn’t think twice and accepted., where a biology teacher had devised some form of extracurricular activities. It turned out that they then had a two-hour recording, which puzzled the colleagues who broached the subject,” the journalist recalls.
He admits that deciphering the recordings made on audio tapes back in the day was an endlessly tedious process, but he regrets none of the the reports, the number of which in 30 years of work is impressive – about 2000.
“I don’t remember anyone ever giving me advice. Not that they didn’t want to, but I just don’t remember learning anything from anyone in the entire time I’ve been in radio. I’m pretty much self-taught — This is the most difficult journalistic genre, because in the press you bet on a headline and a photo, in television the frames are important, and the journalist admits. on the radio – it’s all magic of sounds that must be well arranged.”
However, the accolades he receives for his reporting, one that earns him a spot as a staff reporter on the national news program BNR-Horizon, is something special. His work is the only interview that the intellectual and creator of the Italian language program of Radio Bulgaria, Petar Uvaliev, gave to the Bulgarian media during his visit to Bulgaria in 1992.
In order to do so, he had to wait nearly 20 days – as a guest of the then Vice President Blaga Dimitrova, Uvaliev’s program was completed and their conversation was postponed.
“I waited patiently for this interview – the journalist is categorical, but on the day he called me, it turned out that I had forgotten my questions to him. The conversation lasted about an hour, in which he relied only on my speed, reflexes and clear thinking. Since then it is very important not to interrupt them and to listen carefully. During the interview, we watch each other, and from every twitch, body movement, or glance, I can make countless inferences about the person opposite me..”
Over the next 22 years, Stoichkov continued with his reports for all the broadcasts of the program. He also became the host of the emblematic show “Night Horizon”. In front of his microphone, he wishes “Good night” to the listeners in exactly 1300 editions. The logical question is how he managed to win and keep their loyalty for more than 2 decades:
“The secret is to respect the audience, to do your best to please, because during these 22 years I have always known that I work for the people, they listen to us, and not for themselves. At the beginning, I thought that our audience in these hours of the day is only from crazy, drunk or who knows what else. However, it turned out that 1/10 of the radio listeners listen to us. I realized that they respect me because of my tolerance and patience.”
Stoichkov keeps and expresses his best feelings, appreciation and gratitude to the BNR to this day, and the Radio’s birthday is January 25 and as his personal holiday:
“I love this institution immensely and thank fate for bringing me here. Happy holiday to all colleagues, let them be healthy, follow their thoughts and intuition, remembering that Sofia is not Bulgaria, and the topics outside the city are countless.”
Although retired, Rumen continues to practice the profession, including his reports from different parts of Bulgaria in his 7 published books. Without advertising it, he strives to always do something good for the people he meets. Its purpose is to direct the attention of the states to the specific problem only in the background, because time has taught that not every one of them provokes the necessary reaction from the state.
“I always go with my intuition, without a preplan. I find myself on the street in some village where the people are. I know that even the most picturesque place has its problems, related to missing healthcare, lack of good communication with the municipality. However, the most missing are the children and grandchildren who have gone to the big cities or the country. No one likes their children to be away, never mind that everything is fine with them and their lives are well arranged.”
Photos: personal archive, Ioan Kolev
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