Circumventing censorship : a multimodal critical discourse analysis of the Bulgarian satirical newspaper Pras Press

Sammanfattning: This thesis examines the role of political satire in the Bulgarian public sphere through the case of the satirical newspaper Pras Press. The bi-weekly publication is centered around political cartooning and reports on public affairs issues from pop culture to current events. It relies on online dissemination as its print editions have been, and continue to be, the object of censorship for the newspaper’s abrasive commentary on domestic politics. The pilot issue of Pras Press was obstructed from reaching newsstands nationwide and the majority of its print copies were never recovered. Although press freedom in the country has been in decline for the past decade, this level of infringement on free speech is unprecedented in post-communist Bulgaria. Through this singular case the thesis seeks to generate critical social research and gain valuable insights into the power dynamics of the Bulgarian mediascape which shape discursive production in media texts. The research contributes to the loosely formed field of political cartoon study and to public sphere scholarship through a case situated in an underexplored setting - the Bulgarian media system. It also addresses a gap in research on contemporary political cartoon censorship. This thesis finds its theoretical grounding in public sphere theory and investigates Pras Press discourse in relation to its sociopolitical context. Ten complete Pras Press editions from the period April 2021 - April 2023 were examined to monitor the progression in the newspaper’s discourse as major political episodes unfold. Thematic coding was utilized to identify content patterns across samples before moving to Critical Discourse Analysis which revealed the ideological investments in Pras Press texts. The practical tools for analysis at the textual level were imported from Multimodal Critical Discourse Analysis. The findings demonstrate Pras Press’ role as an alternative media, discernible both in its primary mode of distribution and its content. The publication propels a counter-discursive agenda, representing Bulgaria as a captured state, susceptible to foreign subversive influence and the private interests of politicians, public servants, and oligarchs. Pras Press takes an oppositionist stance against mainstream media and portrays it corrupt, biased, and unprofessional. In platforming critical voices Pras Press actively participates in political discourse and contributes to media pluralism, thus expanding the public sphere.