Highlights from the Fifth Annual New Horizons in Journalism Conference in Sofia
In an era of rising disinformation, political pressure, and artificial intelligence, the fifth annual New Horizons in Journalism conference, held in Sofia, Bulgaria, emerged as a global call to action. The central question—“Who tells the story?”—echoed throughout the event, bringing together journalists, media leaders, and advocates committed to protecting the integrity of the profession.
A Celebration of Resilience and Storytelling
The conference opened with energy and gratitude as Zach Mullinax, Executive Director of the World Press Institute (WPI), welcomed participants. “We’re so excited to kick off our fifth annual New Horizons in Journalism conference here in Sofia,” he said, acknowledging the presence of WPI alumni and partners from the America for Bulgaria Foundation (ABF) and the Association of European Journalists (AEJ).
Desislava Taliokova of ABF addressed the heart of the event’s theme: “Who tells the story? This, in many ways, is the question of all questions in journalism today.”She highlighted the dual promise and peril of artificial intelligence, cautioning that while AI may enhance efficiency, it risks displacing the very human essence of journalism. “It is the professionalism, the passion and the integrity of journalists—of people like you—that truly makes the difference,” she affirmed.
Maria Cheresheva, president of AEJ-Bulgaria, recounted being asked to speak on resilience to American journalists. “In most of my professional career, things have been happening the other way around. I would learn from people who work in free and thriving media environments.” Now the political winds have changed and colleagues around the world need to support each other even more actively than before. Cheresheva spoke about the daily challenges faced by journalists: political pressure, economic capture, harassment, and legal intimidation. Despite these hardships, she said: “Many are still standing. And insisting on protecting our right to be the ones who tell the stories—the stories the ones in power don’t want to be heard.”
David McDonald, Chairman of WPI, reflected on the WPI fellowship’s profound impact through the years. “This will be the 60th year of our U.S. fellowship. Over 600 journalists from 100 countries have taken part,” he said and added that the experience is “not just about training—it’s experiential.”
Former WPI fellow Ralitsa Fitcheva echoed this, describing her journey that took place in 2024 through the United States as a transformative experience: “We were privileged to travel across a democratic United States, whose very existence as such is under threat right now.” For Fitcheva, the fellowship offered not just skills, but community: “We found more than just professional enrichment. We found a family.” She announced the name of the 2025 fellow from Bulgaria – Janan Dural, world news editor for the Bulgarian National Television (BNT).
Empathy as a Tool to Redefine the Role of Journalism
The conference culminated in a powerful keynote by Arwa Damon, award-winning former CNN senior correspondent and founder of the humanitarian nonprofit INARA. Drawing on 20 years in war zones, she spoke with profound emotional depth. Arwa Damon emphasized that a critical element lacking in journalism, policymaking and our collective approach to understanding the world is empathy, especially in its deeper, emotional sense. She argues that our failures stem from not appreciating emotional history—the trauma passed down through generations that shapes how individuals and societies perceive and react to the world.
Damon explains that trauma influences how DNA interacts internally, meaning no one is born as a blank slate. Our perspectives are molded by countless factors—including family, culture, and history—which affect how we process events and conflicts. “What we need to recognize as journalists is what are those factors that have already shaped our perspectives and how do we overcome the impact that they are having on us so we can be better journalists. We should be able to create better stories that can drive a deeper understanding of conflicts and of people. I believe that our biggest failure is our inability to truly understand each other and what motivates us.”
Her journey into journalism was driven by her desire to bridge understanding and combat manipulation. She stresses that “we are constantly being manipulated, all of us, every single day,” often through campaigns that dehumanize others—be it military dehumanization campaigns, propaganda, or disinformation.
A core concept she advocated is that empathy is essential for journalism because “without empathy, you cannot be open to other people’s emotional history or to their emotional journeys.” Damon underscores the importance of self-awareness for journalists: understanding our biases and emotional triggers to foster genuine storytelling. She called for journalists to include emotional histories in their reporting to better serve truth and humanity. She noted how emotional conditioning, especially when unresolved, creates mental walls that hinder empathy, and how “we need to penetrate that wall” to connect genuinely.
Damon emphasized that “news only has value in the context of humanity” and that the moral obligation of journalists extends beyond objectivity to fairness, education, and human connection. She criticized the myth of neutrality, stating, “the notion that we are neutral is a farce,” and instead advocated for “being fair,” which involves highlighting human pain and context without crossing into activism.
She explained that “truth has multiple sides,” and that understanding emotional and psychological factors—fear, trauma, manipulation—is vital for meaningful reporting. She illustrated this with examples ranging from the motivations of fighters in conflict zones to the devastating impacts of war driven by human stories and emotions. Damon reminded of the importance of language—being mindful of dehumanizing descriptors—and called on journalists to “evolve,” to move beyond traditional frameworks of objectivity, and to use empathy as a tool to redefine the role of journalism.
Crisis is a Moment of Choice
The conversation about journalism’s identity—its past and its possible futures—continued throughout the conference. Yoanna Elmy, one of Bulgaria’s rising journalistic voices, offered a stirring account of how the profession looks to those just starting out. “Journalism has become ground zero for the vocation crisis,” she said. With fewer young people entering the field and even more leaving for public relations or content creation careers, she urged older colleagues to engage with the next generation.
She advocated for embracing change while maintaining core principles rooted in people-centered journalism. The rise of influencers and content creators as part of this evolution, but traditional journalists often look down on them. Elmy stressed that crisis is a moment of choice: “Every crisis is an opportunity,” emphasizing that journalism must adapt to new mediums like the internet, which always disrupts but also enriches the industry. She encouraged journalists to think innovatively—incorporating tools like OSINT (Open Source Intelligence), explainer journalism, infographics, and podcasting—while remaining grounded in ground-level stories that focus on genuine human experiences. “What seems new is just the forgotten old,” she said, reminding the audience that the core principles of journalism—listening, empathy, storytelling—must be preserved, even if the formats evolve.
Elmy shared her own confusion when she first entered the profession in 2017, amid political chaos and shifting roles. “Was I a reporter, activist, citizen journalist, or influencer?” she asked. The question was not rhetorical. It pointed to a wider crisis of identity in the digital age—an age where, as she put it, “young people don’t have any attention span,” and where long-form pieces compete with 15-second videos for meaning.
