Background
The City of Dobrich has always resorted to the traditional ways of informing the local public, such as press conferences and press releases, special meetings at the City s or media request, interviews with City officials. When he came to office, however, present Mayor Luchezar Rossenov introduced the practice of open weekly planning meetings, which have since become something of a tradition in the eyes of both City Hall officers and the media, national, as well as local. Every Monday, the Mayor holds his customary weekly planning meeting with the heads of departments, with the difference in Dobrich that any number of journalists are allowed to attend as they wish. The door is open to all.

Practice
Many would argue against such an initiative bearing in mind the risks involved, and it is small wonder that no other municipality has contemplated the idea. But the spirit in Dobrich is one of complete transparency and openness in an effort to keep the public as fully informed as possible. The regular participants in the weekly planning meetings include: the Mayor, his four Deputies, the City s Secretary, the Chair of the Local Council, the Head of the Legal Department, the City s Press Officer and the Chief International Relations Officer. Secretarial support is provided by the Head of the Organizational Department who prepares the meetings, circulates the agenda and any working documents, and takes care of the minutes.
Positive Experience:
The usual attitude of suspicion on the part of the media has been largely overcome and the City receives fair media coverage.
The fact that the journalists are exposed to the cooking process preceding City decisions enhances their competence and ensures competent media response to key local issues.
The journalists become better informed about the City s powers and capabilities and pass this knowledge on to the public.
The journalists presence in witness of all key debates has a certain deterring effect with regard to unfair media bias when all the press has first-hand knowledge of a fact, it becomes harder to hide it or downright lie about it.
The practice has a mutual confidence-building effect, for the simple fact, if nothing else, that no publication or journalist is specially favored to the detriment of others.
Both parties are spared the waste of time.
Savings are realized by the City from the reduced number of paid announcements in the press.
The media coverage of the City s work, including the Council s, has become broader, more detailed, more timely.
The City can be seen to deliver on its announced intention of being more transparent.
The relevant information is readily accessible to the journalists; they can follow the progress of every issue, the City s financial situation, its performance on various commitments; they can also take away certain documents from the meeting, ask for clarification, ascertain names and events. Furthermore, on occasions, members of the media have actually contributed to the discussion, supplying information unknown to the City officials.
The media s presence at the meetings additionally motivates the officials sense of responsibility being criticized behind closed doors can be a blessing compared with criticism before the city s eyes and ears .
Negative experience:
Certain matters become broadly known and may be aired prematurely. In all fairness, however, if the point is made by the City officials, the journalists are usually ready to co-operate and treat any such premature or incomplete information off the record.
Some of the media response is discouraging: news coverage or commentary which utterly distorts the original idea, sensationalism at the expense of accuracy.

Results
Among the important results of this controversial practice are greater transparency and openness of the local government and, on the other hand, better media coverage of the City s work at virtually no cost to the City.
A spin-off of the open weekly planning meetings, and the resulting great improvement of relations between the City and the media, have been the jocular Best Informer Award and the serious Best Reporter Award created by the City. The award ceremony is part of a publicity day under the motto To My Government with Love which combines fun-making with the recognition of a job well done to add up to a truly unforgettable experience.