Published work
Published reports and news articles authored by Luba Kassova
Luba Kassova on the “less than” bias: the worrying self-esteem gap between girls and boys
Luba wrote this article to mark United Nation’s 2021 international day of the girl, which aims to raise awareness of the equity issues that girls face globally. The opinion piece exposes the worrying confidence gap between girls and boys, which transcends generations, cultures and which must be closed. Nothing exposes a systemic problem as clearly as its universality across cultures. Although consistently less confident that boys, young girls are extraordinarily resilient in their education. Luba weaves her own lived experience as a girl into the narrative.
"Не ти подхожда да се ядосваш. Момиченце си" ("Anger doesn’t suit you. You are a girl after all.")
This article was published in a leading Bulgarian news provider offnews.bg to mark United Nation’s 2021 international day of the girl. Luba interweaved her personal story as a girl with current data evidence exposing the pernicious gap in self-esteem between girls and boys in Bulgaria and globally. In the 21st century societies i.e., governments, educators and parents have the unique opportunity to raise awareness of and dismantle the bias of feeling “less than”/ “not as good as” boys that girls hold.
Coverage of climate change is often part of the problem
The Irish Times republished my article, which was first published on Worldnewsday.org as part of World News Day 2021 (a global campaign to highlight the critical role of fact-based journalism in providing trustworthy news and information in service of humanity). In it Luba examines why the climate crisis is the most challenging story to cover; why the vast majority of global audiences do not follow it despite acknowledging its importance and what news providers can do to change that. the same day the article was also included in the Reuters Institute for Study of Journalism's newsletter and that of American Press Institute.
Climate news is paralysing people. But this can change
This article has been shared as part of World News Day 2021, a global campaign to highlight the critical role of fact-based journalism in providing trustworthy news and information in service of humanity. In it Luba examines why the climate crisis story is the most challenging story to cover; why the vast majority of global audiences do not follow it despite acknowledging its importance and what news providers can do to validate and connect with their audiences more effectively. Luba offers 7 solutions to help newsmakers to seize producing coverage that paralyses audiences' action. People need to be heard, validated, and empowered. To feel empowered, they need to feel hope that they can make a difference; that there still is a path to survival.
The Missing Perspectives of Women in COVID-19 News
Commissioned by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, this solutions-oriented report examines women’s severe under-representation and biased portrayal in COVID-19 news in six countries from across the global north and global south. The report includes 21 recommendations for news providers who seek both to amplify the missing voices of women in COVID news and to ensure their fair portrayal. It includes innovative content, framing and portrayal analyses produced or commissioned by AKAS. Luba crafted this report while in a lockdown herself, at the same time as home-schooling her children and sharing household responsibilities with her husband.
The Missing Perspectives of Women in News
Commissioned by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, this solutions-oriented report explores women’s continuous marginalisation in news in the 21st century along the whole news value chain, including news leadership/newsrooms, newsgathering, news coverage and consumption. The report uniquely examines the biases, views and behaviours of three target audiences in six countries: the public, journalists and decision-makers. It explores the structural root-causes underpinning the persistent problem. The report offers multi-disciplinary innovative insights including some from behavioural science. It offers 50 solutions for improving women’s representation along the whole news value chain as well as a gender parity checklist for news providers who are committed to improving women’s visibility in the news. Luba wrote this report while looking after her children and sharing household responsibilities with her husband during the first extensive lockdown of the coronavirus pandemic.
Putting economics over ethics is a dismal vaccination strategy – Bulgaria shows why
This article, published in the Guardian, interweaves a deeply personal story of loss with previously unanalysed evidence to interrogate Bulgaria’s vaccination policy, juxtaposing it with that of the UK. Grieving for her father who had died of COVID-19 in April 2021, Luba wrote this article with the intention of exposing the injustice faced by the elderly in Bulgaria as a result of the discriminatory vaccination policy of the Bulgarian government at the time. The article was covered extensively in Bulgarian media and sparked a public debate at ministerial level.
Bulgarian Women Accept Their Place – That’s the Problem
This article - a data-driven investigative piece anchored in human stories - examines the impact of the pandemic on women in Bulgaria and juxtaposes their lives with those of women in Britain. Luba’s narrative is built on an analysis of economic, political, physical safety and reproductive health factors, as well as an analysis of women’s wellbeing and the dominant societal norms.
Engaging women in the news is vital for media outlets
In this article Luba explores young women's relationship with the news in terms of both consumption and news making. The evidence reveals that this relationship is under serious pressure globally - more so than for any other audience group. News outlets who want to grow their audiences and funds should grasp the opportunity to improve this faltering relationship. Propositions like Missing Perspectives offer solutions.
Why does Bulgaria not believe in vaccines?
In this interview for a leading Bulgarian online news aggregator, Luba explores the reasons why an extraordinary high proportion of Bulgarians remain hesitant or rejecting of COVID vaccines; the immense global marketing challenge that this presents; what we can learn from behavioural science about how to tackle vaccine hesitancy and rejection; and some of the key lessons Luba has learned from the pandemic.This article ended up the 3rd most read on Dir.bg on the day of publication.
