IREX
International Research & Exchanges Board

Media Sustainability Index (MSI) - Europe and Eurasia

MSI Europe & Eurasia 2008

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Armenia

Introduction

Overall Country Score: 1.81

The parliamentary elections in May and the presidential elections in February 2008 were among the central issues in 2007. The dollar continued its steady devaluation pattern, dropping from AMD 360 for $1 in January 2007 to AMD 300 in December of the same year. It should be noted that the dram has appreciated against the dollar at a rate nearly double that of the euro. This has resulted in a twofold reduction of the buying power of the dollar when compared to Europe.

GDP continued to grow by 12.1 percent over Jan-Jul 2007 as compared with the same period during 2006, according to the preliminary data of the RA National Statistical Service. In June GDP grew by 38.4 percent totaling to $3.6 billion in late July, due to a reported increase in general income by 26.6 percent as against Jan-Jul 2006 ($2.9 billion). The annual growth of services (trading exclusive) made up 17.9 percent (an 8.9 percent growth in July) totaling to $808 million. Construction grew by 19.2 percent and 19.6 percent in July, totaling to $717.3 million. Retail turnover grew by 10.8 percent (a 4.4 percent growth in July), totaling to $1.2 billion.

By the end of 2007 Armenia will have received another $3.27 million under US Millennium Challenge Account Compact however it should be noted that the impact of these funds has been dampened by the devaluation of the dollar and the appreciation of the AMD. The funds will be spent on implementation of programs aimed at restoration of village roads, irrigation systems, monitoring and assessment of the program implementation.

On May 21, the Republic of Armenia’s Central Electoral Commission (CEC) summed up the final results of the parliamentary elections in Armenia as follows. The records show that a total of 1,391,540 out of the 2,319,722 officially registered voters participated in the election. A total of 38,002 of those ballots were invalidated and removed from the count. The political parties that were elected to parliament were: the Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) 458,258 votes, Prosperous Armenia 204,483 votes, ARFD 177,907 votes, Rule of Law Country 95,324 votes and Heritage 81,048. Nearly 20 other political forces did not make it into parliament.

An important development in the media sector was the sale of the bulk of Haymamul (Armenia’s largest Press Distribution agency) assets, including its 200 kiosks across Armenia, to another local businessman. Newspaper reports have claimed that his takeover of Haymamul will effectively place the company at the disposal of Mikael Minasian, presidential hopeful Prime Minister Serzh Sarkisian’s increasingly influential son-in-law and senior adviser.

A leading Russian mobile operator Mobile TeleSystems (MTS) purchased an 80 percent stake in Armenian mobile operator K-Telecom, which operates under the "VivaCell" brand, for 310 million euro ($430.7 million). The deal also gives MTS the option of purchasing the remaining 20 percent of K-Telecom shares after 2010. MTS will make a "technical loan" of €140 million to K-Telecom to refinance existing debt and fund future investment, and will pay an initial 50 million euro during 2008 – 2012.

K-Telecom's only competitor in the Armenian mobile market is VimpelCom-owned Armentel, which had 471,000 active mobile subscribers at the end of the first half of 2006. Armentel also has 610,300 fixed-line subscribers.

The discussions and panelist scores did not reveal any major changes over the last year, with the exception of Objective 5; it grew up from 1.16 last year to 2.23 in 2008. This is accounted for by one of the highest average rates given by the panelists to the “short-term training programs for practicing media professionals” indicator. The rest of the Objectives showed essentially no change, with any gains or losses not exceeding one-tenth of a point.

Objective 1: Freedom of Speech

Score: 1.93

The discussions showed no substantive changes from the previous years: Legal norms protecting free speech exist, and they do correspond to international standards, however in practice they’re not enforced evenhandedly and selective prosecution remains a problem, libel is still a criminal offence (articles 235 and 236 of the RA Criminal Code) and all of the panelists still expressed their discontent with the National Commission on Television and Radio (NCTR) connected with licensing of broadcast media.

The panelists agreed, that the laws and regulations are often not enforced in favor of the media outlets, to have some kind of a leverage that could be used later on, should the necessity arise to subdue this or that outlet. “The NCTR violates its own regulation by not pursuing the regional outlets that show unlicensed films, content,” said Karen Arshakyan from Fortuna TV, Stepanavan. In addition elections advertising violations remain unchallenged.

According to the constitutional changes, half of the NCTR board members have to be appointed by the National Assembly (NA) while the other half by the President and by 2011 the balance of 4/4 (a total of 8 board members) should have been reached. However, so far the first vacant position that needs to be appointed by the NA hasn’t been filled, since even the hearing on the matter hasn’t been conducted at the NA. “Perhaps the NA hasn’t been told yet whom to ‘appoint’,” said Avetik Ishkhanyan, Editor-in-Chief of Ditord Magazine as well as The Armenian Helsinki Committee Chairman, “Theoretically, this should provide half-independence. However, even so, nothing is so straightforward here either,” he went on to say meaning that the parliament’s majority is also pro-government.

Most of the panelists agreed that violations against freedom of speech do cause public outrage, however it is not to the extent of a massive and consistent public wrath. It just fades in a matter of few days. All of the panelists agreed, that it is perhaps due to the fact that the people feel that they can’t change anything in a place so totally controlled. “I think 80 percent of the population protests in such cases but they do not show it because they are sure that nothing will be changed and that their outrage will have no results. Also, the people value freedom of speech, but they aren’t ready to struggle, sacrifice anything for it,” said Avetik Ishkhanyan, Editor-in-Chief of Ditord Magazine as well as The Armenian Helsinki Committee Chairman.” “They don’t value it to a degree where they would struggle for it, and 5 years ago the number of people who would struggle for it was more than today,” added Tigran Harutyunyan, President of Noyan Tapan (News Agency, Ad Agency, Printing and publishing house, Newspaper), Yerevan, “different layers of our society are vulnerable, which is used by the government to solve their issues. Even though laws exist, most of the time they are not enforced,” he concluded.

Again, legal protection is available by law, but in reality it is not a balance factor. The panelists agreed that in the recent past there have been cases of enforcement of Article 164 of the Republic of Armenia Criminal Code which provides for punishment in case of hindrance to the lawful professional activities of reporters. However, according to the panelists, from one hand it would mean that the law is enforced and it’s a good precedence, but judging from the outcome of the court hearings and the verdict (small penalties), it was meant to show that there actually won’t be any punishment. “These cases had the opposite effect and will actually encourage further violations. The judicial system doesn’t protect journalists. I think that it would be better if those cases weren’t taken to the court at all, at least, the impression that journalists are protected would remain,” said Tigran Harutyunyan, President of Noyan Tapan (News Agency, Ad Agency, Printing and publishing house, Newspaper), Yerevan.

The panelists agreed that the market entry and taxation for media are relatively comparable to other industries. The print sector enjoys a tax break, they are VAT exempt on the distribution. “However, it’s not a big relief, since we still need to pay VAT on production and other associated costs that actually encourage expanded print runs. If the whole chain were VAT exempt, that would be different,” said Anna Satyan, a reporter from Novoye Vremya newspaper, Yerevan.

All of the panelists came to an agreement that it has been a relatively calm year in terms of violence against journalists, but they also inferred that those still might happen as we approach the presidential elections.

“In my opinion,photojournalists’ condition is worse than journalists. When people see the photo/video camera they start getting nervous. I do not feel protected myself as a photojournalist,” said Anahit Hayrapetyan, a photojournalist from a Yerevan based ArmeniaNow online publication. ”That is probably why most of the other journalists have chosen to be neutral, i.e. to make photos/videos in neutral places, speak about things that do not lead to any problems, and the like,” she concluded.

“It’s not only the case with photo/video camera, but also with a pen and paper, when people start getting nervous,” added Mrs. Satyan.

As for the public media being preferentially treated, there are no specific regulations which favor public media over private ones by securing access to information for state-funded media outlets. However, nothing has changed from previous years, and in reality Public TV does get some sort of favored treatment if we take into consideration the fact that they get ever increasing funding from the state budget (it rose from a reported $5 million in 2006 to $16 million in 2007), and also certain advertising is internally funneled into the Public TV. Additionally, the public TV is regulated by the Council on Public Radio and Television (CPRT), while the private broadcast media are regulated by NCTR.

As noted above, libel is still a criminal offence, and the panelists, as during the previous panels, all agreed that although no one has ever been prosecuted for libel, the law might be enforced any time they [the government] might feel the need to if self-censorship is not applied to all media.

According to the panelists, the law regulating access to public information (“Law on Freedom of Information Access”) is a good law, but the situation is a bit different with its enforcement, and sometimes obstacles arise, which they [journalists] have to overcome by taking the cases to the court (or by warning they would).

The panelists agreed that media outlets do have unrestricted access to international information and there are no barriers in this concern. “The only case I remember was the case with NTV,” said Anna Satyan, a reporter from Novoye Vremya newspaper, Yerevan [to recap, the Russian NTV channel was brought off the air ostensibly for technical reasons, in 2003 prior to the presidential elections, and then turned on again before being shut down altogether. After remaining unused for months, the frequency is currently broadcasting a Russian channel, Kultura.]

The entrance to journalism schools isn’t controlled by the government in any way. However accreditation is still required and there are certain events, National Assembly sessions for example, which require accreditation that can be held back. Tigran Harutyunyan, President of Noyan Tapan (News Agency, Ad Agency, Printing and publishing house, Newspaper), Yerevan, mentioned a new restriction for newspapers: any given newspaper should have a circulation of at least 2000 to be allowed to cover matters in the Public Procurator's Office.

Objective 2: Professional Journalism 

Score: 1.71

Here, too, not much has changed. There are certain limitations in terms of fair, objective and well-sourced reporting. It depends on the event, i.e. whether it is political, social or pertaining to other spheres. Some of the events may not be covered at all. Many issues are ignored. The television stations and print media, with rare exceptions, give unilateral, single-angled information, without presenting the opposite party view on the issue. The panelists agreed that the media doesn’t provide objective and balanced information, rather it is from opposite poles [government and opposition]. It also depends for whom a reporter is working. Reporters often don’t consult a variety of relevant sources and often don’t verify or fact-check the information they present. “There are cases when the information is published as soon as it is received from a source,” said Avetik Ishkhanyan, Editor-in-Chief of Ditord Magazine as well as The Armenian Helsinki Committee Chairman. Threats have been made against certain media outlets if they cover certain “unfavorable” political events.

There is also the question of outlets' financial problems: ethical reporting is sometimes sacrificed because a media outlet does not have enough funds to allow its journalists to check the information from several sources. If they want to have high quality reporting, they have to demand fewer number of news stories within a given time. Deadline rush leaves the reporter with no other choice but not to consult various sources. “If journalists are paid more, they will work better and will double check information,” said Karen Arshakyan, president of Fortuna TV, Stepanavan. Technical experts are consulted on stories as needed, “it even makes the work of the reporter easier,” said Anna Satyan, a reporter from Novoye Vremya newspaper, Yerevan.

This year a committee has been formed [by media outlets] on Ethical norms and ''I consider it a step forward,'' said Avetik Ishkhanyan, Editor-in-Chief of Ditord Magazine as well as The Armenian Helsinki Committee Chairman. However, as with previous efforts, it is not as widely accepted and isn’t of mass character. The committee can take actions only in regard to its members.

Journalists receive payments in exchange for certain types of coverage, and they usually share the compensation with the editor, much like the salesperson getting their commission from an advertising deal. ”We also have to bear in mind that some journalists, are in good terms with certain political/government figures, and treat them mildly in exchange for information they get from them on a regular basis. I would also consider this as taking bribes,” made his point Tigran Harutyunyan, President of Noyan Tapan (News Agency, Ad Agency, Printing and publishing house, Newspaper), Yerevan.

Journalists and editors do practice self-censorship, and nothing has changed throughout the previous years. Both journalists and editors practice self censorship.

As in the previous year, journalists generally do not cover key events and issues that are taboos (such as security issues of local and international concern, oligarchs, etc.).

The panelists agreed that the pay level for journalists and other media professionals are not sufficiently high to discourage corruption. The salary of journalists is not high. There are television reporters who receive salaries lower than those of print reporters. “There are print reporters that receive too low salaries as opposed to their huge work done,” said Anna Satyan, a reporter from Novoye Vremya newspaper, Yerevan. There isn’t really a striking difference between public and private media pay levels, with the overweight being sometimes even on the private sector’s side. However, there could be difference between print and broadcast media salaries in favor of the broadcast. And yes, as already mentioned above, journalists, do sell favorable articles to politicians and businessmen to augment their and the newspaper’s/management’s incomes.

To some extent, entertaining programs do eclipse news and information programs and this has been the trend, since people start losing interest in information programs and news in general. However, in regions, the picture is slightly different: “Local news takes actually a lot more space than entertaining programs,” said Ashot Khandanyan, the President of a regional Kyavar TV in Kyavar. However, he also noted that it is the entertainment that sells actually better and not the news.

“People watch regional channels for getting local news, rather than for some entertaining programs,” said Karen Arshakyan, the president of a regional Fortuna TV in Stepanavan.

The technical equipment and facilities differ greatly from outlet to outlet and from Yerevan, the capital, to regions. For example, Armenia TV and Armenian Public TV as well as Yerkir Media TV stations are well equipped and have no problems in this concern. However, if you go to regions, the situation is quite different and they use what they have (from grants, scarce resources, old times, etc.) and the whole chain there (gathering, producing and distribution) still needs aid. The quality of journalism isn’t really affected by the scarce resources, if we consider the fact, that a good journalism sometimes comes out of regional poor outlets and vice versa, wealthy equipped newsrooms do not produce quality news.

The panelists’ optimism continued to rise in terms of niche reporting, and they agreed that it exists today, however needs to be developed even further both in terms of quality and quantity. The panelists agreed that for a quality investigative journalism to exist in Armenia, enthusiastic journalists are needed, since there’s not much money in this field. And the most important thing, that would develop the investigative reporting, would be the place (the outlet/s) that this investigative content could be allowed to be published.

Objective 3: Plurality of News Sources

Score: 1.89

The panelists agreed that if Yerevan residents have multiple sources of either local or international information; the same is not true about villages and smaller towns. Newspapers are said to be quite affordable. People buy all the newspapers when there is certain tension in the political or social stage. Otherwise, there is simply no interest among people to buy newspapers. The situation in the regional centers is different. “If the information is sharp, the newspapers are sold out,” said Avetik Ishkhanyan, Editor-in-Chief of Ditord Magazine as well as The Armenian Helsinki Committee Chairman.

In villages and small towns somebody buys a newspaper and it goes from hand to hand so everyone can read it. “The prices of newspapers are not high at all,” said Karen Arshakyan. However Anahit Hayrapetyan, a photojournalist from a Yerevan based ArmeniaNow online publication noted that “to have more or less objective a picture, people have to buy 4-5 newspapers at once, therefore it might become a bit expensive for a regional resident to spend 500-600 drams (around $2) on a daily basis.

In case of the Internet, the situation is more or less favorable in Yerevan, while the situation in regions continues to remain miserable. SMS news alerts are non-existent in the country, and while blogs and news sources exist on the internet, they are not widely used by the population in Armenia because of the evident poor quality Internet services.

“There are enough news sources in Yerevan for people to be able to compare. Yet, for example in Garni people can watch only Armenian Public TV, and thus have no idea what else is going on in the country,” said Mary Harutyunyan, the Marketing Director from Hrazdan TV, Radio Hay Hrazdan and Hrazdan Newspaper, Hrazdan.

There are seldom cases when the government indirectly restricts citizens' access to media. What refers to international media, except for Russian newspapers, the foreign newspapers are not sold widely but only in selected places where Diaspora and expatriate community meet. Otherwise, there are no restrictions.

Public media do not reflect the views of the political spectrum and are partisan, and do not serve the public interest – this was the panelists’ verdict. The exception was the parliamentary pre-election campaign period, which however was assumed to be the result of the focus of international monitoring initiatives on media in general and public media in particular during the given period.

News agencies seem to be the only sphere where media institutions are not so dependent on this or that power. However, as noted by Tigran Harutyunyan, President of Noyan Tapan (News Agency, Ad Agency, Printing and publishing house, Newspaper), Yerevan, “News agencies are on the verge of extinction as a kind of media outlet,” said. “Many newspapers have started finding the information they need as a result of which the functions of news agencies becomes weaker,” he added. There are news agencies that specialize in certain type of news, e.g. economic news, international news, photo news reporting, etc, and the prices are affordable.

“There are many newspapers that cannot afford to hire a photojournalist and therefore they use the content of Photolur agency. Newspapers prefer more or less low-quality photos with lower prices than hiring a photojournalist,” said Anahit Hayrapetyan, a photojournalist from a Yerevan based ArmeniaNow online publication.

Media outlets use the services of international agencies if necessary. However, the subscription to such agencies is quite expensive, so the only way this works is if it is through some kind of a trading deal. Otherwise they just take it off the satellite and rebroadcast it.

Independent broadcast (print as well) media produce their own news. Generally, the broadcast media produce their own news programs. “We, as a regional outlet, produce the local part of news program but take the national news from national television channels,” said Mary Harutyunyan the Marketing Director from Hrazdan TV, Radio Hay Hrazdan and Hrazdan Newspaper, Hrazdan.

The panelists have always found it hard to tell whether the transparency of media ownership allows consumers to judge the objectivity of news, since by the very nature of their profession they know who the real owners are. However, most of the time, with just a few exceptions, to a regular consumer the ownership is unclear; thus, they cannot judge the objectivity of news. “There are no particular laws that govern the disclosure of media ownership, but on the other hand, there is freedom of information”, said Avetik Ishkhanyan, Editor-in-Chief of Ditord Magazine as well as The Armenian Helsinki Committee Chairman.

For example according to the Law on Radio and TV, one and the same person, entity cannot own more than one television channel; a political party, or a religious institution cannot own a television channel. However, everyone knows that Armenia TV, Arm News, CNN and TV5 all belong to the same people in the long run, although the individual channels must have been registered under different formal names; Hayrenik TV and AR TV belong to one and the same person; Yerkir Media TV belongs to “Armenian Revolutionary Federation” party and ALM belongs to Tigran Karapetyan, who is the leader of the “People’s” party. The panelists stated that the owners greatly interfere with media management and editorial content.

As for the foreign investment, with the exception of one example, Armenia TV (the co-owner is a Diaspora Armenian though), there is no other significant foreign investment in media in Armenia.

“In terms of the technical quality, foreign investment definitely has good influence,” said Anna Satyan, a reporter from Novoye Vremya newspaper, Yerevan. However, some other panelists didn’t agree, stating that foreign investment, which is not market driven, creates an unhealthy competitive atmosphere.

There is certain resistance of inclusion of a variety of social issues in the media. There are themes that should not be discussed such as Teghut issue (Armenian Copper Program (ACP), with approval from Armenia’s Ministry of Nature Protection, plans to clear-cut over 1,500 acres of Teghut's forest in order to establish an open pit strip mining operation for copper and molybdenum ore). “The main pressure comes from the government. Both business circles and editorial management depend on the government,” said Avetik Ishkhanyan, Editor-in-Chief of Ditord Magazine as well as The Armenian Helsinki Committee Chairman. Minority-language media are allowed by law but they are not so many. The Greek, Georgian and Kurdish communities are known to publish periodicals, and there are e few publications in Russian, produced in Armenia. There are no restrictions by law. Such newspapers are normally not sold but rather distributed to the members of a certain community. Broad social interests are not presented in mainstream media outlets. They are very weak from that viewpoint.

Objective 4: Business Management

Score: 1.31

“I don’t know any newspaper in Armenia that would be self-sustainable,” said Avetik Ishkhanyan, Editor-in-Chief of Ditord Magazine as well as The Armenian Helsinki Committee Chairman. The majority of the panelists agreed with Avetik’s statement making a possible exception for television listing magazines. Most of the television companies, especially in the capital, on the other hand, are well managed businesses today. This is due mostly to the introduction of internationally accepted ratings research in 2005 by IREX Core Media Support Program funded by USAID. Back then the advertising market was around $4 million, and since the introduction of the diary panel by IREX CMSPA and subsequently Peoplemeter technology by a foreign investor and one of the only internationally trusted organizations to conduct Television Audience Measurement, AGB Nielsen in 2006, it increased to an estimated $45 million. Printing houses are now not subsidized by the state, and most of them operate as profit making businesses. The distribution networks are private, but function ineffectively. Printing is often times obstructive to the work of media. “The situation with distribution is awful,” Tigran Harutyunyan, President of Noyan Tapan (News Agency, Ad Agency, Printing and publishing house, Newspaper), Yerevan, put in short.

Media outlets have various financial sources. Subsidies are only for print, particularly regional, and comprise a very little portion of the total revenues. “In our newspaper advertisement constitutes more a proportion of the total revenue than the subscription,” said Anna Satyan, a reporter from Novoye Vremya newspaper, Yerevan. “We do not use advertising agencies until they are interested in us,” said Karen Arshakyan from Fortuna TV, Stepanavan, speaking of cooperation between Ad Agencies and outlets.

Quality advertising is not well developed in Armenia. “If we analyze the situation around us, every large company has chosen or founded an advertising agency that manages its advertising budget,” said Tigran Harutyunyan, President of Noyan Tapan (News Agency, Ad Agency, Printing and publishing house, Newspaper), Yerevan, in this respect. All panelists agreed that the volume of ads has been increasing and they take a great portion of broadcast programming time. However, according to the law, it should be no longer than 10 minutes in any given hour, and the ad brakes should be distanced from each other not shorter than 20 minutes apart.

For print media, the ad revenue as a percentage of total revenue is not in line with accepted international standards. However with television industry it becomes more the case.

Market research is used to formulate strategic plans, enhance ad revenue and tailor the product to the needs and interests of the audience; however, it varies from media outlet to media outlet. IREX CMSPA has introduced abundant market research for regional television and Radio outlets, including individual focus groups for selected regional outlets which has greatly helped the management of those outlets to formulate strategic plans, enhance ad revenue and tailor the product to the needs and interests of the audience. Print research is also underway.

AGB Nielsen, one of the world’s leaders in TAM (Television Audience Measurement) is measuring the audience through high technology peoplemeters for Yerevan TV outlets. “Both television Companies and advertisers/advertising agencies buy the ratings provided by AGB Nielsen,” said Tigran Harutyunyan, President of Noyan Tapan (News Agency, Ad Agency, Printing and publishing house, Newspaper), Yerevan. The ratings data are commercially sold only to limited number of clients, e.g. ad agencies, advertisers and Yerevan TV outlets. IREX CMSPA conducts Targeted Regional Broadcast research every six months for regional Radio and television stations which is publicly available. As for the circulation, there’s no agency that certifies the circulation numbers.

Objective 5: Supporting Institutions

Score: 2.23

There has been a change in this concern, in that previously no trade associations existed, but this year’s panel discovered that there’s a newly formed association of mass media - “All-Armenian Mass Media Association”. It’s new, and “we can’t highly rate its work so far,” said Tigran Harutyunyan, President of Noyan Tapan (News Agency, Ad Agency, Printing and publishing house, Newspaper), Yerevan, but went on to add: “The [media] field is so separated, divided, disconnected, that just to bring them together is a serious challenge and is quite difficult.”

The situation with the professional associations remains pretty much the same: there are around 15 such associations, but the provision of legal services and assistance is still quite poor. They are mostly engaged in lobbying.

“It’s not that easy to become a member of such an association, but they surely don’t line up to join those either,” said Aram Mkrtchyan, the director of Radio Hay, Yerevan. “There also exists the Association of Photographers but it’s more of a joke than association,” said Anahit Hayrapetyan, a photojournalist from a Yerevan based ArmeniaNow online publication. One of the most active of them is Yerevan Press Club. “Actually there is no real work the associations do unless they get a grant,” said Ann Satyan, a reporter from Yerevan based Novoye Vremya newspaper. The panelists came to an agreement that these organizations promote journalism to the public in a positive way to some extent. They do whatever they can and they try to assist journalists.

The panelists agreed that NGOs that support free speech and independent media exist. Among the most active ones are the Freedom of Information Act organization, and “Asparez” press club in Gyumri. “They regularly ‘terrorize’ state bodies by taking them to court,” said Aram Mkrtchyan, the director of Radio Hay, Yerevan. They are also involved in reviewing legislative changes on media.

The situation with quality journalism degree programs that provide substantial practical experience hasn’t changed and is just like the previous years: there are no quality journalism degrees with practical experience. “I’m also a professor at one of the universities, teaching to both bachelor and graduate degree students, and the situation is awful. I don’t remember a single case at our outlet, when we would take a newly graduated student from a university, train him for two weeks, three weeks, ok - a month, and he/she could start producing decent publishable content,” said Tigran Harutyunyan, President of Noyan Tapan (News Agency, Ad Agency, Printing and publishing house, Newspaper), Yerevan.

All of the panelists agreed that there’s a huge surplus of students, since almost every university, be it a state or private, feels obliged to have a journalism department. “People don’t realize how serious it is to be a journalist,” said Anna Satyan from Yerevan based Novoye Vremya newspaper, “and for them Journalism is just something fancy and prestigious.”

Short-term training programs allow journalists to upgrade or acquire new skills, are free of charge and set up by international media organizations. IREX, through the Core Media Support Program for Armenia supported by USAID, provides an ongoing training opportunity for practicing media professionals through its workshops, seminars and on-site consultations directed towards editorial, advertising, marketing, programming and business management fields.

As for the management’s attitude towards letting staff take part in those trainings, “it is very hard to afford sending a reporter to a training all day long and several days in a row, since every reporter counts at our outlet,” said Anna Satyan, a reporter from Novoye Vremya newspaper, Yerevan.

The printing facilities and sources of newsprint are in private hands.

“As a person who has been working in this sphere, I can say, that during the recent years, there have been indirect, and sometimes even direct pressure attempts,” said Tigran Harutyunyan, President of Noyan Tapan (News Agency, Ad Agency, Printing and publishing house, Newspaper), Yerevan, “Under the guise of inspection, they come and check out what we print, and as if by the way, they also ask ‘you guys aren’t printing this or that, are you?” But the other panelists agreed that if you want to print something you can print it.

Internet and kiosks are not restricted to media outlets. Kiosks are in private hands, and one recent development is that the leading and largest distribution agency was sold from one private hand to another, which is said to be under tighter government control. Transmission towers belong to the state. The state does not control the internet access yet. And there has been even a positive step forward: according to The Commission for Public Services of Armenia decision, the ArmenTel’s (Armenia’s leading telecommunications services provider) monopoly for transfer of the Internet data and international services for voice transmission has been abolished since Oct 1, 2007.

Panel Participants

  • Mary Harutyunyan, marketing director, Hrazdan TV, Radio Hay Hrazdan, and Hrazdan newspaper, Hrazdan
  • Karen Arshakyan, president and chief editor, Fortuna TV, Stepanavan
  • Tigran Harutyunyan, president, Noyan Tapan (news agency, ad agency, printing and publishing house, newspaper), Yerevan
  • Anna Satyan, reporter, Novoye Vremya newspaper, Yerevan
  • Aram Mkrtchyan, director, Radio Hay, Yerevan
  • Arevhat Amiryan, editor-in-chief, Vorotan newspaper, Sisian
  • Ashot Khandanyan, president, Kyavar TV, Kyavar
  • Anahit Hayrapetyan, photojournalist, ArmeniaNow, Yerevan
  • Avetik Ishkhanyan, editor-in-chief, Ditord Magazine; chairman, The Armenian Helsinki Committee, Yerevan
  • Samvel Aleksanyan, editor-in-chief, Syunyac Yerkir newspaper, Kapan

Moderator and Author: Artashes Parsadanyan, IREX deputy chief of party, Yerevan