This current session of the “Hetq” Round Table deals with the problems facing the media today in Armenia, the sources of these problems and possible solutions. Participating in the debate are Aram Abrahamyan, Chief Editor of Aravot daily; Ara Shirinyan, Director; Tatul Hakobyan, correspoondent for The Armenian Reporter weekly and Edik Baghdasaryan, Chied Editor of “Hetq”.

E. Baghdasaryan - Let’s try to evaluate the present situation of the media in Armenia. To what extent do you think our news outlets are free and independent?

A. Shirinyan - There is no media industry to speak of in Armenian today. An essential portion of the press, as institutions, falls within the status of being state institutions, especially the electronic press. U.S. President Thomas Jefferson made this wise statement, “The press can severely damage the state, but if it remains silent the government will usually collapse.” In my estimation, in this light, our state today, at least the TV broadcast part of it, is in the state of collapse or has already reached partial collapse.

T. Hakobyan - It’s my belief that our media must be divided into two parts. The first is the electronic media that found itself directly under the heel of the President. I don’t know what state body will be responsively for media review after President Kocharyan. The second sector is the print media, which although having its problems, is in a comparatively better condition. Today, our print media is quite diverse. There are those papers that defend the regime’s positions and there are thankfully many others that are clearly in the opposition camp. Of course, we also have papers that try to strike somewhat of a balance and position themselves within the confines of pure news reportage. However, I must add that the regime probably tolerates such diversity because the press doesn’t present much of a threat as yet.

Before the elections I once made the statement that the Armenian press was in for dark times ahead. But I never expected such a severe period as witnessed during the twenty-day State of Emergency. But during the last few days even the TV stations opened up a bit and allowed people to actually say something. Of course these stations don’t invite representatives of the opposition but at least they invite individuals whose thoughts somewhat resemble those of the opposition. For example, take the Urvagidz program of Petros Ghazaryan. You’d think that given the observations he makes he’s trying to show that freedom of speech is still alive and well in the TV industry. The same periodically occurs on the Shant TV station.

E. Baghdasaryan - I agree that the print and electronic media need to be separated given that they’re totally different animals and are not connected. I believe that the print and Internet media are actually independent; if we don’t take the 20-day State of Emergency into account. I think it’s pointless to speak of freedom when it comes to the TV stations.

A. Abrahamyan - Naturally, I’m of the same opinion. What’s going on in the TV industry is quite clear. Even though there might be programs that occasionally invite opposition-minded types, in the main the whole process is being managed. In other words, the programs first get the permission and only then do they invite certain guests. During the Communist period there was a newspaper called the Literaturnaya Gazetta whose editor was a friend of Brezhnev. Thus, he was granted more flexibility than other papers. The same situation holds true today for our TV stations.

I believe that the true face of the TV broadcast world is the news shows and not the talk shows. And we all know what’s going on in them. Let me also say something about the 20 days of emergency rule. It was a good test as to who could publish and who couldn’t. Aravot and other papers weren’t published not because we were specifically told not to but due top the fact that we didn’t correspond to the parameters as laid down by the regime for those 20 days. In other words, we were regarded as outside the accepted norm. The same division exists today.

E. Baghdasaryan - OK, what problems does our press face today? What’s the number one problems confronting Aravot? Were you faced with the same issues five years ago?

A. Abrahamyan - The problems of five years ago are the same today. Overall, the situation remains the same. The issues we face are linked to raising the professional standards of the press, in better news reportage, increasing our circulation and advertising revenue, and similar matters. Most likely, all newspapers, including Aravot, must explore the Internet option further, because 5-10 years down the road that where the future of the press will be.

T. Hakobyan - It seems to me that you should ask the regime that question. I’ve only worked in the field of journalism for 10-15 years but I’m aware of one simple fact. Given that the regime doesn’t have the political will and given that they are still afraid of free speech, we won’t be able to accomplish anything directly. If the regime views the media as its enemy, which is the case today, the situation will not change. I don’t want to make comparisons but during the Soviet period it was impossible to imagine the publication of an independent newspaper. Today of course, the times have changed but similarities still exist. Thus, if the system doesn’t give its permission you will not get anywhere. Take a step out of line and the system will eat you up. Believe me if an opposition newspaper had a circulation of 200,000 the regime would be doing everything to make life more difficult for it. In this light the case of the GALA TV station in Gyumri is interesting. About two years ago when Artur Baghdasaryan was being described as a traitor to the nation, he was invited to appear on GALA and soon after the station was subjected to a variety of pressures from Yerevan. The same happened in the case when the station covered Levon Ter-Petrosyan. GALA has managed to survive, but the cost paid has been dear; 34 advertisers have pulled out.

E. Baghdasaryan - Why wasn’t there a TV station in Yerevan that did the same, that tried to resist the pressures brought to bear by the regime? In other words, why didn’t news reporters provide objective information? I mean is it too much to ask that they follow the journalistic ethics of their own profession? Would their TV stations have been shut down as a result?

T. Hakobyan - Here I think we should be looking at the close interrelationship between politics and business rather than merely focusing on the field of journalism. If a given TV station were to adopt an independent course of action it would immediately be subject to enormous pressures and would loose its advertisers. Ask the directors of these stations and they tell you about the phone calls they receive instructing them to pull a certain advertisement.

A. Abrahamyan - Certainly any TV station going that route would be closed down sooner or later. The “State Committee for TV and Radio” has thousands of legal levers at their disposal with which to shut down any give TV station. For example, all stations are required to translate movies into Armenian. Only a handful do this today. If any station were to step out of line the Committee would tell them, hey listen up, you’re violating this law so were shutting you down. It’s all pretty easy to do.

A. Shirinyan - Naturally, a TV station isn’t a newspaper, the expenses incurred are much greater. Newspapers are purchased by the reader for the information they contain. The situation is more complicated when it comes to TV stations and I agree with the observation made regarding the close link between the government and business. It’s more a question of economic freedom in general, something that doesn’t exist in Armenia, rather than solely with the journalism industry. I would like to direct your attention to another circumstance. There are newspapers operating in Armenia today that are financed by pro-government circles. Since they don’t have the problem of selling the paper to remain afloat they enjoy a dominant position in the market place. Those TV stations that are either financed by the regime or by a given business tycoon also represent a threat because they aren’t obliged to satisfy the needs of the viewing public. Given that they have other financial revenue sources they aren’t in the business of meeting the demands of the public for independent and objective news reportage.

E. Baghdasaryan - Mr. Abrahamyan, if you were granted the power to change things what steps would you take to solve the problems confronting the media?

A. Abrahamyan - I believe that if real changes were made to Armenian Public TV, not only would the situation improve for other TV stations, but for the print media as well. They are all interconnected. The first reforms must take place in Public TV. What the station needs is the right to operate freely. Since this station is partially funded by the government through public taxes, what we have here is not merely a business matter but an issue of using the public airwaves for the good of the society. If Public TV were allowed to operate normally then the other stations, seeing that such a thing was permitted, would fall in line as well. The newspapers would operate differently as well, since I am sure that my paper wouldn’t see the need to repeat what the TV stations had to say about the opposition rallies. The only reason for that demand was that TV news broadcasts had nothing to say about the opposition rallies. In other words, newspapers will also become more substantive, more professional and perhaps more interesting.

T. Hakobyan - I would divide the ten year presidential reign of Robert Kocharyan regarding the media into two sections. The first would include the period up till 2002 and the second, the period afterwards culminating with the tragic 20 days of the State of Emergency. From 1998 till 2002 could be considered a period when a definite degree of freedom existed, the “A1+” TV station was on the air. I’d like to know the reason why this was permitted at the time?

E. Baghdasaryan - It simply wasn’t yet the media’s turn to be focused on. The regime didn’t yet command the levers to do anything.

T. Hakobyan - It seems to me that if Serzh Sargsyan believes he actually enjoys the confidence of the people he’ll implement these reforms and show more tolerance regarding the media.

E. Baghdasaryan - But to garner the trust of the populace he must first take certain steps.

A. Abrahamyan - In other words, to allow the media to operate freely. I repeat, he can gain that trust by reforming Public TV. Here, cause and effect are intertwined.

E. Baghdasaryan - I believe that the State of Emergency exposed another important thing; the authorities realized that they can’t do battle with the press. It was enough for the Internet to counterbalance their efforts. If one website was closed down another immediately took its place. They couldn’t impose news blackout on the society.

T. Hakobyan - But at the critical point it probably served as their salvation because at such periods it’s vital if you are attempting to monitor the entire situation. It could last for merely two days; but during those two days you are able to retain power.

A. Shirinyan - My opinion might sound a bit extreme but I believe that the reason and effect can be interchanged. This situation came about exactly due to the fact that “A1+” was shut down in 2002. It may sound simplistic but restricting the right to free speech, as restricting basic rights in general, is rife with unforeseen consequences. I believe it is for this reason that the ten-year term of President Kocharyan ended so tragically. The protest and revolt expressed by the people was essentially conditioned on the fact that there was no social discourse regarding existing problems; it was all pent-up for years. As to why “A1+” was shut down and later on another until slowly but surely the entire TV industry was subject to official monitoring? When you commit a crime you are forced to commit a second and then a third to cover up the original one. It becomes a never-ending process. In other words, the regime felt the necessity to oversee the operations of the TV stations at the time when they stopped monitoring the mood of the people.

A. Abrahamyan - That’s a very valid observation. Putting it another way, when you can no longer manage reality you begin to manage its mirror image.

For continuation see Armenian versio