From: Justin Burke (JBurke@sorosny.org)
Date: Thu May 08 2003 - 11:46:36 EDT
YEREVAN PRESS CLUB WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
MAY 2-8, 2003
HIGHLIGHTS:
WORLD PRESS FREEDOM DAY UNDER THE TOKEN OF ELECTION CAMPAIGNS
ARMENIAN MEDIA HAVE BECOME NOT FREE
WALTER SCHWIMMER CALLS FOR CREATION OF A WORLD FREE FROM THREAT FOR THE
JOURNALISTS
"ENEMY OF PRESS" TITLE AGAIN AWARDED TO ROBERT KOCHARIAN BY NATIONAL
PRESS CLUB
MEDIA AND PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS-2003: YEREVAN PRESS CLUB MONITORING
(APRIL 21 - MAY 3)
FINAL REPORT OF OSCE/ODIHR INTERNATIONAL OBSERVATION MISSION ON RA
PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS
CPJ AND RSF CONDEMN BEATING OF " CHORRORD ISHKHANUTYUN" NEWSPAPER
CORRESPONDENT
HCA VANADZOR BRANCH ATTACKED A SECOND TIME
COMPETITIONS ON THREE FREQUENCIES ANNOUNCED
NEW PRESS SECRETARY OF ARMENIAN PRESIDENT APPOINTED
PUBLIC RADIO OF ARMENIA HAS CELEBRATED ITS 73 YEARS ANNIVERSARY, AND
RADIO "VAN" HAS BECOME PRIZE-WINNER OF THE POPOV AWARD
80TH JUBILEE OF "AVANGARD" NEWSPAPER
WORLD PRESS FREEDOM DAY UNDER THE TOKEN OF ELECTION CAMPAIGNS
On May 2-4 in Tsaghkadzor, the seminar "Media at Elections-2003",
organized by Yerevan Press Club with the support of Friedrich Ebert
Foundation, took place. The event was devoted to the most vital issue
for the country and the "fourth estate"at present - the past
presidential and subsequent parliamentary elections. It has coincided,
or to be more precise, has been devoted to a no less significant
journalistic date - World Press Freedom Day. In 1993, the UN General
Assembly declared May 3 as the journalists' international professional
holiday. Since 1997, it has appeared in the calendar of the Armenian
media. According to the tradition, this day is marked by summing up the
previous year's results and looking forward to the future.
The interchangeable election marathons and the relevant events provide
plenty of food for speculation. The results of the YPC media monitoring
on the coverage of the RA presidential elections, presented at the
Tsaghkadzor seminar by the YPC Expert Mesrop Harutyunyan, and the
results of a similar study for the first ten days of the National
Assembly election campaign provide the media with the opportunity of a
look from the outside. Besides air time seconds and newspaper
centimeters, no less important is the ethical aspect of this coverage,
whose problems were stressed by the Executive Director of the Public
Television of Armenia Armen Arzumanian. The distinct feature of the
elections-2003 has become their deep "penetration" into the virtual
space. Internews Armenia producer Armen Sargsian has presented the
Internet activity of the media and professional associations. The
Chairwoman of the Journalists Union of Armenia Astghik Gevorgian has
spoken about the extensive program of JUA directed at assistance to the
journalists covering the elections (International Press Center, training
courses and etc.). Election campaigns in the eyes of foreign media - it
is to this topic that the speech of the Foreign Correspondents
Association President Tigran Hovhannisian was devoted. YPC President
Boris Navasardian has analysed the situation with the freedom of speech
in Armenia and the region also citing the assessments of international
organizations publicized on the eve of World Press Freedom Day.
ARMENIAN MEDIA HAVE BECOME NOT FREE
On April 30 the international human rights organization "Freedom House"
published its Annual Survey of Press Freedom Worldwide in 2002. The
situation with the media of 193 countries was evaluated using the
numerical scale from 1 to 100 based on the following criteria: free
(1-30 points), partly free (31-60), not free (61-100) - the lower the
score the higher the degree of freedom. The freedom of press was
evaluated along three
dimensions: legislation influencing media; political pressure, control
and violence towards media; economic pressure and control over media.
The sum of the scores along the three dimensions yielded the aggregate
rating of the condition of media in a country.
In 2002, this rating for Armenia equalled 65 points, and thus our media
have for the first time been recognized as not free. The tendency for
the deterioration of the situation with the freedom of speech in the
country has manifested itself already in 2001 when "Freedom House"
evaluated Armenian press with 60 points - one point lower than in 2000
(see details in YPC Weekly Newsletter, April 20-26, 2002). A quite
considerable five score decline occurred as a result of the increased
economic pressure and control over media (16 points out of 30 possible
for this dimension) and the deteriorated legal environment (23 points
out of 30). As for the degree of political influence on media, according
to "Freedom House" data, it has remained the same (26 points out of 40).
According to the report, such an obvious decline of the rating in
Armenia is the "result of the government's repeated use of security or
criminal libel laws to stifle criticism". As another reason the closing
of the country's leading independent TV company "A1+" is brought
forward. "Often critical of the government, "A1+" did not resume
broadcasting in the run-up to presidential and parliamentary elections",
"Freedom House" states. The researchers also note that most media are
seeking "sponsorship from powerful the business or political interests"
which "frequently exercise de facto editorial control over content and
foster a climate of self-censorship among journalists".
The worsening of the situation with the freedom of speech in 2002 is
emphasized by "Freedom House" in other post-Soviet countries as well. As
those in Armenia, Russian media have declined from partly free to not
free (66 points). Georgia scored one point higher (54) compared with the
situation in 2000-2001. In Azerbaijan, in contrast, improvement is
detected (73 points versus 77 in 2001). As a whole among the CIS
countries, most unfavourable ratings are with Turkmenistan (92),
Uzbekistan (86) and Belarus (82).
WALTER SCHWIMMER CALLS FOR CREATION OF A WORLD FREE FROM THREAT FOR THE
JOURNALISTS
On May 2, on the eve of World Press Freedom Day, Council of Europe
Secretary General Walter Schwimmer has appealed to governments and the
international community to create a safer environment for journalists.
In his speech CE Secretary General has condemned the death of media
representatives in the Iraq war and the increasing threats to the
physical safety of journalists worldwide. "Since the beginning of this
year 25 journalists have been killed - including 14 in the Iraq war -
and hundreds have been threatened or injured. Such actions cannot be
condoned", Mr. Schwimmer declared. "Freedom of information is the
touchstone of a democratic society and journalists must therefore be
given the chance to exercise their profession without hindrance", he
added. The head of CE has appealed to states and international
institutions "to do all they can in order to create a world where
journalists are free from threat". And he called on the media themselves
"to promote the highest professional standards in their daily work -
ensuring the free flow of information to their readers and viewers".
"ENEMY OF PRESS" TITLE AGAIN AWARDED TO ROBERT KOCHARIAN BY NATIONAL
PRESS CLUB
On May 3, the National Press Club, as in the previous year, declared
President of Armenia Robert Kocharian "Enemy of Press". The title was
established by this journalistic organization in 2002 and is conferred
on World Press Freedom Day. In the diploma of the National Press Club,
submitted to the President's Office, it is noted that Robert Kocharian
has been honored with this title "for the establishment of full control
over the media, in particular over TV broadcasting, for the stubborn
disregard of the Draft Law 'On Media', for non-resumption of 'A1+' and
'Noyan Tapan' TV companies broadcasting, for condoning those who
committed violence towards journalists during election campaign, for the
cleavage of the journalistic community".
MEDIA AND PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS-2003: YEREVAN PRESS CLUB MONITORING
(APRIL 21 - MAY 3)
From April 21 to May 23, 2003, Yerevan Press Club has been conducting
monitoring of the Armenian media coverage of the RA National Assembly
election campaign. The monitoring is implemented under the project
supported by the Open Society Institute. Assistance in the YPC
monitoring is provided by "Asparez" Journalists' Club of Gyumri and
Internews Armenia public organization.
The aim of the monitoring is revealing objectivity level in the election
coverage by the broadcasting (primarily public) media, as well as the
degree of interest the election participants manifest in using media
advertising. Four nationwide and three local TV channels, one nationwide
radio station and ten leading social-political newspapers have become
object of the monitoring.
The conclusions of the monitoring group are based on the following
indicators: the volume of editorial coverage of the parties and blocs
participating in the elections by the proportional system, as well as
the quantity and character of their mentionings in the informational and
analytical TV and radio programs; the list of participants of TV
discussion programs; the volume of pre-election advertising of the
parties/blocs in broadcasting and print media.
The first two weeks of the monitoring have demonstrated that the Public
Television of Armenia, in contrast to the presidential elections that
have taken place two months earlier, manifests its intention to provide
a balanced coverage of the campaign without giving obvious preference to
any of the political forces. At the same time, two leading private TV
channels "Prometheus" and "Armenia" in their news and analytical
programs devote much more attention to the parties, considered
pro-presidential, than to the opposition ones. In the least degree, such
an approach to election coverage characterizes Yerevan "Shant" TV
company. "Kentron" (Yerevan) and "Tsayg"
(Gyumri) TV channels manifest greatest impartiality covering
parties/blocs campaigning in accordance with the pre-election activity
of the latter. "ALM" TV channel, whose owner is a deputy candidate (both
as the party leader and from single member constituency) and uses
airtime primarily for his political purposes, stands aside by itself.
The distinctive feature of the parliamentary election campaign TV
coverage, in comparison to the presidential one, is its positive
character. In other words, deputy candidates are given the opportunity
to speak about themselves using the direct speech, and the editorial
commentary is neutral and is reduced to the minimum.
In the course of the monitoring, the increasing political weight of
broadcasting media is becoming apparent in comparison to print media.
Parties and blocs demonstrate almost absolute lack of interest in
placing political advertisement in the newspapers. Political forces use
primarily those publications for pre-election promotion which one way or
another are under their control.
FINAL REPORT OF OSCE/ODIHR INTERNATIONAL OBSERVATION MISSION ON RA
PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS
The International Observation Mission of the Office for Democratic
Institutions and Human Rights OSCE (OSCE/ODIHR) has publicized its
conclusions on RA presidential elections. One of the sections of the
report is devoted to the media in Armenia. Here in particular the
results of Election Observation Mission monitoring on media coverage of
the election campaign (first and second rounds) are presented.
As it is stated in the report, publicly-funded media have not met the
obligation outlined in the RA Law "On Television and Radio" and the CEC
decision of January 15 to provide voters with information about the
candidates free from prejudice or preference. According to EOM, although
the Public Television of Armenia did adhere to the legal provisions
relating to providing free advertising time for all political
contestants, its news, analytical and other programs were biased. They
clearly supported the incumbent who received extensive coverage beyond
what was reasonably proportionate to his role as the Head of State.
As to the private broadcasters, they, as the report runs, have
demonstrated even more bias in favor of the incumbent, generally
ignoring opposition candidates. The observers illustrate this conclusion
with the following examples based on media monitoring results of the
first round of the election campaign:
"'Prometheus', one of the private channels with nationwide outreach,
allocated 61% of its primetime news to the incumbent with an exclusively
positive tone. In contrast, the two candidates considered as opposition
front-runners accounted for 5% and 3% respectively with this coverage
mainly negative.
TV 'Armenia', another nationwide private broadcaster, allocated the
incumbent 65% of its primetime news coverage which was overwhelmingly
positive in tone. In comparison, the channel generally ignored the
opposition front-runners who each received only 2% of approximately
equal proportions of negative and positive primetime news coverage.
TV 'ALM' allocated 61% of its primetime news coverage to the incumbent,
with an overwhelmingly positive slant.
TV 'Shant' was slightly more objective than the other private
broadcasters monitored by the EOM, allocating 47% of its primetime news
coverage to the incumbent, once again mainly positive. The next most
covered candidates received respectively 15% and 14% of mainly neutral
or positive primetime news coverage."
The cost of paid political advertising ($120 per minute), according to
OSCE/ODIHR, was very high by local standards, limiting candidates'
possibilities to campaign in the media. "The rate emerged from an
unusual price-fixing agreement among Public TV and five private
television stations that offered fixed rates for political advertising.
This rate for political advertising was approximately three times higher
than comparable rates for commercial advertising on private television",
EOM notes.
The observers viewed to be a positive development the conductance of TV
debate between the two main contestants - for the first time in the
history of Armenian presidential elections, which was held on Public TV
and was aired by a several other TV channels. "Six journalists
representing Armenian private TV companies were invited to ask questions
to both candidates. The format of the debate and the selection of
participating journalists were regarded as biased by the opposition
candidate. In fact, all the journalists came from TV stations that
supported the President", the report states. Organization of a number of
debates and discussions between candidate representatives by several
private TV stations was also praised.
According to the OSCE/ODIHR report, print media provided a plurality of
views, but invariably showed strong bias either in favor of or against a
candidate: "Consequently, voters could form an objective view of the
campaign only if they read several publications."
The conclusions of the OSCE/ODIHR EOM on the Armenian media activity
during presidential elections-2003 contain the following
recommendations:
"In order to help ensure impartiality in the regulation of broadcasting,
Articles 29 and 39 of the Law 'On Television and Radio' should be
amended to provide for balanced membership on the National Commission on
Television and Radio and on the Council of Public TV and Radio Company.
The Council should oversee the Public TV and Radio independently to
ensure publicly-funded media to live up to their requirements for
neutrality.
The public media should develop a neutral, objective and informative
editorial line and its reporting should be balanced, including when
covering government activities during an election period.
State authorities should refrain from interfering in the activities of
journalists and other media personnel with a view to influencing
elections. There should not be any intimidation, threats, closures or
pressure on the media by public authorities."
The complete version of the OSCE/ODIHR final report (in the English
language) is available on the YPC web-site: http://www.ypc.am in "Media
and Presidential Elections-2003" section.
CPJ AND RSF CONDEMN BEATING OF " CHORRORD ISHKHANUTYUN" NEWSPAPER
CORRESPONDENT
On April 30, the American organization Committee to Protect Journalists
(CPJ) condemned the assault at "Chorrord Ishkhanutyun" opposition
newspaper correspondent Mher Ghalechian. One should remind that on April
29, the journalist was heavily beaten in the newspaper editorial office
in connection with the article "Another Mansion Built with Karlos
Petrosian's Salary" published on April 25 (see details in YPC Weekly
Newsletter, April 25 - May 1, 2003).The declaration of CPJ Executive
Director Joel Simon contains an appeal to the Armenian authorities to
conduct "a timely and thorough investigation of this incident" and to
bring the perpetrators to justice "so that journalists will be able to
report the news safely and freely". A similar appeal is voiced in the
address of the international organization "Reporters Without Borders"
(RSF) published on May 2.
HCA VANADZOR BRANCH ATTACKED A SECOND TIME
In the early morning of May 5, an attempt was made to break the window
bars of the Helsinki Citizens Assembly Vanadzor branch office where the
editorial board of "Civil Initiative" weekly is located. Yerevan Press
Club was notified about it by the head of the HCA Vanadzor branch and
newspaper editor Arthur Sakunts. The malefactors have also broken the
front door upper cover.
This is already the second assault on the HCA Vanadzor branch. The
office was set on fire in the early morning of March 14, however the
perpetrators have not been found up to this day. The arson occurred on
the eve of the action realized by this human rights organization and
devoted to 2003 presidential elections violations. In the course of the
action, Arthur Sakunts was arrested and sentenced to 10 days of
administrative imprisonment (see details in YPC Weekly Newsletter, March
15-21, 2003).
COMPETITIONS ON THREE FREQUENCIES ANNOUNCED
On May 3 the National Commission on Television and Radio announced new
TV and radio broadcast licensing competitions. This time, three
frequencies have been put forward there: 25th UHF of Yerevan, 32nd UHF
of Charentsavan (Kotayk region) and FM 104.1 Mhz of Gyumri (Shirak
region).
At present, "Armenia" TV company is aired on the Yerevan frequency,
"Lusalik" TV - on the Charentsavan frequency, and the Gyumri frequency
is occupied by "Shant" radio station.
The deadline for the competition participation bids expires on May 27,
2003. The bids will be considered by the National Commission on June 7.
The competition results will be publicized on the 40th day after its
announcement.
NEW PRESS SECRETARY OF ARMENIAN PRESIDENT APPOINTED
On May 5, RA President Robert Kocharian appointed Ashot Kocharian his
new press secretary. Ashot Kocharian was born in 1957. Having graduated
from the Yerevan Brusov State Pedagogical Institute of the Russian and
Foreign Languages, English language department, he continued his
education as a post-graduate student at the Institute of Philosophy and
Law of the RA National Academy of Sciences where he defended his thesis
on the issues of war and piece. Mr. Kocharian has taken special
diplomatic courses in the Vienna Diplomatic Academy and the Hague
Institute of International Relations. Since 1992 he worked in the RA
Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Since 2002 until the present appointment
Ashot Kocharian was the head of MFA International Organization
Department.
President's previous press secretary, Vahe Gabrielian, was appointed RA
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary in the United Kingdom of
Great Britain and Northern Ireland in March of the current year.
PUBLIC RADIO OF ARMENIA HAS CELEBRATED ITS 73 YEARS ANNIVERSARY, AND
RADIO "VAN" HAS BECOME PRIZE-WINNER OF THE POPOV AWARD
On the Radio Day, May 7, the State Radio of Armenia, which is now
transformed into the Public Radio of Armenia, has marked 73 years of its
establishment. On the occasion of the holiday, PRA has conducted a
contest on 13 nominations and has distributed awards to its best staff
members.
At the same day in Moscow, the ceremony of presenting the Popov
Professional Award in Radio Broadcasting 2003 took place.
Russian-language radio stations of the CIS and Baltic countries, Israel,
UK participated in 14 nominations of the contest.
In the nomination of the "Male Voice" the prize-winner of the Popov
Award has become Egor Glumov from Yerevan private Radio "VAN" FM 103.
Radio "VAN" has also entered the number of the three best in five other
nominations: "On-Air Design", "Sound Director", "Cultural Program",
"Specialized Program" , "Entertainment Program".
The Award of the radio inventor Alexander Popov was established in 1998
by the charity Foundation for Broadcasting Development.
Yerevan Press Club congratulates the Public Radio of Armenia, Radio
"VAN" and all the colleagues radio-broadcasters on the professional
holiday and wishes them unimpeded air, large and loving audience!
80TH JUBILEE OF "AVANGARD" NEWSPAPER
On March 5, one of the oldest publications of Armenia, "Avangard"
newspaper celebrated its 80 years' anniversary.
Yerevan Press Club congratulates the jubilee on the occasion of this
significant date and wishes the colleagues further success, stability
and prosperity!
When reprinting or using the information above, reference to the Yerevan
Press Club is required.
You are welcome to send any comment and feedback about the Newsletter
to: pressclub@ypc.am
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Editor of YPC Newsletter - Elina POGHOSBEKIAN
____________________________________________
Yerevan Press Club
39/12 Mesrop Mashtots Avenue
375009, Yerevan, Armenia
Tel.: (+ 3741) 53 00 67; 53 35 41
Fax: (+3741) 53 56 61; 53 76 62
E-mail: pressclub@ypc.am
Web Site: www.ypc.am
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