Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Editors Concerned Over Press Freedoms

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Editors Concerned Over Press Freedoms

    EDITORS CONCERNED OVER PRESS FREEDOMS

    Tert.am
    03.05.11

    Editors of several Armenian media outlets held Tuesday a debate
    devoted to the World Press Freedom Day.

    Addressing the situation with press freedoms in Armenia,
    editor-in-chief of Azg newspaper Hakob Avetikyan voiced his concerns
    over the existing problems. He particularly stressed the importance
    of solving the problems on advertisement and consumption markets.

    "If you want really free press, you have to understand those freedoms,
    but that should also be linked to the market demand. We don't actually
    have a market at present. What we have does not meet civilized
    standards," he said.

    Blaming the media for the existing situation, Avetikyan said they
    don't have an understanding of corporate interests.

    "That's to say we cannot find a solution to a problem that concerns
    us all. Only once did we join our efforts, and it was several years
    ago when all the print media outlets declared a day-long strike and
    managed at least to have one of their three demands met," he said.

    The editor-in-chief of Aravot daily, Aram Abrahamyan, referred to
    the recent lawsuits against the media.

    "If an individual or an organization demands money from a paper,
    declaring in the meantime that he will spend the sum for charity
    purposes, the judge is fully entitled to reject such claim. The
    compensation for a moral damage can be justified if the claimant
    needs that money," he added.

    Speaking of the recent legislative amendment to decriminalize
    defamation and libel, he considered the move reasonable, though
    added that the reform implementation process was a little bit hasty
    in Armenia.

    "Plaintiffs may claim 2 million drams for libel, 1 million - for
    accusation and 3 million for the lawyer's cost. That's really a huge
    sum," he added.

    Avetikyan noted that the amendments could be justified if Armenia
    had an independent judiciary system.

    "Otherwise it won't work, as we may go bankrupt," he said.

    Speaking of the obstacles to free press, an information and political
    analyst of Yerkir Media TV channel, Gegham Manukyan outlined three
    major problems: professionalism, courage and financial resources. He
    said that TV channels face more constraints than newspapers.




    From: A. Papazian
Working...
X