September 21, 2009
Strings of Soul: Vanadzor Lad – Ambassador of Armenian Music
13-year-old Narek Kazazyan from Vanadzor has independently learnt playing canon and thanks to his talent has already traveled almost over half of the world. For the first time he has seen canon, exactly heard sounds of this musical instrument in the ensemble directed by his grandfather. Then he was studying piano at the Musical School of Vanadzor, but he liked the sounds of canon so much, that he decided to learn playing.
“I started playing canon myself, then my teachers sent me to study this instrument and I was “re-qualified” from a pianist to a canonist,” says Narek.
Canon is a string instrument spread in the countries of the Near and Middle East, as well as in Armenia, where it has been played yet in the middle ages. It was made of an apricot wood, fish skin and metal strings. Today canon is spread as a kind of national classical instrument.
Strings of Soul: Vanadzor Lad – Ambassador of Armenian Music
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June 3, 2009
Interview: Armenian Regional Media to Shelter under Different “Roofs”
Interviewed by Karine Simonyan
This week CJTeam regional reporter talked to journalist Levon Barseghyan, the chairman of Gyumri Journalists’ Club “Asparez”, quite well-informed on the issues and obstacles faced by the regional media. Levon is one among those activists who have been struggling against the state bodies to prevent the airtime stoppage of Gyumri GALA TV for several months.
Question- Mr. Barseghyan, which are the peculiarities of the regional media? What is the difference between the national and the regional media?
Answer – 18 TV companies located in 18 regional cities have no local rivals. The newspapers published in about 30 regional cities are out of competition too. There are small markets, modest industrial capacities, relatively small staffs and lack of competition. Often the advertising markets of the local media are so badly developed, that they are not able to provide stable improvement for the local media.
Q. – What development stage is the regional media at? Is it able to satisfy the information demands of the society?
A. – I think local media, on the whole, can’t satisfy the information demands of the society, it is not able to provide the consumers with multilateral, free and balanced information. The situation is tighter regarding analytical information. There are no dailies published in the regions; mainly weeklies, biweeklies and monthlies are issued, most of them working according to the old and worn-out standards often supported by the local power or by some local businessmen.
Q. – Which difficulties and obstacles are characteristic to the regional media?
A. – Often the state authorities are criticized more easily than the local ones (mayor, municipality or the council) by some of the regional media organizations.
Q. – Could the regional media prevent the pressures and restrictions?
A. – First of all the regional media organizations don’t want to risk and face pressures and restrictions. Here their main “assistant” is self-censorship. They know very well which topics are not encouraged by the local power to be published, thus simply no articles covering such topics appear.
Q. – Are there any privileges regional media is entitled to, which are they?
A. – The primary privilege possessed by the regional media is unfortunately misused. The privilege is their being regional citizens. The local media organizations, their staffs and journalists know the district, people of their community, their problems, local and regional authorities, their behavior and activities, as well as good and bad features best of all. I suppose that the local market and issues bothering the local society are the fundamental resources of the regional media, of course, events of state designation are important too, but regional problems shouldn’t be disregarded.
Q. – Which are the fields still closed for the regional media activity and why?
A. – There is little or no coverage on local corruption, as the regional corruptionists master a lot of methods to punish the local media (territorial issues, advertisement blocks, tax pressures if necessary, even National Security Service (NSS) appearance, etc). In one region “the director” is an NSS official, in the second one – the regional governor, in the third one – the mayor and so on, and all of them are interrelated. Nothing more could be expected under corruption that has occupied the country. So some of the media organizations have to shelter under this or that “roof”; one “cooperates” with a parliamentarian, the second – with a mayor, the third – with a regional governor, the next with an oligarch, etc. “Let us survive to see what we are still to endure”, here is the credo followed by 8-9 media organizations out of the 10. The situation is almost the same for Yerevan broadcasters; the “roof” surface is different.
Q. – How has the regional media been effected by the developments in the field of media during recent years?
A. – Regional broadcasters have learnt bitter lessons from deprivation of airtime of A1Plus and Noyan Tapan TV channels and from the “authoritarian regime” battle of GALA TV and have turned to local mass entertaining, promoting and advertising means. Most of them have drifted away from the media mission; they have reduced the broadcasted news programs or have no such at all, or organize such programs randomly in the case of a funded project. There are, of course, exceptions. The regional print media shows signs of life from election to election; weaker organizations dream of an annual government funding, stronger ones, especially in Shirak, Lori and Syunik regions do their best to independently enlarge their consumer market paying more and more attention to advertisement market.
June 1, 2009
COUNCIL OF EUROPE CONGRESS MISSION SAYS ELECTIONS IN LINE WITH EUROPEAN STANDARDS
Yerevan City Council elections corresponded to the European standards, Nigel Mermagen, the head of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe said.
“The Congress Mission recorded significant improvement compared with the local self governing bodies’ elections held in Armenia in 2008,” Mermagen said.
The Council of Europe observers express great confidence that Armenia contributes to the establishment of democracy in the country.
Assaulted “Aravot” correspondent
The young man with the nickname “Boko from Noragyugh” assaulted correspondent of “Aravot” daily Nelly Grigoryan, pushed her around, used swear words, threatened her and left in an unknown direction with the journalist’s camera.
The incident took place at the 7/25 polling station located at the Daniel Varuzhan school when the journalist witnessed how Boko was threatening the ANC proxy.
“That boy had held the ANC proxy against the wall and was convincing the proxy that he was from the opposition and that he wanted to have a couple of words with her. In other words, he was trying to take her out of the polling station. When I entered the polling station, I had the camera in my hand. I tried to take shots, but that boy saw me, left the proxy, grabbed me by the shoulders and started pushing me around. All the while he was screaming “who are you and who let you tape this.”
According to the journalist, nobody from the polling station interfered. There were a couple of boys at the polling station who ran in the direction of Boko after the journalist said that her work had been interrupted.
“They returned with the camera, but the memory chip was gone,” said Nelly Grigoryan.
A report was drawn up regarding the incident, but the electoral commission president refused to sign it.
Source: A1Plus.am
Yerevan City Council Election: Journalists Beaten up
A1plus.am(12:53 pm, May 31, 2009): Journalists of “Chorrord Ishkhanutyun” and “Hayq” dailies, Gohar Veziryan and Tatev Mesropyan were beaten up at Precinct 9/1 located at School N33 at 10.25 today morning.
Witnesses say the journalists were beaten up by Armenian MP Levon Sargsyan’s bodyguards.
Gohar Veziryan and Tatev Mesropyan were attacked after making inquires about the parliamentarian. They wondered why the deputy didn’t quit the precinct after the vote.
The bodyguards started railing at the journalists and beating them. Later they seized the recorder of Zhamanak Yerevan’s reporter Marine Kharatyan.
At present the journalists are giving an account of the incident at the Kentron Police Station.
REPORTER REJECTED TO MAKE ANNOUNCEMENT
Panorama.am(16:12 31/05/2009): Gohar Veziryan, the reporter of “Forth Power” (Chorord Ishkhanutyun) newspaper brought to the police station to give a record rejected to answer the police officers’ requests. “I have talked with my lawyer Hovik Arsenyan and he told me that I can use my constitutional right and not give any statement. I have done it and did not answer to the police officers’ questions,” G. Veziryan told Panorama.am.
Note that according to the statement spread by the Armenian National Congress, National Assembly deputy Levon Sargsyan entered the 9/1 polling station at 10:25am by local time and ordered his bodyguards to take out the reporters of “Forth Power”, “Hayq”, “Times Yerevan” Gohar Veziryan, Tatev Mesropyan and Marine Kharatyan.
“To the reporters’ requests the bodyguards beat them, took the recorders and cell phones and ordered out of the polling station,” the statement says. According to ANC the reporters were going to apply to the police station.
It is also said that no beating dispute occurred in the polling station, they have just abused each other.
May 29, 2009
Under Observation: Armenian TV Channels’ Tone Neutral in Covering Yerevan City Council Elections
By Karine Simonyan, Caucasus Media News
28.05.2009
Yerevan Press Club is realizing monitoring of seven Armenian TV channels to find out how they are covering the pre-electoral campaign period with respect to the coming council elections on May 31 in Yerevan.
Though the broadcasting study is still continued and it will be realized until the end of the official campaign, May 29, as well as on May 30 – the stop day of the campaign, the project implementing organization represented the journalists the preliminary results collected in the course of two phases: 15 days before the official campaign period (April 16-May 1) and the first 15 days during the official campaign period (May 2-15).
Three national TV channels (H1-First Channel of Public TV of Armenia, H2- Second Armenian TV Channel and ALM) and four Yerevan City channels (Armnews, Yerkir Media, Kentron and Shant) are subject to monitoring.
The monitoring subject is all programs, aired at the evening prime time of the above mentioned TV channels, containing references to six parties and one party bloc/their leaders/representatives, running in the elections of Yerevan City Council Elections, as well as the airtime, allocated for pre-election promotion of parties/bloc.
The project coordinator Elina Poghosbekyan says that most of the channels are obviously giving preference to this or that party.
“The Popular Party is widely covered on ALM, the Armenian Revolutionary Federation Dashnaktsutyun (ARFD) – on Yerkir Media, the Republican Party of Armenia – on ArmNews, the Prosperous Armenia Party – on Kentron.”
And according to the results of the first two phases the Popular Party leader Tigran Karapetyan has been the most frequently covered candidate, this mainly done during the ALM channel airtimes belonging to Karapetyan.
Among the parties the least airtime has been allocated to the Armenian National Congress and the Labor Socialist Party of Armenia occupying the fifth and the sixth places on the list respectively.
The airtime activity of other parties participating in the elections differs before the campaign and during the official electoral campaign period.
For instance according to the monitoring data Prosperous Armenia, its leader being businessman Gagik Tsarukyan, was the forth on the list among the most frequently covered parties before the campaign. And during the official campaign period it (Prosperous Armenia) appeared in the second place, previously occupied by ARFD.
Analogously Orinats Yerkir Party (leader–Arthur Baghdasaryan, Secretary of the National Security Council of Armenia) rose by one character during the official campaign period due to wider coverage.
The picture was quite different in the case of the Republican Party and ARFD. According to the monitoring results the coverage airtime allocated to these parties decreased, though before the campaign the Republican Party was positively referred to by the TV channels.
The coverage was positively toned also towards the Prosperous Armenia Party.
According to the monitoring coordinator negative references were addressed mainly to three parties: Armenian National Congress, Orinats Yerkir and Republican Party of Armenia.
The paid airtime allocated by all the 7 TV channels for pre-election promotion (political advertising), has been most actively used by Prosperous Armenia (14,141 seconds). It is followed by the Republican Party (4,710), then by ARFD (3,661 seconds), Orinats Yerkir (3,107 seconds), and the Armenian National Congress (3,021 seconds). All the parties and political blocs have used also the free airtime allocated to all of them by the First Channel of Public TV during 14 days of the campaign period.
Poghosbekyan, the project coordinator, considers that on the whole all the TV channels are neutral in covering the council elections as compared with the previous presidential and parliamentary elections.
“And if there is some negative reference towards a party or a candidate, it doesn’t reflect the journalist’s direct assessments, but is an opinion expressed via journalist or the report hero,” says Poghosbekyan.
Source: CJTeam.org, Caucasus Media News Column
May 16, 2009
Via Space: Armenian Mountainous Village Shamut Gets Information from “the Top”
By Karine Simonyan, Alaverdi, Caucasus Media News
14.05.2009
When Garnik, a peasant of Shamut, appears in the center of the village, people surround him immediately to know the latest news and events in Armenia. Garnik himself learns about this news when talking with his Yerevan relatives by cell-phone.
Garnik has willy-nilly become an alternative source of information for the peasants, as there is no television broadcasting in the village, and Armenian TV channels (H1, Shant, Armenia) could be watched only by those, who can afford to set up a satellite antenna on the roofs of their houses.
However, according to the peasants, besides news on TV they would like to receive alternative information. That is why any kind of information, told by Garnik, becomes a topic for hot discussions.
Armenian village Shamut is one of the highest villages of Lori region at 1500 meters high above sea level. There is one road only to the village, which stretches after Shamut and ends in Atan village of Lori region (1700 meters high). Shamut and several other villages of Lori are deprived of television because of the complexity of geological feature and land form, as the main broadcastings aired from the TV towers are inaccessible here.
Shamut receives print media only once, maximum twice per month together with pensions and allowances through postal service. But these are mostly week-old newspapers.
“Newspapers are brought a few days later, but we are pleased even they reach us,” says Vazgen from Shamut.
According to rural customs the “new” papers immediately after being looked through are used for other purposes.
“We wrap the bread and cheese, take to pasture to have a break,” says Hrant.
According to RA Law “On Television and Radio” the state should create necessary conditions and take measures to receive public television and radio (at least one radio and one television channels) program throughout entire country.
Technical part of the programs’ dissemination is provided by the “Television and Radio Broadcasting Network of Armenia” CJSC. Financed from the state budget the company sets up a common antenna for villages like Shamut and provides Public TV broadcast in the area with a small broadcaster.
“However the peasants can add both Armenian and Russian channels. But we are responsible for Public TV and Radio only,” says the company’s executive director Ashot Simonyan.
Today there are 90 villages in Armenia, where due to this method only programs broadcasted by Public TV and Radio of Armenia are accessed. And according to Ashot Simonyan there is no a place in Armenia deprived of that opportunity. Quite another thing is claimed by the peasants of Shamut. They say that satellite antennas on the roofs of their houses have been obtained by their own initiative.
“Whoever has a satellite antenna on his roof, he has information. Who hasn’t, he has nothing,” says one of the peasants.
According to population census conducted in 2001 only 300 people were registered in Shamut, whereas the peasants insist that a lot of people have abandoned the village because of idleness. This year 7 pupils will graduate from 8-year school of the village. Instead it will have 3 first form pupils. During recent years there were double-assembled classes. Since last year a thrice-assembled one has been functioning, which means three different aged pupils studying there.
“Lack of information is one of the reasons of migration in the village,” say the peasants.
Source: CJTeam.org, Caucasus Media News Column
May 7, 2009
Should the journalist carry a legal gun to provide self-defense?
Violence against journalists is used in a lot of countries of the world (if not in all) every week (if not every day) and unfortunately the South Caucasus countries are not exclusion. Last week we learnt about cases of violence against journalists occurred simultaneously in three South Caucasus countries.
In Baku at about midnight while implementing their professional activity the ANS TV channel reporter Nijat Suleymanov, cameraman Elmin Muradov, and an employee of a corporate control service Azer Balaev, were brutally beaten by workers of the police administration of Yasamalsk district.
In Tbilisi in the evening of April 27 by the end of the protest rally ongoing in front of the Parliament building Levana Kalandia, “Rustavi -2”cameraman, was beaten at Kashueti Church by strangers.
And in Yerevan returning home from work Argishti Kiviryan, coordinator of ARMENIA Today, was attacked near his home. According to Kiviryan’s wife except being beaten with bats he was also shot but could turn the shooter’s hand and fortunately save his life.
So will the cases of violence decrease, if journalists are allowed to legally carry a gun, or will such kind of personal protection result in more dangerous consequences (for example the snipers’ will be given the go-ahead)?
April 29, 2009
Inestimable Information.
Local Self-government Bodies of Armenia Adopting a New Public Policy
By Karine Simonyan, CJTeam
29.04.2009
A unified intercommunity informational online base is being attempted to create in Armenia. Current information on the communities should be put on common website by each community every day.
According to experts creation of such a base information of which will be available to any visitor will promote freedom and publicity of information in the country.
The state-sponsored project is the initiative of the RA Ministry of Territorial Administration. Yet at the end of 2008 the Ministry ordered the local governing bodies to calculate the amount of sum they spend annually to provide information to population.
“Sorry?” responded many of the community heads, who didn’t understand the order.
“Many of the community heads didn’t even know what was meant,” says Marine Hakobyan, an expert of National Assembly of RA and of Freedom of Information Center. According to her the community heads have never planned such item of expenses for an operation provided for by law in the annual budget of the community.
And explanation is the following: there are no such expenses, as no information of the kind is provided, as nobody applies with such questions.
Especially the representatives from local self-governing bodies of the small communities say that the demand to get information is little. Misha Hovhannisyan, community head of the Eghegnut village of Lori region, says no expenses are made to provide information. Hovhannisyan doesn’t remember even when he has received a written enquiry from the peasants.
“Such questions are not even applied for, as the consciousness on coming to the village administration and asking for instance about the size of the neighbor’s plot or about an article of the budget hasn’t yet matured within the society, especially in the case it is not related to their private interests,” says the head of Eghegnut.
Peasants of each village in Armenia know each other and know very well about the business and property their neighbor possesses, and information of the kind is learnt about mainly while chatting in the rural yards.
Kima Shermazanyan, secretary of Dzoraget village community administration of the same region, says that the population of their community consists mainly of older people who are interested mostly in family allowances.
“They would like to know whether they are supposed to get an allowance or not and what kind of legislative modifications in regard to it occur,” says Shermazanyan.
However the heads of the village administrations are anxious about the new public policy adopted by the government and consider that it would create new problems for them, as they still meet difficulties while differentiating between the private and the public information.
The projects’ coordinator of the Freedom of Information Center (FIC) Anahit Kocharyan has another opinion. She supposes that a stereotype has been formed among the village heads according to which they believe the information under their possession be their property.
Recently the FIC tries actively to break that stereotype of the village heads and consistently sends questions to the communities on the local government budgets and on council decisions and waits for the answers.
“Information asked about from Yerevan is unexpected to the community heads. For example the mayor of Nor Hachn said anxiously that his community budget is not the business of a Yerevan citizen to demand information about. So the communities consider that the information concerning the budget is their property,” says Kocharyan.
In the case of denied questions the FIC applies to the court and claims to use administrative punish towards those community heads that do not provide information.
“If the community head’s pocket is directly touched, he will be more responsible in providing information,” says Kocharyan.
During the last several months the RA Administrative Court has received four suits from FIC and paid the claim on restoring the violated rights of getting information. But the same court has denied the claims of FIC on subjecting the officials to administrative penalty for not providing information.
The Center wasn’t disappointed and appealed to the RA Cassation Court on April 16. This time FIC claimed not only against those community heads who hadn’t provided information, but also against the Judge Ashot Sargsyan of the Administrative Court.
Source: CJTeam.org
