Q&A with Edik Baghdasarian
Before the A1+ shutdown, Baghdasarian spoke to Transitions Online contributor Onnik Krikorian in Yerevan about journalism at home and in the diaspora press.
Edik Baghdasarian, the founder of Versus Film Studios, has been dealing with press freedom issues for years and has been a major critic of self-censorship and political meddling in the media. He is the co-founder and chairman of the Association of Investigative Journalists of Armenia, created in July 2000 with the objective of assisting the development of investigative journalism in Armenia and strengthening freedom of speech and democratic principles. To date, the group has looked into alleged violations during the privatization of the ArmenTel telecommunications network and investigated HIV infection at the National Blood Center. The association is also involved in drawing up draft legislation for a freedom of information bill in Armenia.
Before the A1+ shutdown, Baghdasarian spoke to Transitions Online contributor Onnik Krikorian in Yerevan about journalism at home and in the diaspora press.
Onnik Krikorian: Why was the Association of Investigative Journalists established?
Edik Baghdasarian: Unfortunately, serious journalism is not developed in Armenia, although there were several newspapers that chose the path of professionalism after independence. In particular, the Azg daily had been a good school for many journalists, but after the Ramgavar party put pressure on the newspaper, many of its journalists left.
Others, however, chose the path of yellow journalism, and political parties soon had major influence over the media.
Krikorian: I've seen some of the films produced by Versus on various Armenian television stations. Given the subject matter--on religious minorities, deaths in the Armenian military, and conditions in Armenian prisons--was it difficult to get airtime?
Baghdasarian: It was difficult, but many independent television stations in the regions broadcast our films and still repeat them. However, National [Public] TV and the private AR TV company refused to broadcast two films on ArmenTel and the Earthquake Zone in 1998, although A1+ later broadcast them.
[Editor's Note: The public National TV did, however, broadcast Baghdasarian's film on religious minorities in Armenia on 25 January 2001, the day Armenia entered the Council of Europe.]
Krikorian: The ArmenTel film even raised some questions in the Armenian parliament about the privatization. Did it result in any action?
Baghdasarian: Members of parliament did not see this film initially, but we later organized a public showing especially for deputies in the National Assembly. In fact, after its presentation they did became more active in raising the issue of the ArmenTel privatization.
Krikorian: Regarding access to a reliable news service, when I watch television here, it appears that all of the news programs are pro-government with the exception of A1+. For example, National TV and Channel Armenia seem to just broadcast what can perhaps be described as propaganda, but A1+ seems to broadcast real news about real people and real issues. Is that the situation?
Baghdasarian: I agree with you that A1+ is better, but perhaps only more objective when compared with the other stations. It is certainly more realistic.
Krikorian: I understand that the circulation of newspapers in Armenia is very low. Is this because people cannot afford to buy newspapers or simply because the population doesn't believe what they read?
Baghdasarian: I'm sure that people living in the regions of Armenia really want to buy newspapers but many editors aren't interested in increasing their circulation. Sponsors are only interested in communicating with their own supporters, which might only number between 2,000 and 3,000.
They really aren't interested in the general public. Distribution is very poor, especially in the regions, and there is mistrust among the population regarding what is written in the newspapers.
Krikorian: One issue that international organizations always raise when referring to the Armenian media is self-censorship. Some journalists choose not to write certain articles because party allegiances and threats and intimidation from political and economic interests prevent them from doing so. How prevalent is self-censorship among journalists in Armenia?
Baghdasarian: There are several examples, but in particular, journalists know that they cannot publish anything against their sponsors. Even if their journalists found out anything interesting, they wouldn't use it. As an example, one businessman and member of parliament had a quarrel with another deputy several months ago. The television channel A1+ filmed the incident and several other journalists were present but nobody reported the event. I don't know whether the businessman called any of the journalists later, but the fact is that there was only silence
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