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Haykakan Zhamanak, Armenia
Jan 15 2008
ARMENIAN TV DENIES RUMOURS OF BEING SOLD TO PREMIER'S RELATIVE
by Kristine Khanumyan
"Armenia TV reacted very wildly"
An article published in Aravot daily on Friday [11 January 2008] said
that Bagrat Sargsyan, the owner of Armenia TV, had sold his stocks
(75 per cent) to the son-in-law of Armenian Prime Minister Serzh
Sargsyan, Mikayel Minasyan.
The publication said that it is [Bagrat] Sargsyan's relatives who
will first suffer from the transaction, as [Bagrat] Sargsyan hired
most of them to work at the TV company, so in case Armenia TV is
sold, they could loose their jobs. However, in its next issue Aravot
printed a denial which said that there have been no changes in the
list of owners of the TV company. Aravot also said that its anonymous
sources, however, state the contrary, and that if they dare to
disclose and prove the opposite with documents, then the newspaper
will report this.
However, despite the denial printed in Aravot, the management of the
Armenia TV company has itself initiated an unprecedented series of
denials. Bagrat Sargsyan and some journalists of the TV company
denied for several days in their TV broadcasts the report printed in
Aravot. But this was not an ordinary denial, but a whole shower of
denials which were broadcast on Saturday [12 January] and Sunday [13
January] on the "Zham" news bulletin.
It is obvious that the article in Aravot seriously worried the
Armenia TV management. We did not manage to clarify why the Armenia
TV management was in such confusion - the general director of the TV
company, Gagik Lazarian, refused to provide any comments in this
regard. The latter only answered to all our questions: "Without
comments."
For his part, the chief editor of Aravot daily, Aram Abrahamyan, told
us that although he did not watch the series of denials by Bagrat
Sahakyan, such strong reaction of his colleagues was also a surprise
for them. "I can't tell what it is caused by. I can speak only for my
part - not to defame anyone, not to insult anyone, to provide
trustworthy information," Abrahamyan said.
Jan 15 2008
ARMENIAN TV DENIES RUMOURS OF BEING SOLD TO PREMIER'S RELATIVE
by Kristine Khanumyan
"Armenia TV reacted very wildly"
An article published in Aravot daily on Friday [11 January 2008] said
that Bagrat Sargsyan, the owner of Armenia TV, had sold his stocks
(75 per cent) to the son-in-law of Armenian Prime Minister Serzh
Sargsyan, Mikayel Minasyan.
The publication said that it is [Bagrat] Sargsyan's relatives who
will first suffer from the transaction, as [Bagrat] Sargsyan hired
most of them to work at the TV company, so in case Armenia TV is
sold, they could loose their jobs. However, in its next issue Aravot
printed a denial which said that there have been no changes in the
list of owners of the TV company. Aravot also said that its anonymous
sources, however, state the contrary, and that if they dare to
disclose and prove the opposite with documents, then the newspaper
will report this.
However, despite the denial printed in Aravot, the management of the
Armenia TV company has itself initiated an unprecedented series of
denials. Bagrat Sargsyan and some journalists of the TV company
denied for several days in their TV broadcasts the report printed in
Aravot. But this was not an ordinary denial, but a whole shower of
denials which were broadcast on Saturday [12 January] and Sunday [13
January] on the "Zham" news bulletin.
It is obvious that the article in Aravot seriously worried the
Armenia TV management. We did not manage to clarify why the Armenia
TV management was in such confusion - the general director of the TV
company, Gagik Lazarian, refused to provide any comments in this
regard. The latter only answered to all our questions: "Without
comments."
For his part, the chief editor of Aravot daily, Aram Abrahamyan, told
us that although he did not watch the series of denials by Bagrat
Sahakyan, such strong reaction of his colleagues was also a surprise
for them. "I can't tell what it is caused by. I can speak only for my
part - not to defame anyone, not to insult anyone, to provide
trustworthy information," Abrahamyan said.