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2014 tense year for Armenian media - report
17:33 * 30.01.15
2014 was a year of pressures and challenges for the Armenian media and
also a period of financial challenges, the Committee to Protect
Freedom of Expression has found.
Summing up the organization's 2014 report, its president, Ashot
Melikyan, said Friday that most of the media outlets faced restriction
on freedom, with most threats coming from government institutions.
"They had to resist challenges and many threats, and attempts to
restrict their rights and freedom of expression in general," he told
reporters.
Melikyan particularly cited the amended Civil Code which criminalized
reference to fake social media posts containing libelous or defamatory
remarks.
Nine media organizations, including the Committee, earlier condemned
the measure eventually causing the National Assembly to decide on
delaying its implementation for an indefinite period.
A report by the Prosecutor General's Office, calling for criminal
liability against anyone publishing inquest data without its
permission, is also considered dangerous for the media.
The violations of rights against the media and journalists have
decreased respectively to 65 and 77 cases in 2014, the report found.
But the pressures increased in number: in the first two quarters
alone, 29 cases were reported. Another 14 cases were registered in the
following six months/.
"The economic conditions for the media cannot be considered favorable
insofar as the Committee's evaluations suggest. Financial difficulties
have become a chronic disease for the vast majority of outlets. A
number of newspapers had to raise their sales prices at the beginning
of the year," reads the document.
It cites the 2013 and 2014 hike in the electric power prices and the
late-2014 currency devaluation as extra burden for most of the
outlets.
The wire radio network was also suspended despite its one-time wide
popularity. The Television and Radio Broadcasting Network cited the
network's non=profitability as a reason for such a decision.
http://www.tert.am/en/news/2015/01/30/Protect-Freedom-of-Speech/1574413
17:33 * 30.01.15
2014 was a year of pressures and challenges for the Armenian media and
also a period of financial challenges, the Committee to Protect
Freedom of Expression has found.
Summing up the organization's 2014 report, its president, Ashot
Melikyan, said Friday that most of the media outlets faced restriction
on freedom, with most threats coming from government institutions.
"They had to resist challenges and many threats, and attempts to
restrict their rights and freedom of expression in general," he told
reporters.
Melikyan particularly cited the amended Civil Code which criminalized
reference to fake social media posts containing libelous or defamatory
remarks.
Nine media organizations, including the Committee, earlier condemned
the measure eventually causing the National Assembly to decide on
delaying its implementation for an indefinite period.
A report by the Prosecutor General's Office, calling for criminal
liability against anyone publishing inquest data without its
permission, is also considered dangerous for the media.
The violations of rights against the media and journalists have
decreased respectively to 65 and 77 cases in 2014, the report found.
But the pressures increased in number: in the first two quarters
alone, 29 cases were reported. Another 14 cases were registered in the
following six months/.
"The economic conditions for the media cannot be considered favorable
insofar as the Committee's evaluations suggest. Financial difficulties
have become a chronic disease for the vast majority of outlets. A
number of newspapers had to raise their sales prices at the beginning
of the year," reads the document.
It cites the 2013 and 2014 hike in the electric power prices and the
late-2014 currency devaluation as extra burden for most of the
outlets.
The wire radio network was also suspended despite its one-time wide
popularity. The Television and Radio Broadcasting Network cited the
network's non=profitability as a reason for such a decision.
http://www.tert.am/en/news/2015/01/30/Protect-Freedom-of-Speech/1574413