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2007 Assessment

Armenia: Integrity Indicators Scorecard

Armenia: Integrity Scorecard Report > Sub-Category: Media
Indicators		Score
5	Are media and free speech protected?	100
6	Are citizens able to form print media entities?	100
7	Are citizens able to form broadcast (radio and TV) media entities?	69
8	Can citizens freely use the Internet?	100
9	Are the media able to report on corruption?	67
10	Are the media credible sources of information?	30
11	Are journalists safe when investigating corruption?	100

Indicator and sub-Indicator Details

Are media and free speech protected?

5a: In law, freedom of the media is guaranteed.

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: The Law on Mass Media of the Republic of Armenia www.arlis.am

5b: In law, freedom of speech is guaranteed.

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: The Constitution of the Republic of Armenia www.arlis.am

Are citizens able to form print media entities?

6a: In practice, the government does not create barriers to form a print media entity.

Score:

100

Comments:

References: Law on Mass Media Interview with the Mesrop Harutyunyan, lead journalist of the Yerevan Press Club (August, 9, 2007, at Yerevan Press Club)

Peer Review Comments: I really don't know if Harutyunya is the best source. In practice, it isn't all that easy to establish a new print outlet in Armenia. Numerous forms need to be approved, which provide the government with veto points.

6b: In law, where a print media license is necessary, there is an appeal mechanism if a license is denied or revoked.

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: The Law on Media of the Republic of Armenia www. parliament.am www.arlis.am

6c: In practice, where necessary, citizens can obtain a print media license within a reasonable time period.

Score:

100

Comments: There is no need to obtain a license tor print media. Everyone in Armenia can print a newspaper without license.

References: Law on Mass Media of the Republic of Armenia www.parliament.am www. arlis.am Interview with Mesrop Harutyunyan, lead journalist of Yerevan Press Club (August 9, 2007, at Yerevan Press Club)

Peer Review Comments: In practice, it isn't all that easy to establish a new print outlet in Armenia. Numerous forms need to be approved, which provide the government with veto points.

6d: In practice, where necessary, citizens can obtain a print media license at a reasonable cost.

Score:

100

Comments: There is no need for license to print newspaper. Everyone in Armenia can print a newspaper without license.

References: Law on Mass Media of the Republic of Armenia, www. arlis.am Interview with Mesrop Harutyunyan, lead journalist of Yerevan Press Club, (August 9, 2007 at Yerevan Press Club)

Peer Review Comments: We should include time as a cost, not just money.

Are citizens able to form broadcast (radio and TV) media entities?

7a: In practice, the government does not create barriers to form a broadcast (radio and TV) media entity.

Score:

100

Comments: By making amendments to the law on the state tax and the law on TV and radio broadcasting, the government set the basic duty to the amount AMD 70.000 to be paid by foreign TV and broadcasting companies for each appearance on radio or TV and prior consent by the Public Council on TV is available. The activities of foreign TV and broadcasting companies in Armenia might be banned. Evidently, this step was aimed against the Armenian Service of Liberty Radio Company, whose closure the government thought overdue. (See Aravot daily newspaper, June 28, 2007, p.1, June 29, 2007, p.2, and Haykakan Zhamanak daily newspaper, June 28, 2007, p.2 , and June 29, 2007, p.2)

References: Interviews with Mesrop Harutyunyan, journalist of Yerevan Press Club (August 9, 2007, at Yerevan Press Club), and Stepan Danielyan, chairman of "Collaboration for Democracy Union" (August 7, 2007, at his office) Media reports

Peer Review Comments: Another limitation refers to the announcement of the currency. When not favorable, the committee may delay announcing a competition for a valid currency, thus creating informal obstacles for the development of the free media. Moreover, the competitions are not conducted in a fair manner. The case with A1+ TV is the most obvious example.

7b: In law, where a broadcast (radio and TV) media license is necessary, there is an appeal mechanism if a license is denied or revoked.

Score:

YES

Comments: There are not any appeals mechanisms adopted in the Law on Mass Media, however, TV and broadcasting entities can appeal to court, as usually happens.

References: The Law on Mass Media of the Republic of Armenia www. parliament.am Interview with Mesrop Harutyunyan, lead journalist of Yerevan Press Club (August 9, 2007, at Yerevan Press Club)

7c: In practice, where necessary, citizens can obtain a broadcast (radio and TV) media license within a reasonable time period.

Score:

100

Comments:

References: The Law on TV Broadcasting of the Republic of Armenia www. arlis.am

Peer Review Comments: Six months or more is not a reasonable period.

Peer Review Comments: It's very difficult to scale this item. If allowed to proceed and win in the competition for a certain currency, then yes.

7d: In practice, where necessary, citizens can obtain a broadcast (radio and TV) media license at a reasonable cost.

Score:

100

Comments: The license is necessary to obtain only broadcasting and TV.

Can citizens freely use the Internet?

8a: In practice, the government does not prevent citizens from accessing content published online.

Score:

100

Comments: In Armenia only a small percentage of population (approximately 4% to 5%) have an opportunity to access the Internet.

References: Interviews with Mesrop Harutyunyan, lead journalist of Yerevan Press Club (August 9, 2007, at Yerevan Press Club), and Karen Zadoyan, president of Armenian Young Lawyers Association"( July 23, 2007, at his office)

Peer Review Comments: There is no exact data on Internet access but 4 percent to 5 percent of the population is a very small number. For example Internet World Stat reports 6 percent ([ LINK ]) and local providers claim 10 percent.

8b: In practice, the government does not censor citizens creating content online.

Score:

100

Comments: In Armenia only a small percent of the population (approximately 4% to 5%) have the opportunity to access the Internet.

Are the media able to report on corruption?

9a: In law, it is legal to report accurate news even if it damages the reputation of a public figure.

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: The Law on Mass Media of the Republic of Armenia www.parliament.am www.arlis.am

9b: In practice, the government or media owners/distribution groups do not encourage self-censorship of corruption-related stories.

Score:

100

Comments: There is no problem publishing corruption-related stories with the opposition or neutral media (Haykakan Jamanak, Chorrord Ishkanutyun, 168 jam, Jamanak Yerevan, Aravot, Iravunq, etc.). However, pro-government media, especially state TV and radio companies, restrict or do not encourage corruption-related stories.

References: Interviews with Mesrop Harutyunyan, lead journalist of Yerevan Press Club (August 9, 2007, at Yerevan Press Club), and Stepan Danielyan, chairman of "Collaboration for Democracy Union" (August 7, 2007, at his office) Media reports

Peer Review Comments: Besides pro-governmental media scientific journals like National Accademy of Science, Harold of Yerevan State University also refuses to publish corruption-related articles.

9c: In practice, there is no prior government restraint (pre-publication censoring) on publishing corruption-related stories.

Score:

100

Comments: There is no problem for publishing corruption-related stories in the opposition or neutral media (Haykakan Zhamanak, Chorrord Ishkhanutyun, 168 Zham, Zhamanak Yerevan, Aravot, Iravunq, etc.). However, pro-government media, especially state TV and radio companies, restrict or do not encourage corruption-related stories.

References: Interview with Mesrop Harutyunyan, the lead journalist of the Yerevan Press Club (August 9, 2007, at Yerevan Press Club) Media reporting and observation

Are the media credible sources of information?

10a: In law, print media companies are required to disclose their ownership.

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: There is no such requirement for printed media in the Law on Mass Media of the Republic of Armenia www.arlis.am

10b: In law, broadcast (radio and TV) media companies are required to disclose their ownership.

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: The Law on Television and Radio Broadcasting of the Republic of Armenia is requiring the disclosure of the whole ownership team www.arlis.am

10c: In practice, journalists and editors adhere to strict, professional practices in their reporting.

Score:

100

Comments: In practice, there are many cases when state-owned or pro-government media editors and journalists are publishing favorable stories for politicians and businessmen. Some journalists earn money this way. However, there are very few cases when journalists from independent media are making media coverage in favor of certain politicians in exchange for money.

References: Interviews with Mesrop Harutyunyan, lead journalist of the Yerevan Press Club (August 9, 2007, at Yerevan Press Club), and Stepan Danielyan, chairman of "Collaboration for Democracy Union" (August 7, 2007, at his office) Media Monitoring

10d: In practice, during the most recent election, political parties or independent candidates received fair media coverage.

Score:

100

Comments: In Armenia political parties and independent candidates during the last elections were given unequal and unfair media coverage. State Television and Radio set very high fees for opposition parties and candidates. The private pro-government TV stations also avoid providing time to opposition leaders or they establish inaccessible fees for opposition parties and independent candidates.

10e: In practice, political parties and candidates have equitable access to state-owned media outlets.

Score:

100

Comments: Very few candidates from opposition parties and independent candidates with opposition views have an opportunity to access state-owned media outlets.

Peer Review Comments: The results of media monitoring (Caucasus Media Institute, Yerevan Press Club etc.) show that there is no total discrimination, even though access is not equal.

Are journalists safe when investigating corruption?

11a: In practice, in the past year, no journalists investigating corruption have been imprisoned.

Score:

YES

$Scoring Criteria :: YES: A YES score is earned if there were no journalists imprisoned related to work covering corruption during the study period. A YES score is positive. NO: A NO score is earned if any journalist was jailed because of his/her work covering corruption during the study period. The causal relationship between the official charges and the journalist\'s work may not be explicit, however the burden of proof here is low. If it seems likely that the journalist was imprisoned due to his or her work, then the indicator is scored as a NO. Corruption is defined broadly to include any abuses of power, not just the passing of bribes.$

Comments:

References: Interview with lead journalist of Yerevan Press Club Mesrop Harutyunyan (August 7, 2007, at his office) Media reports

11b: In practice, in the past year, no journalists investigating corruption have been physically harmed.

Score:

YES

Comments: In reality, the corrupted governmental structures are" working" with the journalists with more "soft" methods like suing or frightening them.

References: There are no any documented cases on this issue. Interview with Vakhtang Siradegyan, the media representative of Transparency International-Armenia (July 27, 2007, at his office)

11c: In practice, in the past year, no journalists investigating corruption have been killed.

Score:

YES

$Scoring Criteria :: YES: A YES score is earned if there were no documented cases of journalists being killed because of their work covering corruption-related issues during the study period. A YES score is positive. NO: A NO score is earned if there were any documented cases where a journalist was killed in relation to his or her work covering corruption-related issues in the study period. The relationship between a mysterious death and an individual\'s work may not be clear, however the burden of proof here is low. If it is a reasonable guess that a person was killed in relation to his or her work on corruption issues, then the indicator is scored as a NO. Corruption is defined broadly to include any abuses of power, not just the passing of bribes.$

Comments:

References: There were no any documented cases or information on this issue. Interview with Vakhtang Siradegyan, the media representative of the Transparency International Armenia (July 27, 2007) Media reporting