Financial Mirror, Cyprus
Jan 3 2007
TIME carries documentary, adopts policy on Armenian Genocide
03/02/2007
The Feb. 12, 2007 issue of the European edition of TIME magazine —
available in newsstands throughout Europe as of Feb. 2 — carries a
full-page factual announcement on the Armenian Genocide, along with a
complimentary DVD, in English and French, which contains a compelling
52-minute documentary on the Armenian Genocide by French director
Laurence Jourdan. The DVD also includes a 46-minute interview with
Dr. Yves Ternon, a leading expert on the Armenian Genocide.
Both the DVD and the full-page ad were provided free of charge by
TIME Europe (circulation 550,000) after realizing that its staff,
without proper review, had inserted in the June 6, 2005 issue of TIME
Europe a Turkish DVD as a paid advertisement under the guise of
promoting tourism to Turkey. The Turkish DVD, paid for by the Ankara
Chamber of Commerce, was a deceitful attempt to spread malicious lies
and denialist propaganda on the Armenian Genocide.
To correct this error, TIME (Europe) published, in its October 17,
2005 issue, a critical page-long letter to the editor jointly signed
by five French organizations. In an Editor’s note appended to the
letter, TIME apologized for disseminating the Turkish DVD.
In December 2005, the five organizations along with the
Switzerland-Armenia Association (SAA), the French Association of
Armenian Lawyers and Jurists (AFAJA), the European – Armenian
Federation for Justice and Democracy (EAFJD), and The California
Courier newspaper reached an amicable agreement with TIME executives
ensuring that the facts of the Armenian Genocide are not distorted
again in the pages of the magazine.
Subsequently, Michael Elliott, the Editor of TIME International,
issued the following public statement: "Please be advised that, in
common with other leading news organizations, it is TIME’s policy and
practice to refer to the Armenian genocide as a historical fact.
Accordingly, I will be informing our correspondents and editors that
the term ‘Armenian genocide’ should be used without qualification."
The abovementioned organizations said in an announcement that are
fully satisfied with the corrective steps taken by TIME magazine.
They are also pleased that the Turkish attempt to distort the facts
of the Armenian Genocide, supported by considerable financial
resources, was properly countered as a result of these organizations’
close cooperation with TIME which placed journalistic ethics above
all other considerations.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
