CHANGES EXPECTED IN ARMENIAN TV MANAGEMENTS AHEAD OF PRESIDENTIAL POLLS – DAILY
Armenian newspaper 168 Zham
23 Aug 07, p 3
Yerevan
Excerpt from Lilit Seyranyan’s report by Armenian newspaper 168 Zham
on 23 August headlined "New TV season, new owners"
The authorities are planning serious changes in the Armenian TV
sector in September. They, however, keep this secret for unknown
reasons. We think that everybody understands why they have decided
to make personnel changes in the TV sector.
The thing is that the authorities have already set the date of the
next presidential election: it will be held on 17 February 2008. They
have also decided that Minister for Territorial Administration
Hovik Abrahamyan, who headed the election campaign headquarters
of the [governing] Republican Party of Armenia during the [12 May]
parliamentary election, will lead [Prime Minister] Serzh Sargsyan’s
campaign. One of the main factors when preparing for the presidential
election is making the TV sector more controllable with the help of
more loyal people.
[Passage omitted: the authorities do not care for papers due to their
small circulation]
According to our sources, Harutyun Harutyunyan, the director of the
[Public TV] "Haylur" news programme, and Public TV director Armen
Arzumanyan will be sacked. Changes will also affect Public Radio,
whose director Armen Amiryan, according to the same sources, will quit.
[Passage omitted: Amiryan told the paper he is not aware of such
changes]
There are also rumours that there will be changes of ownership at the
H2 [Second Armenian TV Channel], ALM and Kentron TV channels. According
to our information, ALM’s management will be handed over the Sharm
Company, which, for a short period, managed Kentron TV.
But as always, Tigran Karapetyan, the chairman of the ALM Holding
company, refuses to confirm that the authorities are trying to take
away his TV company from him.
[Passage omitted: Karapetyan is quoted by the paper he has no plans
of selling his company]
As for H2, according to the information we have, the authorities
have decided to sell it to businessman Mikhail Baghdasarov. There
are rumours that Murad Muradyan, the owner of the BAMO Company,
will become the owner of Kentron TV.
It is unclear why the authorities keep all these possible changes
secret.
Maybe, they have not yet decided who should be given which TV company.