YEREVAN PRESS CLUB WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
SEPTEMBER 12-18, 2008
HIGHLIGHTS:
RA PRESIDENT SIGNED THE ADDITION TO THE BROADCAST LAW
PRIME MINISTER HAS A NEW PRESS-SECRETARY
ARMENIAN JOURNALIST RECEIVES GLOBAL SHINING LIGHT AWARD-2008
RADIO "VAN" WINS POPOV AWARD FOR THE FIFTH TIME
RA PRESIDENT SIGNED THE ADDITION TO THE BROADCAST LAW
On September 12 the President of Armenia Serge Sargsian signed the RA Law
"On Introducing an Addition to the RA Law ‘On Television and Radio’",
according to which the conductance of broadcast licensing competitions is
suspended till July 20, 2010. As it has been reported, the draft was
approved by the RA Government on August 28, was publicized only on September
8, the day the autumn session of the RA National Assembly opened, and was
adopted through a quickened procedure on September 10. The day before, on
September 9, five journalistic associations of the country called on the
deputies to vote against the draft. The signatories qualified the actions of
the Government as another proof that "its initiatives in media domain are
aimed not at ensuring the constitutional right to free receipt and
dissemination of information, not at the improvement of the domain, not at
the implementation of the commitments to the Council of Europe and
recommendations of PACE resolutions, but at retaining and strengthening the
total control over broadcasters, currently practiced" (see details in YPC
Weekly Newsletter, September 5-11, 2008).
Addition to the broadcast law will be enforced on the tenth day after the
official publication, that is, on September 27.
PRIME MINISTER HAS A NEW PRESS-SECRETARY
On September 13 Diana Mnatsakanian, previously the Head of the International
Affairs Department of the Public TV and Radio Company of Armenia, was
appointed to the position of the Press Secretary of the RA Prime Minister
Tigran Sargsian. Previously the functions of a press secretary were
performed by the Head of the Department of Public Relations and Information
of the RA Government Mary Harutiunian.
ARMENIAN JOURNALIST RECEIVES GLOBAL SHINING LIGHT AWARD-2008
On September 13 at the Global Investigative Journalism Conference in
Lillehammer, Norway, the winners of the Global Shining Light Award-2008 were
announced. The winner of the first prize was journalist from Sri Lanka
Sonali Samarasinghe. The second place was taken by the Chairman of
"Investigative Journalists" NGO, the Chief Editor of "Hetq" online
publication Edik Baghdasarian. The Armenian journalist was awarded for the
cycle of articles, published in "Hetq" in 2007, devoted to the activities of
the then RA Minister of Nature Protection Vardan Ayvazian, who issued his
family and staff licenses to develop over a dozen of mines, most of which
held gold or polymetallic resources.
The Global Shining Light Award was established in 2007 for investigative
journalists of developing or transitional countries that reported under
threat, duress or in the direst of conditions.
RADIO "VAN" WINS POPOV AWARD FOR THE FIFTH TIME
On September 12 in Tomsk the ceremony of International Popov Award in radio
broadcasting was held. The Award was established in 1998 by the Russian
Benevolent Fund of Broadcasting Development. This year in 14 nominations of
the competition the Russian-language radio stations of Russia, Belarus and
Armenia took part.
In the nomination "Specialized Program" the winner was "Genocide" program of
"Van" radio company of Yerevan. Notably, Radio "Van" has been taking part in
the competition since 2003 and wins the Award for the fifth time.
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Editor of YPC Newsletter – Elina POGHOSBEKIAN
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