PLURALISM, "POLITICAL HOUR" AND "DIRECTOR IS NOT IN HIS PLACE"
KarabakhOpen
13-03-2008 13:19:22
In the meeting of parliament on March 12 the president of the Public
Television and Radio Board Vardges Bagiryan made a report on the
activity of the Public Television and Radio in 2007.
He informed that in 2007 the government spent 164 million drams on the
Public TV and Radio, a few series of programs were produced most of
which stopped in 2008. Of the last year’s programs only two remain:
Rural Panorama and Classic Wave.
After listening to the report, the members of parliament asked the
head of the Board sharp questions. In particular, Member of Parliament
Gegham Baghdasaryan reminded Vardges Bagiryan that last year during
the report the ex-president of the board said it is necessary to set
up talk shows and debates but there are no such programs on the public
television yet.
"What are you going to do to have the full spectrum of opinions on
the public TV?" asked Gegham Baghdasaryan. In answer Vardges Bagiryan
noted the importance of holding discussions and providing pluralism but
the possibilities of the TV company are not sufficient for this. He
said such an effort has been made recently but the quality of the
footage was bad due to bad sound. "We have discussed this with the
president and considered several options, including a new studio,"
Vardges Bagiryan said.
During the meeting of parliament Davit Babayan’s program "Political
Hour" was criticized heavily. Speaker Ashot Ghulyan said the program
is not interesting, neither the format nor the topics, and advised
to reconsider the approaches.
Member of Parliament Romella Dadayan was categorical regarding the
issue of the executive director of the Public TV and Radio. She
underlined that the person in this position should be a professional
who is able to ensure normal activities of the structure. "The
executive director is not in his place," Romella Dadayan.