The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) disseminated the annual worldwide survey “Attacks on the Press” in 2002.
The section on Armenia said in particular that in the run-up to presidential elections-2003, RA President Robert Kocharian, who was seeking another term, "muzzled dissenting voices in the press and called for more compliant media coverage of government policies":
“As a result, journalists continued to face criminal prosecution, attacks, and censorship. Meanwhile, poor economic conditions drove some members of the press to ignore journalistic standards and sell their skills to the highest bidder – even if that meant being a mouthpiece for a powerful politician or businessman."
The survey also notes that 2002 started with a controversy between the authorities and the journalistic community on the approval of the draft law "On Mass Communication" by the RA Government.
Among the negative incidents that occurred with the Armenian journalists and media last year, CPJ mentions the broadcast licensing competitions that deprived "A1+" and "Noyan Tapan" TV companies of frequencies as well as the legal actions that ensued; the grenade explosion that injured the Deputy Director of Caucasus Media Institute Mark Grigorian, and the assassination of the Chairman of the Public TV and Radio Council of Armenia Tigran Naghdalian that ended the year.
