On October 8-9 the majority of the national newspapers of Armenia were published with a full-color supplement "Elections to Local Self-Administration Bodies -2002". The 16-page supplement features stories prepared by a group of 48 representatives of 28 media of Armenia in cooperation with three American journalists. For over a month the journalist team listened to people in different regions of the country tell about their problems. These discussions were used in the stories published. The supplement also presented "self-help guides" for voters to make a responsible choice, as well as paid political and commercial advertising.
The supplement is issued with the assistance of IREX/ProMedia and USAID and will be distributed free of charge not only with print media, but also via non-governmental and governmental structures, as well as directly among the voters. According to the editorial, the purpose of the supplement is to prepare the readers to elections of October 20, 2002.
A similar action is expected to take place next year, before the presidential and parliament elections.
