On May 16 Media Fairplay, the new Russian language online resource was launched. The website is designed for boosting a more balanced coverage of Armenian-Azerbaijani relations and runs under the regional journalistic project, "Accurate and Unbiased Information Exchange between Armenia, Azerbaijan and Mountainous Karabagh", supported by the USA State Department. This initiative kicked off at the January 30-31, 2012 seminar in Tbilisi attended by representatives of media, journalistic organizations from Baku, Yerevan and Stepanakert. At the Tbilisi meeting the opportunities of creating joint information products, including an Internet source were discussed (see YPC Weekly Newsletter, January 27 – February 2, 2012).
Media Fairplay became the first embodiment of these ideas: an original tool-kit , which can be used by journalists, who are willing to comply with the rules of professional ethics, including the principles of accuracy, balance and impartiality – irrespective of how acute the theme and how complicated the context are.
On the Homepage journalistic investigations about the current aspects of the Karabagh conflict and Armenian-Azerbaijani relations, conducted under the abovementioned project, will be stored. The first such product is the piece “Passions around Eurovision: Why Isn’t Armenia Taking Part in Eurovision 2012?” that provides for three perspectives on a theme of large public resonance. The “Honors Board” section will present journalistic products, prepared under other initiatives and complying with requirements of accurate and impartial journalism. The “Bank of Ideas” section targets the creativity of website users and invites them to share ideas and recommendations. The “Studies” section contains a number of joint monitorings on the media coverage of the Armenian-Azerbaijani thematic, conducted by Yerevan Press Club and “Yeni Nesil” Journalists Union of Azerbaijan. The “LitLab” section presents literature works by contemporary Armenian and Azerbaijani writers.
