MEETING OF MEDIA HEADS, MEMBERING IN SELF-REGULATION INITIATIVE
On May 27-28 in Aghveran a meeting of Media Ethics Observatory and the heads of media, who supported the initiative of Yerevan Press Club and signed on March 10, 2007 the Code of Conduct of Media Representatives and the Declaration of Principles of Elections and Referenda Coverage (see YPC Weekly Newsletter, March 9-15, 2007). As of today, these documents are signed by 31 media. The initiative is also supported by 8 journalistic associations.
At the meeting in Aghveran the activities of the Media Ethics Observatory were presented, the mission of which is the consideration of complaints about the violation of the Code of Conduct of Media Representatives and making judgments on them. The participants discussed also the proposals on amending the Code of Conduct, rotating the MEO and other issues.
The event was organized by YPC with the support of Open Society Institute.
INCIDENT DURING COURT SESSION
On May 27 at the session of court of general jurisdiction of Kentron and Nork-Marash communities of Yerevan an incident happened, involving a police officer Edgar Petrosian and the correspondent of “Taregir” newspaper Gayaneh Arustamian. At the court the case of Misak Hovakimian, charged with violence against a representative of power during the events of March 1, 2008 in Yerevan, was being heard. As YPC was told by Gayaneh Arustamian, during the interrogation of Edgar Petrosian, who was involved in the trial as the injured party, she put a recorder in front of him. The police officer switched it off. Having noticed this, Gayaneh Arustamian again turned the recorder on and warned Edgar Petrosian not to switch it off. According to the journalist, as she was turning round to get back to her place, she happened to touch the police officer’s shirt with her pen. The officer punched her in her shoulder in response. A quarrel started, as a result of which the judge asked Gayaneh Arustamian to leave the courtroom.
On May 28 the incident in the court room was covered by a number of newspapers. In particular, “Haikakan Zhamanak” daily noted in the postscript to its story about the occurrence that “the fact of the incident with the journalist can be taken by the Prosecutor’s Office to be a report about a crime”.
TIGRAN LILOYAN AWARDED THE TITLE OF JOURNALIST EMERITUS
On May 26 the RA President Serge Sargsian awarded honorary titles to Armenian culture figures – to mark the Republic Day of May 28. The title of “Journalist Emeritus” was awarded to the correspondent of ITAR-TASS Russian news agency Tigran Liloyan.
