REPORTING DIVERSITY
On February 16-18 in Yerevan a seminar “Covering Diversity: Making the Difference” was held by the London Media Diversity Institute with the assistance of Yerevan Press Club. The seminar brought together representatives of media and non-governmental, also journalistic, organizations of Armenia and Mountainous Karabagh, various minorities and communities of the country. The event was interactive and was moderated by Milica Pesic (MDI director), David Tuller (journalism expert, USA) and Aram Safarian (deputy director of Second Armenian TV Channel). The participants discussed the principles of diversity reporting, the attention, paid by Armenian media to the problems of various social groups, the need to avoid negative stereotyping by the media.
The seminar was organized under a South Caucasus project “Empowering Minorities and Developing the Media”, implemented by MDI with the support of European Commission. The Armenian partner of the project is YPC. Similar events will be held soon in Georgia and Azerbaijan.
PRESS-SERVICES AND MEDIA: INTERNATIONAL AND LOCAL EXPERIENCE
On February 13-15 in Tsaghkadzor a seminar “Relations of the State Institutions and Media: the International Experience” took place. The event was organized by Friedrich Naumann Foundation and Yerevan Press Club. Representatives of the Armenian media and the press-services of various state structures took part in the seminar. An expert from Germany Rolf Steltemeier introduced the participants to the German legislation, regulating the information field, and the experience of relations between the media and the administrative bodies, particularly during elections. A similar presentation on the situation in Bulgaria was made by Asparukh Panov, the deputy head of programs of Friedrich Naumann Foundation in Romania, Bulgaria and South Caucasus.
The meeting participants discussed the proposals on the improvement of the relations between the media and the state structures of the country. The presentation of the Yerevan Press Club President Boris Navasardian was devoted to the role of the journalistic associations in the resolution of the problems of the information sphere.
The Minister of Justice of Armenia David Harutiunian announced the initiative of the Ministry to develop a draft resolution of the RA Government to hold regular briefings to inform the journalists about the work done and the short-term plans of the executive.
SATELLITE PRESS-CONFERENCE YEREVAN-BAKU: THE REPRESENTATIVE OF AZERBAIJANI PRESIDENT’S ADMINISTRATION TOLD ABOUT THE POSITION OF BAKU IN KARABAGH RESOLUTION
On February 13 the tenth satellite press-conference Yerevan-Baku was held under the project of Yerevan and Baku Press Clubs “Possible Resolutions to the Karabagh Conflict: Expert Evaluations and Media Coverage”. The project is implemented with the support of OSI Network Media Program. Technical assistance in the conductance of the satellite bridge was provided by “Mir” Interstate TV and Radio Company and Internews.
The studio in Baku hosted the head of the Foreign Affairs Division of the Azerbaijani President’s Office Novruz Mamedov. The questions of the Armenian journalists from Yerevan studio mostly referred to the position of the official Baku to Karabagh issue and the ways for its resolution.
