On June 5 the Court of First Instance of Kentron and Nork-Marash Communities of Yerevan chaired by Judge Arayik Melkumyan partially satisfied Levon Kocharyan’s suit (younger son of RA former President Robert Kocharyan) against Haykakan Zhamanak daily (HZH). That is according to the court decision Haykakan Zhamanak must pay penalties of 3 mln 692 thousand AMD (US$10 000) instead of 16 mln 120 thousand AMD (US$43 500) demanded by the plaintiff.

The plaintiff says 3 000 000 AMD being the legal service fee, 620 000 drams – the income received by HZH as a result of the article publication and 72 000 drams will be levied as a state duty. The court also has instructed Haykakan Zhamanak to publish information rejecting the one disgracing Levon Kocharyan’s honor and dignity just the day after the court verdict formal entry into force.

Read More »The Verdict Reached: Haykakan Zhamanak to Pay 10 000 Dollar Penalties

This week JNews.am regional reporter talked to journalist Levon Barseghyan, the chairman of Gyumri Journalists’ Club “Asparez”, quite well-informed on the issues and obstacles faced by the regional media. Levon is one among those activists who have been struggling against the state bodies to prevent the airtime stoppage of Gyumri GALA TV for several months.

Question: Mr. Barseghayn, which are the peculiarities of the regional media and what is the difference between the national and the regional media?

Answer: 18 TV companies located in 18 regional cities have no local rivals. The newspapers published in about 30 regional cities are out of competition too. There are small markets, modest industrial capacities, relatively small staffs and lack of competition. Often the advertising markets of the local media are so badly developed, that they are not able to provide stable improvement for the local media.

Q: What development stage is the regional media at? Is it able to satisfy the information demands of the society?

Read More »Interview: Armenian Regional Media to Shelter under Different “Roofs”

Armenian and Georgian students will cooperatively cover the council elections in Yerevan scheduled for May 31. In this respect, from May 29 to June 1 students from the Yerevan based Caucasus Institute (CI) and the Georgian Institute of Public Affairs (GIPA) will now have the ability to utilize the most widely used new internet environments currently employed by the media.

The idea belongs to IREX/CMSPA, which, jointly with IWPR, IFES, GIPA and CI, has designed an opportunity for both the students and to four journalists from Nagorno-Karabagh and other regions of Armenia to provide fact-based and objective coverage of election process.

Their articles will be published on the CaucasusReports.com website, as well as disseminated throughout their personal blogs, Twitter, Facebook, Yutube and globalvoices.com.

Read More »Alternative Content: Armenian and Georgian Students

Finally the rock-lovers’ long-expected concert of the legendary British rock band Jethro Tull took place last Friday in Yerevan at the Sport and Concert Complex after Karen Demirchyan. The band members Ian Anderson and Martin Barre had a two-hour live concert for the Armenian audience.

The concert hall was crowded with people. Jethro Tull had joined the representatives of all generations irrespective of their status and official position. There were also guests from neighboring Georgia, who had arrived to enjoy Jethro Tull’s concert in Yerevan. And it was a real festival for everyone. Nostalgic moments were experienced by representatives of the 70’s generation.

They remember very well how they once could obtain Jethro Tull’s records and enjoy its music under the iron curtain of the Soviet Union. One among them was the ex-Minister of Education and Science of Armenia Spartak Seyranyan.

“The first time I heard Jethro Tull was in 1974, when I had the “Aqualung” album,” says Seyranyan. “Then it was difficult to get a rock album, we asked our relatives abroad to send or gathered money together with 3-4 friends to find a record, then listened to it as it passed from hand to hand.” Spartak Seyranyan says it’s also been very nice to meet his old friends at the concert, with whom he used to listen to rock in 70s.

Read More »Rock in Rocky Land: Legendary Jethro Tull’s Concert in Yerevan

Նախորդ ուրբաթ Երևանում Կարեն Դեմիրճանի անվան մարզահամերգային համալիրում վերջապես կայացավ ռոքի սիրահարների կողմից այդքան սպասված բրիտանական լեգենդար «Ջեթրո Թալ» ռոք նվագախմբի համերգը:

Խմբի անդամներ Յան Անդերսոնը և Մարտին Բարեն 2 ժամ շարունակ կենդանի երաժշտություն մատուցեցին հայ հանդիսատեսին:

Համերգային դահլիճը լեփլեցուն էր հանդիսատեսով: «Ջեթրո Թալ»-ը միավորել էր բոլոր սերունդների ներյացուցիչներին` անկախ իրենց կարգավիճակից և պաշտոնական դիրքից:  Հատուկ «Ջեթրո Թալ»-ի համերգին մասնակցելու նպատակով Երևան էին ժամանել նաև հարեւան Վրաստանից:

Եվ բոլորի համար սա իսկական տոն էր:

Իսկ դահլիճում գտնվող 70-ականների ներկայացուցիչները նոստալգիկ պահեր ապրեցին: Նրանք շատ լավ են հիշում, թե ինչպես էին Խորհրդային երկաթյա վարագույրների պարագայում կարողանում հայթայթել«Ջեթրո Թալ»-ի ձայներիզները և վայելել նրա երաժշտությունը:

Նրանցից է նաև Կրթության և գիտության նախկին նախարար Սպարտակ Սեյրանյանը: «Առաջին անգամ «Ջեթրո Թալ»-ին լսել եմ 74 թվականին, երբ ձեռքս ընկավ «Ակվալանգ» ալբոմը», – ասում է Սեյրանյանը: «Այն ժամանակ ռոք դժվար էր ճարել. արտասահամանում բնակվող մեր բարեկամներին էինք խնդրում ուղարկել կամ 3-4 ընկերով փող էինք հավաքում, որ կասետ գտնենք, հետո իրար փոխանցելով, հերթով լսում էինք»:

Սպարտակ Սեյրանյանը նշում է, որ հաճելի էր դահլիճում հանդիպել նաև հին ընկերներին, ում հետ 70-ականներին ռոք են լսել:

Read More »Ռոքը քարքարոտ երկրում. լեգենդար Ջեթրո Թալի համերգը Երևանում

This week the cinema hall of the Armenian Center for Contemporary Experimental Art (ACCEA) in Yerevan became a permanent place of visit to a lot of cinema-lovers. They came here to watch the films represented to international cinema festival “One minute, one shot”. This is a seven-year old annual festival held in Yerevan since 2003.

More than 100 films of 1 to 90-minute duration are represented to the festival launched on May 17. The authors are experimental film producers from Armenia, from CIS and European countries. Most of the films participate in the competition held within the framework of the festival, rivaling on three nominations: “One minute, one shot”, “Short film” and “Unlimited film”.

There is no restriction of the film form and genre. The majority of films (90 films) are presented for “One minute, one shot” nomination. Here the only restriction is that the film must not be longer than 1 minute and it must be shot in 1 frame. “Today it is possible to make a film with a cell phone, which will tell more, than a two-hour film prepared with professional techniques,” says the head of “NPAKINO” production, festival organizer Gagik Ghazareh.

Read More »A Lot of Films: A Week of One Minute – One Shot in Yerevan

Last week Media in Armenia actively covered cases of violence against journalists and the atmosphere of impunity in Armenia. The reason were cases of violence occurred against two journalists during a week-break period in Yerevan. A week later, on May 7, the April 30 violence against Argishti Kiviryan was followed by another one against SHANT TV anchor, 52-year-old Nver Mnatsakanyan. In both cases the attackers were waiting for the victims in front of the entrance of their buildings. According to the message disseminated by the police, Mnatsakanyan was beaten by two strangers, who escaped when neighbors responded to his calls for help. Fortunately he was not seriously injured and went home the same day after receiving medical aid at “Armenia” Medical Center.

According to Mnatsakanyan the attackers’ blows and pose certified on their athletic constitution. Mnatsakanyan ties the incident exclusively with his professional activity, as no other activity according to him he is engaged in. Hayots Ashkhar reports that Shant anchor felt the forthcoming danger linking it to Yerevan Mayor’s pre-electoral phase, when political aspirations heat day after day. Kiviryan’s case in National Security Service (NSS) Last week attack on Argishti Kiviryan continued to remain in the spotlight of the media.

Read More »Unpunished Cases, Unprotected Media: Armenian Media Digest, May 4-10

The border of journalist’s independence is limited there where employer’s interests start. The journalist can’t do more than dictated by the rules of the game. “Our freedom of speech is not unlimited, of course, while writing on political issues. But we are completely free when covering cultural topics,” says a leading journalist of “Lori” TV Lusine Sargsyan.

Journalists say it’s being more difficult to defense their own rights in small towns. In 10 years of its activity Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly Vanadzor office, dealing with human rights issues, has rarely received claims on rights violations of freedom of speech by Vanadzor journalists. Legal adviser Varduhi Harutyunyan of the organization considers one of the reasons to be journalists’ dependence on the authorities. Simply they know how to cover each topic.

“This is self-censorship. In this case they don’t need to be told what and how to do… This is “the best” way both to them and to their organizations to avoid problems,” says Harutyunyan. Lawyer Karen Tumanyan considers that the situation of freedom of speech and media in the republic is unsatisfactory, though according to him journalists of the local media organizations (those in provinces of Armenia) are more undefended.

Read More »Dangerous Zone? Cases of Self-Censorship in Vanadzor

By Karine Simonyan

When Garnik, a peasant of Shamut, appears in the center of the village, people surround him immediately to know the latest news and events in Armenia. Garnik himself learns about this news when talking with his Yerevan relatives by cell-phone. Garnik has willy-nilly become an alternative source of information for the peasants, as there is no television broadcasting in the village, and Armenian TV channels (H1, Shant, Armenia) could be watched only by those, who can afford to set up a satellite antenna on the roofs of their houses.

However, according to the peasants, besides news on TV they would like to receive alternative information. That is why any kind of information, told by Garnik, becomes a topic for hot discussions. Armenian village Shamut is one of the highest villages of Lori region at 1500 meters high above sea level. There is one road only to the village, which stretches after Shamut and ends in Atan village of Lori region (1700 meters high).

Read More »Via Space: Armenian Mountainous Village Shamut Gets Information from