The Yerevan Press Club (YPC), which upholds freedom of speech, pluralism, and quality journalism as benchmarks, marks its 29th anniversary today.

Established in 1995, the organization aims to promote the growth of independent and high-quality mass media in Armenia.

In addition to accepting congratulations on this day, the Yerevan Press Club also congratulates and awards journalists who have distinguished themselves with high professionalism during the year.

After a hiatus of several years, the Yerevan Press Club held its annual award ceremony today, named “Ethical Journalism 2024”. The YPC presented awards to three journalists.

President of the Media Ethics Monitoring Body, Boris Navasardyan, mentioned the increasing polarization of the Armenian media field. He noted that it has become challenging to uphold journalistic ethics. However, he emphasized the significance of three award-winning journalists who have managed to maintain those principles.։  

“We understand very well that the trends in our political field and the media often do not contribute much to developing quality journalism. Unfortunately, many groups, driven by their personal interests, have even hindered this development. However, we have a great advantage. We are consistent, have clear principles, and will patiently continue our work. I am grateful to all the journalists for whom ethical principles remain important,” said Boris Navasardyan.

Arshaluys Mghdesyan, the host of the online TV station CivilNet and a political commentator, has been recognized and appreciated by the Yerevan Press Club for her interviews. She is known for addressing topics of public interest, inviting guests with essential insights, and being well-prepared and knowledgeable about her guests’ activities. As a result, she was awarded for adhering to the principles of professional ethics in journalism.

The other award winner was Hayarpi Baghdasaryan, a journalist from the Infocom website. Vigen Sargsyan, chairman of the Ethics Committee of the Yerevan Press Club, highlighted during the award presentation that the journalistic principle of “do no harm” is consistently evident in almost all of Hayarpi’s articles; this applies regardless of whether she’s reporting on citizens affected by natural disasters in Alaverdi, compatriots displaced from Artsakh, or the border situation of the villages in Tavush.

Empathetic and under no circumstances carried away by the obsession with publishing any information at hand. Hayarpi admitted that she is guided by these principles when telling a story.

“While covering different situations, I always have this conversation with myself so that I don’t inadvertently hurt the people I write about, as well as those who read my articles, with the emotional nature of my writing. I hope that all journalists and people will be more empathetic towards those around and will handle such issues carefully when making publications,” said Hayarpi Baghdasaryan.

At the annual Ethical Journalism Awards ceremony, Tirayr Muradyan, a journalist from the Hetq periodical, was announced as the next award winner.

Before introducing him, Mediamax Editor-in-Chief Davit Alaverdyan expressed in his congratulatory speech that if the public, including the journalistic community, eagerly anticipates Tirayr’s articles, then those involved in corruption transactions are dreading their release.

The journalist, dedicated to exposing illegal activities and corruption chains, mentioned that during their professional work, they sometimes experience disappointments and fear that quality journalism no longer impacts the events around them. However, receiving such awards once again highlights the journalist’s work.

“I want to say to all journalists who have despaired, who at some point thought that they were working in vain as if there was nothing more to do and nothing depended on them, no, it is not like that, and a lot depends on journalists and journalistic activity as a tool. As an influential tool, it will continue to be very influential,” Tirayr Muradyan said.

Photos by Ani Balayan (CivilNet)