Media.am continues its interviews with chief editors of local newspapers on the problems and survival prospects of the print media in Armenia.

At the end of the series, the overall trends will be summarized.

Our interviewee in this segment is Asparez chief editor Levon Barseghyan. (Not to be confused with the Armenian-American publication Asbarez.)

“The newspaper and the internet can be made into a hybrid”

Asparez daily
Founded in 2011.
Published twice a month.
Circulation: 650
Printing: black and white, 8 pages.
Revenue sources: international grants, subscription and newsstand sales, advertising (way too little)
Online version since 2004.

What’s the point of keeping such a low-circulation newspaper, even if it’s the only daily paper in the marz [province]?

The hope is that over time we’ll be able to conquer the market. We’re currently not self-sustainable; in our case, that will be by printing at least 900–1,000 copies [per issue]. That many will begin to turn a profit, because we have our [own] printing house in Gyumri.

Do you try to get the paper to the capital?

We don’t try — we do. By 2 am, we get the paper to the Haymamul [“Armenian press”] building, from where Press Stand, Haymamul and Haypost get their allotments, scattering them across the country.

In Gyumri, we keep only the 60 subscriber copies; the rest is sent from Yerevan to all the regional kiosks, including Gyumri, Vanadzor…

Are any copies returned?

Yes, of course. We have a return of about 250–300 copies. Unfortunately, we’re not provided with the geograph[ical details], and I can’t say where the returns are mainly coming from, and this hurts the paper’s advancement in the market. 

Do you yourselves try to ask at the kiosks where and how [the issues] are sold?

You can’t inquire at all several hundred kiosks, but sometimes we pass by on foot and we ask. It’s happened often that they’ve said we don’t have that paper, it’s been sold, but we see it’s sitting on top of the drawer in the back. 

What’s the explanation for this?

I explain it with some dissatisfaction with the content in the articles.

In other words, the newsstand vendor has already read it and knows what’s in the paper?

I think that in some cases either they’re following instructions or they say, fine, don’t put it like that in plain sight. Say, the headline reads: Serzh [Sargsyan] like so. Well now, that’s how the columnist titled it.

Are there overt pressure, threats, court cases in response to the paper’s publications?

No, there haven’t been any tied to the paper. There was a defamation lawsuit against Asparez [Journalists’] Club, but the plaintiff lost.

Our paper has a specific policy, and it’s been long declared: whoever would like to say something, to oppose, anyone can step forward without editorial interference. 

Can someone with the most extremist ideas, for instance?

Anyone. Who am I to judge what ideas he has? Simply that a person must be responsible for what he wrote. If he finds that he is offended by some article, he is affected, he is free to approach the courts and the paper. 

Sometimes they contact us, [saying], you know, there’s an inaccuracy; we promptly publish it. There have been times when their view has been dubious, but I find that it should be published.

Let me tell you more: when Georgy Vanyan organized a screening of films, he asked us for venue space. We said, come, screen [your films].

It was in 2012. The mayor was Vardan Ghukasyan. There was a rally against that screening, during which heard were many calls to set me on fire, to check my blood [to see if I’m really Armenian]. 

My journalists were wavering: should they describe these details in their news stories? I said, definitely, for everyone to know that there’s this view, even about me.

Who are your regular readers?

First, let me say, before getting it to readers, the newspaper costs us more than they pay. But this, of course, is not an accusation against them. 

Our subscribers are doctors, seismic services employees, officials from the mayor’s office and marzpetaran [regional administration], hotel and museum employes, cultural workers, other individual citizens…

Does the online version have a large audience?

The number of daily visitors is 1,600–2,500, who visit, in general, 4,000–6,000 pages. If something out of the ordinary has happened, that number, understandably, sharply increases.

And do sales of the print issues increase [as well] during extraordinary circumstances?

No. Unfortunately, there isn’t that reliance.

We recently commissioned a study among kiosk vendors and readers, and our newspaper buyers are over 30, up to 60–65-year-old people. Yes, the youth are addicted to this thing [shows the smartphone in his hand]. BUT, when a young person gets a little older, he too moves from this to print materials, [while] also not cutting off from this. 

So what’s important is the age and not the culture of a given generation?

Culture, it seems to me, has its impact, but there’s also the age. I’m seriously thinking that it can’t be said that print media is dying. This is not an empty hope, and let me cite an example. 

I became acquainted with the Estonian press in 2001, when there was no internet, and in 2012. Then and now, 2–3 leading newspapers are printed with a circulation of 60–65 thousand. And in that case, when the Estonian-speaking population is only 900–950 people. 

Experience shows that when speaking about our [Armenia’s] print media, comparisons from abroad are irrelevant.

That’s right. Why did I cite that example? If there is some long ago–rooted culture, these new technologies merely develop that culture; they don’t destroy it. If used wisely, you can make a hybrid, the two together. 

There are also some reasons for the miserable state of newspapers in Armenia. It’s that the cost price is too high, because paper, expense materials, printed materials, technologies… are brought from third countries, through the neighboring country’s territory, which makes them more expensive. 

Once we compared with Soviet era prices, taking into account the salaries of that time, and it turned out that the paper would cost 2–3 dram. Now imagine if the paper cost 2–3, ok, 10 dram: the approach would be completely different. 

I don’t want to leave the impression that I have Soviet nostalgia, that’s not so, of course, but the price of the paper now is the price of bread. In Armenia, 32% of the population is poor. In Shirak marz, 45–47% of the population is poor, which says bread, not newspaper for 100 drams. These are serious reasons why the print media is in this state here [in Armenia].

In that case, I don’t understand your optimism, that the print version is almost forever. What if your grants become cancelled one day?

Then the daily paper will become a weekly paper or digest. Our online news bulletin can be developed into a magazine. Just like the “reviews” of the late19th century, early 20th century, the 2–3-months’ torment of which was like for a big book. This kind of development can also happen.

And in terms of content?

In terms of content, the paper definitely needs reform, and that’s happening. That is to say, pure news, news journalism is going out of order. For a long time now, the daily newspaper has not been the place to get timely news. It remains, then, to take this entire profile to analysis. That will be more valuable. 

The audience that you studied, what does your reader want more? Political topics?

Political topics, unfortunately, were in the top three. In the top three was this: explain to us about women’s health.

But I want to say that these demands may arise from what’s been offered to these people. They study the opinions of those addicted to newspapers, right? That is, they’re nourished by those papers: a person used to doing crosswords says, there’s no crossword puzzle in your paper. (We have Sudoku in ours.) In terms of public interest, you always have to take that dependence into account.

What did the newsstand vendors say in the survey?

The newsstand vendor. His matter is different. I’ve studied this for a long time: important for every product is half the product’s quality and half how the vendor offers it. If you show [the customer] the paper, said, there’s this too, he might take it. 

Are your journalists paid ok?

Unfortunately, no. I have a reporter that freelances for us and other media outlets — sometimes 7 media outlets. For the pieces given to our paper, her monthly honorarium might be 5, 10, 30 thousand dram. 

We have a journalist who works only for our media outlet and works like a bee: I can give monthly 100, 120, 130 thousand dram. More doesn’t work.

These are the numbers for Gyumri. Because, for example, kindergarten teachers’ salaries are 30, 40, 50 thousand dram. People with higher education at various state institutions work for 50–60 thousand dram.

How long will Asparez last?

I don’t know, it’s hard to say, it’s really hard to say. You know, I can raise funds and continue to keep this going — for the homeland and so on…

What funds? Advertising, for example?

We have almost no advertising. There are advertisers who are afraid. They say, Levon dear, let’s not place an ad in Asparez; if you need money, we’ll give you money, we’ll help. I say, we don’t need money that way. Well, he’s a businessman, they’re going to call him after, bother him. 

Some editors told me that if newspapers in Armenia worked in a pure business environment, none of them would remain. Does this refer to your paper [too]?

Our revenue source is not an oligarch, who sends an envelope of money and says, don’t tell anyone, and they write everything in that paper except something against that oligarch. There are lots of examples like this. That’s not so in our case. 

There’s freedom in our newspaper; all the ideas are there. Among the employees we have [people] from the Republican Party of Armenia, Heritage Party, I don’t know, from HAK [Armenian National Congress]… that’s how it worked out, I didn’t specially select [them].

At our paper, diversity of opinions is absolute; there are arguments over ideas even among the reporters. 

Do they bring those to the pages of the newspaper?

Yes, all are reflected in the paper. On one hand, I really leave it intentionally, so that this is heard and that too.

But shouldn’t each journalist be neutral?

The journalist? That’s a difficult thing. I don’t believe that. Honestly. I’m not saying there aren’t journalists like that. But it’s impossible to imagine that, for example, a journalist covering rape is completely, with his heart and soul, neutral.

I consider that if in the same paper we have people with different ideas, at least like that it’s very good. If I have all that in the journalist about whom you speak, it’s incomparably better.

But I see nothing bad if in the same newspaper, we have conflicting opinions about the same thing. There’s nothing terrible in that.

Interview by Ruzanna Khachatrian