{"id":6142,"date":"2016-03-19T15:45:33","date_gmt":"2016-03-19T15:45:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/media.am\/the-future-of-armenias-newspapers-golos-armenii\/"},"modified":"2016-03-19T15:45:33","modified_gmt":"2016-03-19T15:45:33","slug":"the-future-of-armenias-newspapers-golos-armenii","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/media.am\/en\/viewpoint\/2016\/03\/19\/6142\/","title":{"rendered":"The Future of Armenia\u2019s Newspapers: Golos Armenii"},"content":{"rendered":"

Media.am continues its interviews with chief editors of local newspapers on the problems and survival prospects of the print media in Armenia.<\/em><\/p>\n

At the end of the series, the overall trends will be summarized.<\/em><\/p>\n

Our interviewee in this segment is <\/em>Golos Armenii chief editor Flora Nakhshkaryan.<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

“Something else is killing us and not the small circulation”<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\nGolos Armenii<\/u><\/em><\/strong> triweekly<\/u><\/strong>
\nFounded in 1991.
\nCirculation: 3,500 (fluctuates)
\nPrinting: black and white, 8 pages (A2 format).
\nPrice: 150 AMD (about $0.30 USD)
\nRevenue sources: subscription and newsstand sales, \u201cinformational companions\u201d
\nOnline version since 2000.
\nOnce a month, releases the popular free-of-charge science newspaper Most<\/em>, which is a joint project of Golos Armenii<\/em> and Armenia\u2019s National Academy of Sciences.<\/p>\n

Is Golos\u2019<\/em> main source of revenue newsstand sales, or\u2026?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Please, let\u2019s not discuss revenues. It\u2019s pointless. If we were able to close our financial gaps, to break even, we would be happy with that.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s an informational companion, which you mentioned as a source of revenue? Is it a sponsor?<\/strong><\/p>\n

No, it\u2019s not a sponsor. We sign long-term contracts to report on activities related to a given legal entity. For example, once every two weeks we put out a culture issue, in which there are problematic questions, different views. Here our informational companion is the Ministry of Culture.<\/p>\n

Can that informational companion be from political circles?<\/strong><\/p>\n

We strive not to sign contracts with political institutions. We\u2019ve covered education issues at length; we deal with the Ministry of Diaspora in some issues. To date, we\u2019ve focused our attention on issues of science, particularly in our Most<\/em> supplement.<\/p>\n

We give fundamental importance to these topics in the context of the development of our statehood and try to rivet the public\u2019s and the authorities\u2019 attention on them.<\/p>\n

We also cover real economic issues. With Armenia\u2019s Ministry of Economy and a large group of entrepreneurs, builders, and economists from Russia, we are now trying for establishments and factories that were purchased but haven\u2019t been operating for years to be bought back and revived.<\/p>\n

Your newspaper flourished perhaps in the mid-90s, but, on the other hand, in that period there were incidents of periodic violence against Golos<\/em>. If I recall correctly, the editorial office was even burned down.<\/strong><\/p>\n

It was burned, and I was beaten twice, and so on, and so on.<\/p>\n

I recall that this was all because of Golos<\/em>\u2019 political pieces.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Naturally, they beat for politics.<\/p>\n

Did that scare you?<\/strong>
\nOf course it did. Wouldn\u2019t you be afraid if you were beaten in your office?<\/p>\n

Naturally, I would.<\/strong>
\nAnd if every day you received a summons to appear in court \u2014 for a dozen widely varying issues.<\/p>\n

Mainly for stories having what slant?<\/strong>
\nThe reason, I can say, [was] for the policies in place at the time, which didn\u2019t accept different opinions and didn\u2019t make any concessions. Say, if they said we\u2019ve survived with such-and-such mineral water, they didn\u2019t tolerate it if you insisted the opposite.<\/p>\n

The policies of subsequent ruling authorities at least enabled discussion and dialogue, and some ideas were implemented. I can\u2019t say that that was completely acceptable for us, but in any case, there was no active resistance.<\/p>\n

\"Flora<\/p>\n

In this interview series, several newspaper editors considered the \u201cno active resistance\u201d as more sly policies, to pressure the media.<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s because they haven\u2019t felt the full extent of the HHSh [Pan-Armenian National Movement] regime\u2019s policies personally against them and the activities of their newspaper: the immoral legal proceedings, the persecution of our journalists with their media outlets, the public ridicule, and the attempts to deprive the paper of its earnings, to ban to print in the 24 print houses of the capital, and to evict the editorial staff from its occupied premises.<\/p>\n

In those days, Golos<\/em> was in a terrible situation, and I\u2019m even surprised now that we didn\u2019t cease our work in those conditions. They shut down the paper, [but] we continued to work on issues. Those were savage conditions.<\/p>\n

As for pressure against journalists, the authorities\u2019 creative imagination, well they have teachers from whom they can learn: the governments of France, Germany, the US, \u201cEuropean-izing\u201d Turkey, and \u201chomeland of democracy\u201d Azerbaijan offer shining examples in geopolitical or domestic political issues, when they are confronted with important issues fundamental for their image and dividends.<\/p>\n

A separate topic are issues in this context in Russia. So, we [here in Armenia] still have a long way to go to reach them, since we often exhibit a sincere motivation to understand and even accept an opponent\u2019s arguments.<\/p>\n

Which is easier for the newspaper to resist: a frontal attack or hidden, unseen pressure?<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s the same. It\u2019s just that when they attack you with a truncheon, you defend yourself using the same means; when they attack you with other methods, you choose the corresponding method to resist. That\u2019s all.<\/p>\n

Apart from the internet, what prompted the sharp decline in Golos Armenii<\/em>\u2019s circulation?<\/strong><\/p>\n

There are many factors. Let\u2019s begin with the fact that our newspaper is addressed to the technical intelligentsia and to intellectuals in general \u2014 to educated people who read with interest the opinions of people like them, our authors. Our readers have mostly left Armenia.<\/p>\n

A large segment doesn\u2019t even have the means to buy a newspaper. And the third segment has altogether lost interest in newspapers as such.<\/p>\n

What was the largest circulation and when?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The newspaper Communist<\/em>, based on which Golos Armenii<\/em> was created, had a circulation of 80,000. We began \u2014 I might not remember correctly \u2014 but definitely with [a circulation of] several tens of thousand.<\/p>\n

Did the entire print run sell?<\/strong><\/p>\n

They\u2019ve always worked with us under the conditions of \u201cno returns\u201d. Till today.<\/p>\n

Has the decline in knowledge of Russian shrunk the pool of your newspaper\u2019s potential readers?<\/strong>
\nOf course. And some of them, as I said, have left.<\/p>\n

Haven\u2019t you tried to send the newspaper, roughly speaking, after those who\u2019ve left, to sell, say, in Russia?<\/strong><\/p>\n

What are you talking about \u2014 we simply ran after our readers. About 20 years ago we printed in Moscow with 32 pages, a circulation of 15\u201318 thousand, with the locally significant pieces removed \u2014 a very dense selection of content. We would send the bound pages in a special way; they printed it in Moscow and sold it.<\/p>\n

The internet came, hard times came, and the meaning of that work requiring extra effort was lost. Till today there are people who want the newspaper, but it\u2019s more readily available to them through the internet. Though, the value of the printed word is something else.<\/p>\n

The opportunities afforded by the internet are much greater.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Now I don\u2019t want to talk about known things: the internet conquers society very easily. Everything is easier there: information, misinformation, intentional provocation\u2026<\/p>\n

The professional press, ultimately, must be in demand. And first of all, by the state.<\/p>\n

Because what\u2019s said from television is simply said on air and becomes lost. Whereas what newspaper journalists write is impossible to erase.<\/p>\n

Who reads Golos Armenii<\/em>?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Probably those who believe that Armenia with its abilities can play a tantamount role in scientific-technical and economic terms. I don\u2019t know for the print version, but 45% of the readers of our webpage are young people.<\/p>\n

In Armenia, newspapers are in a sort of expectant, abject state. They want to understand: are they going to remain as a print media or not? What about you?<\/strong><\/p>\n

You know what? In Armenia, there are so many objectively inexplicable deviations in public, political life\u2026 For example, none of our newspapers in Armenia are competing with the other, and such a thing can\u2019t even happen.<\/p>\n

Are you referring only to Russian-language newspapers?<\/strong><\/p>\n

No. All newspapers. Let\u2019s take the entire parcel of newspapers today.<\/p>\n

\u2026. Aha, here it is. Let\u2019s sort them: one, two, three, four\u2026 [places some newspapers on the right; some, on the left or in the center] These newspapers on the right side, even without reading them we know what they\u2019re writing about. These are papers with a sole and the same subject. The lives of thousands of [their] compatriots are not interesting to them.<\/p>\n

This one is an account of the official views of the day\u2019s events \u2014 we know. In the entire issue of this one there might be 2\u20133 interesting topics, with fresh faces. This one: reproduced content, reproduced content, reproduced content \u2014 from top to bottom.<\/p>\n

And yours?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Economics \u2014 definitely. Actual science \u2014 definitely. Actual circumstances connected to certain laws and indepth, serious culture. The effectiveness of the work of the government and its separate sections. Topics in the nation\u2019s interests, regional countries and us.<\/p>\n

\u2026 By the way, you can see that our newspaper is twice as big in size as the many other newspapers but the price is the same. In that case, the price turns out to be twice as low. The desire not to lose the school, the culture is great.<\/p>\n

In your opinion, how long will Golos<\/em> Armenii<\/em> continue to be published?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I can\u2019t say. But in May, our newspaper will turn 25 years old\u2026<\/p>\n

Congratulations!<\/strong><\/p>\n

I don\u2019t know: is it worth congratulating? Because we\u2019re experiencing very hard times. The situation is serious: a very small circulation, very little advertising\u2026 But what\u2019s important is something else. After all, the main meaning of the work we do is to rivet the attention of official and non-official bodies to the solution of serious problems.<\/p>\n

But since not everyone on the different floors of government know how to read, and if they don\u2019t read, they can\u2019t understand; if they can understand but they don\u2019t know the difference between bridge and caterpillar cranes, being busy with economic issues\u2026<\/p>\n

People who don\u2019t know their country, don\u2019t know its opportunities, and are not united for the sake of the country\u2019s interests \u2014 getting anything through to them is simply impossible. This is what kills [us] and not the small circulation.<\/p>\n

Interview by Ruzanna Khachatrian<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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 Golos Armenii chief editor Flora Nakhshkaryan. “Something else is killing us and not the small Read the full article…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":6132,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6142","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-critique","category-viewpoint"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/media.am\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6142","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/media.am\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/media.am\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/media.am\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/media.am\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6142"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/media.am\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6142\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/media.am\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6132"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/media.am\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6142"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/media.am\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6142"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/media.am\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6142"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}