WHITE TO SARKISSIAN AND BLACK TO PETROSSIAN
Support A1+!Yerevan Press Club, Team Research Centre and the Open Society Institute Assistance Foundation have monitored the Armenian television and radio on the eve of the election campaign. Today they presented the results of the November monitoring.
Mass Media turn out to have taken a profound interest in two presidential candidates, Armenia’s Premier Serzh Sarkissian and former President Levon Ter-Petrossian.
YPS Chairman Boris Navasardian states that Serzh Sarkissian is mostly mentioned in positive contexts while Levon Ter-Petrossian in negative ones.
Out of 944 reports about Serzh Sarkissian 14 were negative, 162 positive and 768 neutral. Only 10 reports about Levon Ter-Petrossian were positive. 293 reports were negative, and 196 neutral.
POLITICAL FIGURES “ARE OUT OF REACH”
The YPS chairman Boris Navasardian says that Armenian TV channels invite the presidential candidates to talk shows despite the lack of parity on TV Channels. However, they often get refusals. For example, Armenia’s Prime Minster Serzh Sarkissian is unavailable for local reporters. But we learnt that he has recently given a few interviews to foreign reporters.
Former president Levon Ter-Petrossian and Heritage Party leader Raffi Hovannissian also avoid interviews. The latter refuses because he has not made up his mind which presidential candidate to second at the presidential race.
Two activists, Artashes Geghaman and Arthur Baghdasarian do not refuse invitations although the technical issues are often complicated and restricted.
