MPs say journalists should pay them for interviews
It would be nice if journalists covering parliament sittings paid MPs for interviews, says Republican MP Hamlet Harutyunyan.
"You earn money at with our help," he said.
Mr. Harutyunyan is convinced that MPs are doing a favor by giving interviews. He has noticed that journalists would have nothing to cover but for the parliament sittings. "We are your wet-nurses," he said.
Manvel Badeyan, another Republican lawmaker, liked the idea of paying politicians for their interviews and said the practice is accepted all over the world and was applied in the Soviet Union as well.
However, he says it will not work in Armenia since the press cannot afford to pay MPs. Republican Vardan Ayvazyan believes that the press must pay a fine in the amount of $ 100 000 for publishing false information. He does not care that the fine will finally destroy the media outlet. "Then, let them write the facts."
Earlier this month Prime Minister Sargsyan denied any links with the offshore company as he requested that the Prosecutor-General's Office look into the recent expose by hetq.am which shows that he is registered as one of the shareholders of a Cyprus-registered company. While refuting the reports and labeling them as misinformation, Sargsyan blamed journalists for ‘spreading false information and creating disappointment and distrust towards future.' At the same time, the prime minister added that both journalists and officials should get adapted to working in a new environment.
