Freedom of speech is guaranteed under the Armenian constitution, but only a handful of newspapers can publish regularly and their combined daily circulation is trapped at under 15,000 in a country of more than three million people.
The reason for their poor performance, most newspaper editors agree, is not government intrusion into their news-rooms as much as poor distribution and the negative impact of an economy which has squeezed newspapers out of the shopping list of the population.
"It does not cost anything to watch television, and that's why it remains the first source of information which goes directly into the living rooms of people who cannot afford to buy a daily newspaper," Aram Abrahamian, editor of the Aravod newspaper said in a recent interview.
"And television is state-owned," Abrahamian said.
During the communist era, which ended with Armenian independence six years ago, information was spoon fed through the propaganda-packed pages of the mass-circulation government press.
Millions of copies of state-owned newspapers were printed and distributed in every city, town and village. The government decided what people should read, and for that matter to see on the only available television station, broadcast jointly from Moscow and Yerevan.
But while times have changed and Armenia is no longer a communist country, the government still is in effective control of television and to a great extent the way newspapers are distributed.
However, the government too has to deal with the harsh realities of the post- communist economic crunch — a situation which some journalists see as a blessing in disguise.
"We are all fighting for a bigger share of the Armenian audience, and while the government has a financial advantage, it also has a greater burden if it wants to keep a viable television station and attract advertising, especially at a time when smaller private stations are being formed," a young journalist said.
"This is a market-driven economy, and television cannot be isolated from this environment," he said.
Since taking office earlier this year, Garegin Chookaszian, the director of the government's Department of Information and Publications, has been busy working on a major re-hauling of the state information machine which journalists hope will enhance the cause of the free press in Armenia.
For starters, Chookaszian's plans call not only for streamlining and modernizing the over-staffed state television station, but to also bring at least some form of limited private ownership to the net-work.
"By 1998 the structure of state television will change. We are still evaluating several options, but the trend is toward a partial privatization along the lines of a 51-49 percent arrangement where the government will maintain control over 51 percent of the television station," Chookaszian said.
The partial shift in ownership, Chookaszian is convinced, will generate income for the government and create a healthier and competitive atmosphere which will in turn enhance quality broadcasting and choice of information sources for the general public.
"A number of small television stations and cable networks are already in business, but their audiences are small because of their technical limitations. The partial privatization of the state television station will be a major plus because the state and the private owners will be able to reach the same number of viewers," he said.
Funds generated from the "sale" of air time will be used for new equipment, and staff training programs.
"Some of the people at the station have been there for decades. The whole concept of television has changed and we have to modernize with the times. This is the information age, and we cannot be left behind," Chookaszian, who is more of a computer expert than a journalist, said.
Only a few weeks after taking over as head of the government department overseeing the media in Armenia, Chookaszian set up a tele-bridge between Yerevan, where President Levon Ter Petrossian was addressing a news conference, and a group of Armenian journalists in Los Angeles.
"This was a first for Armenia and the experiment was a great success. It gave Armenian journalists in the diaspora a chance to participate directly and ask their own questions.
"We will be using the same domain for other things. There is no reason why we should not organize business forums via satellite and the Internet along with educational and medical seminars, to name only a few. Broadcasting such pro- grams on television will be a major quality boost," he said.
While the government's information thrust seems to be focused on television, newspapers are left to wage their own war against declining circulation and readership — and for good reason.
"To maintain a free press, the newspapers should not be financed by the government. That would be a contradiction in terms. Like elsewhere in the world, television is the prime medium, but newspapers will always have their place, regardless of circulation," said a newspaper editor who declined to be identified by name.
"At the moment, we are trapped in a difficult situation. Sales do not cover costs, and people do not want to advertise in newspapers because of their poor circulation. “He said.
But journalism has never been an easy profession, and in Armenia today journalists are essential ingredients of the democratic process.
