Armenia media outlets take proactive approach ahead of elections

IMS has worked with our partners in Armenia since 2018, when democratic reforms led to the opening of the civil space. In the past three years, IMS’ Rapid Response programme has used its mandate to shift focus with the country, offering support in times of positive development, emergency contexts and now making pre-emptive interventions ahead of the elections.

Projects with IMS partners in Armenia – Media Initiatives Center (MIC), Freedom of Information Center of Armenia (FOICA) and Yerevan Press Club (YPC) – have focused since April this year on what media can do to be proactive ahead of the elections, especially in a polarised environment where the results are expected to be contested. The partners have taken different approaches to present a broad view of the media’s role in the current political climate and efforts to better educate journalists as well as the public.

Educating and supporting journalists

“In the spring of 2021, there were major changes in the Electoral Code and related laws,” explains Mane Grigoryan, project coordinator at MIC. “There will be changes in the voting principles and the structure of the future parliament. From this perspective, effective tools for informing people were important so that they make the right actions and support democratic processes.”

But with new changes to the code, it also became clear that there was no updated guide for journalists on how to cover elections. MIC developed a series of leaflets to distribute to Armenian media covering such topics as: rights, responsibilities and guarantees of journalistic activity; accreditation; violations of the law and ethical codex. They also collaborated with FOICA on a leaflet focusing on libel and defamation.

“MIC believed that there was a need for quality and balanced content to raise the awareness of citizens,” says Grigoryan. “Another need is the lack of information of the journalists about the mentioned amendments. The MIC team had this idea in mind and were looking for ways to implement it, and with the support of IMS it was possible to bring it to life.”

Partners offered further support on the legal and ethical aspects of covering the elections. YPC submitted recommendations to the leader of the public broadcaster on the rules of conducting TV debates between the parties and alliances participating in the elections. FOICA offered training to help journalists avoid hate speech and defamation lawsuits. These lawsuits have increased over the last two years, with more than 180 court filings.

Says Shushan Doydoyan, President of FOICA: “More than 56 practicing journalists from Yerevan and all regions of Armenia participated in the legal trainings. They have been trained on how to protect themselves against legal issues that arise from publishing and producing content, to avoid libel in their publications, what kind of wording to use to avoid of being sued, what legal mechanisms could be used to be protected in lawsuits.”

A more informed public

A well-informed electorate is important in any election. Political tensions in Armenia and changes to the electoral code underscore the need for the voting population to be up to date.

MIC took a direct education approach through a multimedia project covering five topics: “How will the new National Assembly be formed?” “What amendments were made in the Electoral Code?” “What are the rights and responsibilities of the voters and the parties?” “Who are the other stakeholders?”

 “The audience can find simple and clear answers to these questions in the multimedia project, in which such formats of new media, as podcast, infographics and longreads are used,” says Grigoryan.

YPC took a different approach by explaining the media’s role in the elections through a series of televised debates among media managers of different political persuasions. Says Boris Navasardian, President of YPC: “Editors, representatives of regulatory bodies and prominent journalists are discussing in the TV debates the main principles of elections coverage and challenges faced during the current campaign. These discussions allow media community to improve its work and the general public to better understand the role of media. Thus, this is also contribution to the media literacy.”

The need for improved media literacy will not end when the polls close Sunday evening, not least if the results are inconclusive.

YPC are also currently monitoring election coverage in the media, publishing interim reports (the first two of which have been published) on the quality and balance of coverage in the period ahead of the official campaign, during the official campaign and in the post-election period.

These monitoring reports, as well as the other trainings and materials produced for journalists, will continue to contribute to the improving the standards of electoral coverage and the protections for the journalists reporting on it, whatever the outcome of the elections may be.