Aravot

Aravot (Armenian: «Առավոտ», "Morning") is a leading[7][8] liberal[2][3] and politically independent daily newspaper based in Yerevan, Armenia. It was founded in 1994.[9] Its editor-in-chief is Aram Abrahamyan.[2]

For the leaves used on the Jewish festival of Sukkot, see Aravah (Sukkot).
Aravot
TypeDaily
Editor-in-chiefAram Abrahamyan
Anna Israelyan (website editor)
FoundedAugust 2, 1994 (1994-08-02) (first issue)[1]
Political alignmentLiberal,[2][3] independent[4][5]
LanguageArmenian
Website available in Armenian, Russian, and English
HeadquartersArshakunyats Avenue, Building 2a, 15th Floor, Yerevan, Armenia
Circulation2,293 (as of 2011[6])
Websitewww.aravot.am

History and political alignment

Sources differ on who founded the newspaper. Some hold it was the newspaper's long-time editor Aram Abrahamyan,[2] others believe it was the controversial Interior Minister Vano Siradeghyan,[10] while still others refer to a general "editorial staff".[11] Its first issue was published on August 2, 1994. At the time its editor-in-chief was Ignat Mamyan.[1] Aram Abrahamyan replaced him in December 1994.[12]

Year Circulation
19996,000[13]
20035,000+[14]
20093,000[2]
20112,293[6]

Sources generally agree that Aravot was supportive of President Levon Ter-Petrosyan (1991-1998) and his liberal party Pan-Armenian National Movement (HHSh),[13][15][7] although it gave space to different points of view.[13] Abrahamyan denied that he was close to Ter-Petrosyan and his government in a 2004 interview and added: "Go and ask the former government what they think about Aravot. You'll realize that their attitude is anything but positive."[10]

The newspaper was highly critical of the government of President Robert Kocharyan (1998-2008).[7][16] During the 2003 presidential election Aravot "allocated 37% of its coverage to the incumbent [President Kocharyan], with an overwhelmingly negative tone."[17]

Following the deadly 2008 presidential election protests Aravot was prevented by security forces from being published according to a March 1 state of emergency decree signed by outgoing President Kocharyan.[18][19][20] It was not until March 21[21] when the de facto media blackout was lifted along with the state of emergency that Aravot resumed publication.[22] In addition, the newspaper's website (aravot.am) was blocked during that period.[21][23]

Aravot has been critical of President Serzh Sargsyan, who came to power in the disputed 2008 election.[24]

During the 2013 presidential election the newspaper's editor-in-chief Aram Abrahamyan publicly endorsed the liberal former Prime Minister Hrant Bagratyan, but stated that it's only his personal opinion and not that of the newspaper.[25]

In a 2014 interview Abrahamyan stated that the newspaper's ultimate goal is to create a "mild and tolerant" atmosphere in the Armenian society.[26]

According to a research conducted in October–November 2014 by the Yerevan-based Region Research Center, in their reporting Aravot.am had the second highest number of negative descriptions of Russia at 40%, but also the highest in terms of positive descriptions at 19%.[27]

Reception

Acclaim

According to a 2012 study Aravot was the "more neutral and objective" of all Armenian newspapers.[11]

Military analyst Vahram Mirakyan praised Aravot for being more balanced in their articles about the Armenian Army than other independent or opposition newspapers. Although the majority of articles were negative in their content, they were largely devoid of "libels" and had more neutral and positive articles than the other newspaper monitored in the study.[28]

In 2014 Raffi Hovannisian praised Aravot for its professionalism and unbiased reporting.[12]

Criticism

In 2005 Liana Sayadyan of Hetq Online wrote that Aravot is not an independent newspaper since it was established by former Interior Minister Vano Siradeghyan. She also suggested that Abrahamyan "does not hide his admiration for the former government. Hence, Aravot has not been independent from the start, and Vano Siradeghyan himself confessed on more than one occasion that by publishing Aravot he hoped to reestablish the popularity" of HHSh.[29]

See also

References
  1. Hovhannisyan, Hripsime (26 May 2014). "Առավոտցիներ. "Ամեն առավոտ, "Առավոտը", որպես օրաթերթ, պետք է հասներ ընթերցողին". Արթուր Ղարագյոզյան". Aravot (in Armenian). 1994 թվականին՝ ուղիղ 20 տարի առաջ, օգոստոսի երկուսին՝ հրապարակախոս Իգնատ Մամյանի խմբագրությամբ հրատարակվեց «Առավոտ» օրաթերթի 0` նախահամարը:
  2. "Aravot". European Stability Initiative. Archived from the original on 2 April 2014. Abrahamyan champions liberal views, as does Aravot.
  3. Danielyan, Stepan. "Կրոնական խնդիրների լուսաբանումը Հայաստանի ԶԼՄ-ներում -2010" (PDF). religions.am (in Armenian). p. 7. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-12-09. Retrieved 2014-12-05. Ազատական համարում ունեցող «Առավոտ» օրաթերթի...
  4. Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2009 Volume II: Europe and Russia, Near East and North Africa. United States Department of State. October 2012. p. 1245. ...the independent Aravot daily...
  5. Karlekar, Karin Deutsch; Marchant, Eleanor, eds. (2007). Freedom of the Press 2007: A Global Survey of Media Independence. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 58. ISBN 9780742555822. ...the independent daily Aravot...
  6. Yeghiazaryan, Siranush (13 September 2011). "Թերթերի պաշտոնական եւ իրական տպաքանակները". mediamax.am (in Armenian). Archived from the original on 9 December 2014. Ճիշտ տպաքանակ է ներկայացնում “Առավոտ” օրաթերթը. տպագրվել է 2293 օրինակ, գրվել նույն թիվը»:
  7. Khachatrian, Ruzanna (17 June 2002). "Armenia's Murky Business Of Media Funding". azatutyun.am. RFE/RL Armenian Service. ...then President Levon Ter-Petrosian, whom "Aravot" has always supported. The liberal daily has never forgiven Kocharian and his allies for forcing Ter-Petrosian to step down in February 1998.
  8. Roberts, Simon Gwyn (2013). Shades of Expression: Online Political Journalism in the Post-Colour Revolution Nations. Chester, UK: University of Chester Press. p. 133. ISBN 9781908258076.
  9. "Aravot". Yerevan Press Club. Archived from the original on 11 November 2013. Retrieved 30 May 2013.
  10. Sayadyan, Liana (15 December 2004). "The Press Doesn't Worry the Government Much". Hetq Online.
  11. Karapetyan, R. S. (2012). "Հայաստանի և սփյուռքի թերթերի կոնտենտ անալիզ [Motherland–Diaspora in Armenian Press (Based on Armenian Periodicals' Content Analysis)]" (PDF). mindiaspora.am (in Armenian). Yerevan: Gitutyun. p. 31. Retrieved 11 December 2014. Հետազոտական խմբի կողմից նախնական մոնիտորինգի և մի շարք փորձագիտական գնահատականների հիման վրա հայաստանյան տպագիր մամուլից որպես «իշխանամետ»-«ընդդիմադիր» տարբաժանման մեջ առավել չեզոք կամ օբյեկտիվ օրաթերթ առանձնացվել է «Առավոտը»:
  12. ""Առավոտցիներն" ու "չառավոտցիները"՝ 20 տարեկան "Առավոտ"-ի մասին (տեսանյութ, լուսանկարներ)". 168.am (in Armenian). 28 July 2014.
  13. McCormack, Gillian (1999). Media in the CIS: A Study of the Political, Legislative and Socio-economic Framework. European Institute for the Media. p. 60. Aravot is issued daily on 16 pages of A3 format. Politically, it is close to the Armenian National Movement. Aravot often publishes critical articles, but also gives space to different points of view. The circulation of Aravot is reported to be 6,000.
  14. Quick, Amanda C., ed. (2003). World Press Encyclopedia: A Survey of Press Systems Worldwide, Volume 1. Gale. p. 37. ...Aravot (Morning): established in 1994 by editorial staff, (circulation 5,000-6,000)...
  15. Harutyunyan, Arus (2009). Contesting National Identities in an Ethnically Homogeneous State: The Case of Armenian Democratization (Dissertation). Western Michigan University. p. 223. ISBN 9781109120127. ...Aravot (official before 1998, opposition thereafter)...
  16. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (2005). Fighting Corruption in Transition Economies Fighting Corruption in Transition Economies: Armenia 2005. Paris: OECD. p. 137. ISBN 9789264009851.
  17. International Election Observation Mission (20 February 2003). "Republic of Armenia Presidential Election 19 February 2003: Statement of Preliminary Findings and Conclusions". osce.org. p. 6. Archived from the original on 11 December 2014. The Aravot daily, for example, allocated 37% of its coverage to the incumbent, with an overwhelmingly negative tone.
  18. "With news media paralysed and websites inaccessible, government is urged to lift state o emergency". Reporters Without Borders. 5 March 2008. ...one of the most popular newspapers, Aravot, did not appear yesterday. The issue was banned by the security services after it was sent to the printer’s.
  19. "Censorship in action". YPC Weekly Newsletter. Yerevan Press Club. 14–20 March 2008. The publication of newspapers - “Aravot”, “Haykakan Zhamanak”, “Taregir”, “Pakagits”, “Hraparak”, “Zhamanak-Yerevan”, “Chorrord Ishkhanutyun” stopped after the RA President’s Decree of March 1, announcing a state of emergency in Yerevan. Access to the websites of the mentioned newspapers was also blocked.
  20. "Armenia: Censors Block Printing Of Opposition Newspapers". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 14 March 2008. Aram Abramian, the editor in chief of the "Aravot" independent daily, told RFE/RL's Armenian Service that the Tigran Mets publishing house refused to print the March 14 edition of the newspaper after hastily commissioned censors objected to coverage of a press conference held by opposition leader Levon Ter-Petrossian.
  21. Democracy on Rocky Ground: Armenia's Disputed 2008 Presidential Election, Post-Election Violence, and the One-Sided Pursuit of Accountability (PDF). New York: Human Rights Watch. February 2009. p. 35. ISBN 978-1-56432-444-3. Several other online news publications, including A1+, Haikakan Zhamanak, and Aravot, were blocked by internet service providers on the orders of the security services. During the state of emergency all pro-opposition newspapers were banned from publishing, after they went through prescreening by security service representatives at the publishing houses. [...] Although media restrictions were lifted on March 13, security service representatives continued interfering with the opposition newspapers’ printing, allowing them to publish only on March 21.
  22. "Newspapers under a ban". Aravot. 21 March 2008. Archived from the original on 16 December 2014. Retrieved 15 December 2014.
  23. Deibert, Ronald, ed. (2010). Access Controlled: The Shaping of Power, Rights, and Rule in Cyberspace. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press. p. 143. ISBN 9780262514354.
  24. Freedom House (2014). Nations in Transit 2014: Democratization from Central Europe to Eurasia. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 76. ....several opposition newspapers (Zhoghovurd, Hraparak, Aravot...
  25. Abrahamyan, Aram (16 February 2013). "We Are Far From Appeals". Aravot. Archived from the original on 15 December 2014. Retrieved 15 December 2014. I am going to cast my vote for Hrant Bagratyan...
  26. Papyan, Siranush (24 July 2014). ""Առավոտի" գերխնդիրն է ստեղծել մեղմ, հանդուրժողական մթնոլորտ. Արամ Աբրահամյան". 1in.am (in Armenian).
  27. Vardanyan, Gegham (6 February 2015). "Research Study: The Image of Russia in Armenia's Online Media". media.am.
  28. Mirakyan, Vahram (12 July 2011). "Բանակի վերաբերյալ սոցիալական դիրքորոշումների ձևավորումը տպագիր մամուլի միջոցով" (in Armenian). Noravank Foundation. Archived from the original on 11 December 2014. «Առավոտ» օրաթերթում նույնպես գերակշռում են բանակի մասին բացասական երանգավորում ունեցող հոդվածները, սակայն այստեղ, ի տարբերություն «Հրապարակ»-ի, բավական շատ են նաև դրական և չեզոք երանգավորումով հոդվածները, և «Առավոտ-ի» ընթերցողների մեջ բանակի մասին բացասական սոցիալական դիրքորոշումների ձևավորման հավանականությունն անհամեմատ ավելի փոքր է, քան «Հրապարակ»-ի պարագայում:
  29. Sayadyan, Liana (19 January 2005). "Freedom of the Press is Just an Ideal". Hetq Online.
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