The media in the Republic of Armenia is experiencing a transition. In fact, the country itself is in a transition and thus media here is restricted. Often the media is subject to violence, experience defamation lawsuits, and political interference is another concern. The country has different types of media including newspapers, television, and magazines. Both the state-run and private media is operating inside the country. The state-owned media tries to serve the nation while the private media houses aim at earning a profit in various ways including advertisement and subscription.
At present, the of the daily newspaper in the country over 700 and they have been operating since a long ago. Some of the newspapers are liberal while some of them are pro-government. The liberal newspapers publish news and information after justification their source. On the other side, the pro-government newspaper always upheld the government reputation. But the circulation number of the newspapers is lower than expected.
Armenia owns only one news agency under state’s ownership. But there are sever other agencies also operating in the country under private ownership.
Besides, the number of radio stations is notable in Armenia. The country has nine AM radio stations while the number is 17 for FM stations and there is a single shortwave station available. All the stations broadcast different types of programs and audience.
Television authorities need to collect license for operation. At present, the number of the public television channel is two and in the country and one of them has been in operation since 1956. Television watching is the main information source for the local people in Armenia. At present, there are 48 private television channels are in operation and some of them have limited range. But some major Russian channels are also retransmitted in the country and some of them cover foreign news too.
But there are some problems with the television channels. They are financially unstable. Often the editorial capacity is hindered for the financial capacities. Hence, often they need to take supports from political parties and become an agent for that specific party.
The use of the internet is notable in Armenia but the number of online newspapers and news agencies is limited. They almost have no operations
The overall media in Armenia is in a critical state. The journalists are often afraid of their lives when they go against the government or publish any liberal news. Though the rate of threats has recently declined, the media men are under risks of assaults on them. It is expected that everything will go fine and the entire situation will be neutralized and media will experience full freedom.