Epress.am News from Armenia
In Armenia, there is a low level of trust in the media. The main reason for this, according to the findings of the recent study "State of the Media Industry in Armenia," is political influence on the media.
The survey experts, reports A1plus.am [AM], believe that the dependency of the media industry on political forces hampers the development of media outlets and leads to self-censorship.
Presenting the findings at a press conference today, Yerevan Press Club President Boris Navasardyan said the army and the church are the most trusted institutions. Other institutions that are trusted less include the mass media, which also disseminate information about the other, more trusted institutions.
The survey findings also revealed that alternative news sources are replacing television as a source for information. Furthermore, the study found an increase in time spent online. Internet use is growing more rapidly in rural communities than in cities, and mobile phones are increasingly used to access the Internet.
Respondents were reluctant to admit that their favorite TV programs were soap operas. However, all indicators point to the contrary. As a result, advertising streams are directed at soap operas. According to experts, advertising is crucial for business development and improvement of business management.
To attract advertisers, media outlets also reach out to dishonest companies, which "ensure" readers. According to Navasardian, the only source for knowing the number of readers of a given news outlet is the Armenian web resources rating site Circle.am, which doesn't inspire confidence in advertisers. Armenian news media outlets are not prepared to make use of Google's tools because of problems with language and not being transparent.
The study "State of the Media Industry in Armenia" was implemented within the framework of the Alternative Resources in Media project and consisted of a sociological survey carried out by Caucasus Research Resource Centers-Armenia, monitoring of the thematic and genre preferences of Armenian media implemented by Yerevan Press Club, an expert survey using the Delphi method, and roundtable discussions with media representatives and professionals in Armenia.