From 1 to 31 March, 2019, online media coverage of legal issues was in the spotlight of “Media Advocate” initiative. 34 leading news agencies have been monitored. The articles were selected through international analytical programs.
3 categories were selected: News / Analysis / Opinion
In addition, the materials have also been segmented as negative / positive / neutral
The articles that do not contain legal arguments and are not comprehensive are negative, the ones that include legal justification are positive and finally those with versatile coverage and containing information that does not favor any side are neutral.
Attention has been focused on the articles and topics that have received publicity or have been part of political processes.
During the specified period, 9526 articles were monitored.
The graph (See gr. 1) illustrates the image obtained by combining the results of selected categories and segments. The chart represents the X and Y coordinate axis, where the horizontal coordinate is the segment (positive / negative / neutral), and the vertical one is the category (news / analysis / opinion). During the calculations positive and analytic identifiers were marked with (+), negative and comment (-) signs, neutral and news with (0) number.
During the specified period Deputy Minister of Health was arrested. This incident triggered heated discussions. Unsubstantiated conversations began about the eradication or existence of corruption. This was related to the arrests of the employees of State Control Service (SCS), and again there was no further justification. Manvel Grigoryan, Robert Kocharyan and others, who are in custody, are not forgotten either. There are no prerequisites for the consensus or unbiased media coverage of this issues. Depending on what is happening at the moment, the news agency which is close to this or that politician, becomes more active. From the observation results, it is also noticeable that the expert field also makes comments based on own preferences and personal connections.
P.S. The “Media Advocate” initiative will continue to focus on the events; in particular, any encroachment and biased approach to freedom of expression will be harshly assessed.
