Today is the World Press Freedom Day. From the German Johann Gutenberg’s printing press and the first-ever newspaper – Dutch Johan Carolus’s “Account of all distinguished and commemorable news” to the virtual world of Mark Zuckerberg, the media has had a tremendous development both in terms of content and form, becoming simply a button of your phone corresponding to your preferred news.
The media collects and disseminates news. In this case, the press also works for money. Though it is rarely possible to meet media outlets in Armenia that may be considered as profitable or at least self-sufficient, at least for now, it provides many youngsters with jobs. Moreover, reporters, informing us about the happening in Armenia and in the world, consider their work to be very important, that is to say the press not only creates jobs, but also workers who are proud of their work.
News and commentary affect our brains, guiding us to this or that action. If we define the power as an act of influence on the actions and thoughts of the people, the press ad definitio is an important political tool, and today it is impossible to imagine any political process without media participation.
In Armenia, due to the absence of information geneology and institutional opposition of the current authorities, the media has become a political polar in itself. Due to its functional diversity, we, the press representatives, have a huge burden of responsibility, and our readers that is other citizens share the duty of loving and protecting us.
Head of the “Media Advocate” initiative, Aghasi Yenokyan
