Hakob Karapetyan: It is necessary to recall the media activity of the previous mayors and then compare it with the activity of Hayk Marutyan

“Media Advocate” initiative continues the series of interviews with the press secretaries and heads of the state agencies. This time our interlocutor is the press secretary of Yerevan Municipality Hakob Karapetyan.

1 ․ Since 2016, you have collaborated with the Public Television of Armenia as a journalist, editor and screenwriter, working on various projects. That is, it is your first experience as a press secretary. What kind of problems did you notice when working with the press secretaries during those years, that you do not repeat now?

– I have cooperated with a number of media outlets and there have been many opportunities for communication during my work, the main problem, the desire that all journalists have in their work with state or community agencies, is accessibility, transparency and flexibility. The task of the press secretary is to facilitate the journalist’s work, rather than complicate it, if information is needed, it should be conveyed to the journalist as soon as possible. As far as my work in the municipality is concerned, from the very beginning we had set ourselves the task of breaking the stereotype that the municipality is a closed structure, and that it reluctantly provides information to the media.

2 ․ How do you coordinate the work with journalists? Can you tell us how you spend the working day how many applications, calls and interview offers you receive during the day, in which case you refuse?

– It depends on the agenda. Sometimes the initiator of the agenda is the municipality, which presents a project, and some questions arise from it, sometimes we have proposals submitted by opposition colleagues or opposition fractions of the Council of Elders, or certain publications in the press, depending on it, the volume of work, the nature of it may be different. There was a day when I received about 120 calls only by phone, not counting other means of communication, inquiries received through online platforms. There are days, which are a bit less active. Regarding the short comments: during the day we have ten such contacts with journalists, not counting several times a month I host a discussion or an interview in TV formats. In addition to all this, we also prepare and broadcast every week the “Yerevan” program, which is a news program devoted to the city life.

As far as the the rejection of the interviews is concerned, the reason may be the credit of the media, that is its “reputation”, to my mind. Unfortunately, there are cases when the media outlet obviously intentionally distorts the facts, presents inaccurate information, gossip or slander and even when receiving a verbal request, it does not consider it necessary to correct its mistake. Fortunately, such cases are rare, such media can be counted. And in such cases, I simply consider my participation in the field of misinformation meaningless and refuse to cooperate. In general, I positively assess the work of the Armenian media, of course, many of us complain about the quality of information, literacy, the abundance of gossip, but all this proves first of all that we have a free press, even a yellow media outlet has a right to exist. The question here may be raising the level of public media literacy so that the public is able to distinguish the so called “yellow” content from more serious news.

3 ․ The Municipality is often criticized for the activity of the mayor. Hayk Marutyan is especially criticized for delaying his pre-election promises, besides, that at the most important moments, Hayk Marutyan hesitates. The changes that have taken place in the country have brought a new culture of communication, while the mayor does not speak much, what is the problem?

– Since taking office in October 2018, the mayor has been answering journalists’ questions with quite extensive briefings at least during the breaks of the Council of Elders sessions. The briefings end until the journalists are done with the questions. We have sessions that last 10-12 hours, they are broadcast live, and during them the mayor gives detailed explanations on, many issues related to the community management. More rarely, the mayor is hosted by TV companies or speaks on social media platforms to provide important clarifications. Two weeks ago, for example, when a public discussion took place around the situation with Mashtots Park, the mayor held a press conference, answered journalists’ questions and the ones received online for about 2 hours. This much regarding the opinion that the mayor “talks less”, which, in my opinion, is a misconception, if not a delusion. I suggest just remembering the public and media activity of the previous mayors and then compare it with Hayk Marutyan’s activity, and give an assessment.

4․ The issue of “lethal elevators” is being solved, the program of replacing 500 elevators was launched in Yerevan on August 11. Summing up, which of the pre-election promises have been fulfilled, which is the next?

– First of all, let’s note that since the time when the elevator’s service was formed in general, there has never been such a large-scale replacement of elevators in Yerevan. For decades, the city government has insisted that this is not its problem, it is the problem of the residents, and that there are not enough means to solve that issue. We state that we have sufficient means to ensure the physical safety and comfort of the residents. One of the key promises was the problem of garbage disposal, which was solved once and for all. The capital did not have such a community household park – new modern equipment for garbage collection and sanitation. Another important issue is the sorting of garbage that is in progress.

A new culture of waste management will be created, we will start sorting garbage not in the landfill, but in the yards of buildings or by entities dealing with such activity. The next, the most core program (I will not be afraid of using the superlative degree; the most urgent, the most vital issue) is the transport reform. A tender has already been announced for the purchase of 200 buses. One hundred should be purchased at the expense of community funds, one hundred as a result of cooperation with international partners.

5․It is perceived that the press secretaries are the ones who convey the opinion of the head of the department or, just, read the text. How free are you in your speech, in your announcements?

Accepting to fulfill this duty, I realized that I would not have the freedom of expression of a freelance journalist, there would be changes in the way and content of public speaking, but the team and program I had to work with were exactly in line with my perceptions, and it is very easy to work for me in that sense. Of course, you are more careful in terms of expressing yourself on Facebook, on social networks, you have to remember that you are not a freelance journalist, that you represent a community structure, and your words will inevitably be associated with that structure.

6․Do you often joke with the mayor using the expressions famous from “Kargin Haghordum” (Kargin program)?

– I personally got acquainted with Hayk Marutyan due to my work, it is clear that before that I knew him very well, like everyone else in our country. Hayk Marutyan is quite free and unconstrained when communicating with his colleagues, but the discipline and hierarchy do not suffer from that. In my opinion, “Kargin Haghordum” has occupied such a large place in the television culture of our country, not counting that there were certain interpretations of well-known jokes, that many episodes from the program are always relevant, that one of them may be remembered in any situation. Of course, there are working days which are spiced with humor.

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