ArmInfo.The media field in Armenia continues to remain polarized, despite the positive trends recorded in the World Press Freedom Index (WPFI) published by Reporters Without Borders. Head of the EU delegation to Armenia, Ambassador Vassilis Maragos, stated on May 3 in Yerevan at the discussion on the topic "The media on the way to gaining the trust of the audience."
The European diplomat expressed his conviction that World Press Freedom Day is a good opportunity to once again recall the important role that free media plays for society and how important freedom of speech is.
In this vein, he noted with regret that in the era of rapidly developing information technologies, citizens are faced with a huge amount of misinformation, distorted information, manipulative information, and simply lies.
According to him, the role of quality media is increasing in these realities. "In these conditions, we consider the activities of high-quality media more important than ever, which will ensure both a high-quality news field and an increase in citizens' awareness with their activities. High-quality journalism allows us to increase the accountability of authorities and citizens," Ambassador Maragos noted.
The diplomat also especially noted the role of brave journalists, who sometimes, even at the cost of their lives and freedom, convey the truth to their audience.
"Armenia has recorded progress in the World Press Freedom Index - this is the result of the joint painstaking work of all of you. Despite the presence of pluralism of opinions in the media field, we also see a number of persistent problems. The media field continues to be polarized, and trends in the spread of hate words persist. We also record anti-journalistic tendencies, but this should not frighten representatives of this field. The media must continue to present balanced, reliable, unbiased information, without false narratives," Mr. Maragos said.
The head of the EU delegation recalled that quality media plays an important role in the development of a healthy democracy. In this vein, he drew attention to the fact that today the European Union and Armenia are developing a new partnership program, where the issue related to the activities of the media will occupy an important niche. Vassilis Maragos noted that they attach great importance to media freedom, since it is free media that is the key to the sustainable development of democratic states.
At the event, the "Media Quality and Sustainability Initiative" project was announced, which is being implemented by the Media Initiatives Center in collaboration with the Yerevan Press Club, the Media Diversity Institute and the International Media Support (IMS) organization with funding from the European Union.
Honorary President of the Yervean Press Club Boris Navasardyan said that when implementing this project, their attention will be focused on the need to reduce government interference in the activities of the media and media self-regulation.
Armenia improved its position by 6 points in the World Press Freedom Index, published today by the Reporters Without Borders organization, taking 43rd place among 179 countries, against 49 a year earlier.