Armenia outpaces some European countries in Press Freedom Index

PanARMENIAN.Net - The print media are diverse and polarized in Armenia, investigative journalism prospers on the Internet, but pluralism lags behind in the broadcast media, Reporters Without Borders said Wednesday, April 20, in this year's World Press Freedom Index.

World press freedom deteriorated in 2015, especially in the Americas, the advocacy group said as it warned of "a new era of propaganda."

Having registered “a mix success,” Armenia took the 74th spot among 180 nations; the country ranked the 78th last year.

“In the crucial transition to digital TV in Armenia, a future space for critical broadcasters will depend on the impartiality of the frequency bidding process,” the report said.

“Police violence against journalists still goes unpunished but the Ilur.am news website and the Hraparak newspaper won an important legal victory in October 2015 when the constitutional court issued a ruling upholding the confidentiality of journalists’ sources.”

Interestingly, Armenia outpaces some southeastern European countries in the rankings, including Bulgaria (113), Cyprus (81), Greece (89), Macedonia (118), and Montenegro (106).

According to the Index, Georgia ranks the 64th, Turkey took the 151th spot, followed by Azerbaijan and Iran, which rank the 163th and 169th, respectively.

Three north European countries head the rankings. They are Finland (ranked 1st, the position it has held since 2010), Netherlands (2nd, up 2 places) and Norway (3rd, down 1). The countries that rose most in the Index include Tunisia (96th, up 30), thanks to a decline in violence and legal proceedings, and Ukraine (107th, up 22), where the conflict in the east of the country abated.