Prime-minister: no civil society can be built in Armenia without mass-media active involvement

YEREVAN, January 14. /ARKA/. Civil society cannot be built unless mass media takes an active part in the process, Armenia’s prime-minister Tigran Sargsyan said at a special government reception for mass media community Saturday.

According to the prime-minister, mass media’s role changed in Armenia over the last years. Today mass media outlets are the criterion for judging about how mature the civil society is, the prime-minister said.

The main reason for the changes is that freedom of speech improved significantly in Armenia in the recent years, according to Sargsyan. At the same time, mass media has got new targets now – to manage to find its direction in the rapidly changing world, to make correct assessments and to provide guidelines to the society, the head of the government said.

Sargsyan also pointed out that the government stays focused on analytical articles in the press and responds the criticism. 

“Very often issues brought up in the press are discussed in the government and effective measures are taken on them. This cooperation will facilitate mass media formation process in the future,” the prime minister said.  -0-