Admittedly, 4 years ago owner of the Gyumri Independent News Channel (GALA) Vahan Khachatryan, angry with National Commission on TV and Radio (NCTR) president Grigor Amalyan’s attitude, stated that “the moment my factory is put into operation, I will send the first piece of soap to Grigor Amalyan, he deserves only soap.” According to the owner of GALA, these words were voiced to show the “flattery” of NCTR toward the establishment. As Vahan Khachatryan has been producing soap under the brand name “Noyemi” in Gyumri for a few months already, we inquired from him whether he had fulfilled the promise to send a piece of soap produced by him to the NCTR president or he had just been angry in those troubled times and had just said something. “No, I haven’t sent and I don’t want to explain why”, said Vahan Khachatryan briefly. According to him, although the times have changed, “GALA” still doesn’t have commercials, the advertisers are still scared. Vahan Khachatryan doesn’t care for the fact that his TV Company will lose broadcasting license soon – exactly this time last year “GALA” lost the competition for digitalization and this mass media was offered an opportunity to use analog broadcasting till 2015.
“The events in Russia show that there is no need for concerns, who could think that so many people would take streets against Putin, many things will still change. The world is more open now than 5-6 years ago, people speak to each other via internet and globalization will not allow a mass media to be closed. My TV Company has, so to say, fulfilled its mission and I don’t know whether there will be a GALA website or a GALA newspaper or a TV channel by another name afterwards. The important thing is that we have proved that one can defend his principles in this country and keep his head above water”, said he.
Nune AREVSHATYAN
