“We must not forget that mass media are the fourth power. But any power is also a responsibility,” said Bella Cherkesova, Deputy Minister of Digital Development, Communication and Mass Communication of the Russian Federation, during the Armenian-Russian media forum. She urged to be careful with speech because any careless speech can lead to destructiveness. She said about the trends observed in Russian society: “The Russian public is more interested in news and news content.”
The deputy minister alerted that there is a one-sided approach towards Russian journalists worldwide, but on the other hand, she assured that it makes them stronger, firmer, and more flexible. She ensured that they are open to cooperation with Armenian journalists. According to the data presented by Bella Cherkesova, the average daily involvement in the Internet among the Russian public is 80 percent, 67 percent of the public uses social networks, and the demand for media content is increasing.
In his welcoming speech, Gor Tsarukyan, Director of the State non-profit organization “Public Relations and Information Center” of the RA Prime Minister’s Office, said, “Armenia and Russia are experiencing difficult times today. It could not be reflected in the bilateral relations. Therefore, the media have an important mission to study, highlight the problems, and propose solutions. And the most effective way in this matter is the joint discussion we will hold today.”
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During the panel discussion on “The influence/importance of the media in Armenia-Russia relations. Merging facts and opinions as a challenge of journalism”, the Chairman of the Media Ethics Monitoring Body, Honorary President of the Yerevan Press Club, Boris Navasardyan, used the term “post-truth,” which opened up a field for discussion. He said about the current challenges: “Many mass media today do not see their mission in spreading news, but in narratives. That is why, in many cases, we see a mixture of facts and interpretations. It is also a challenge that the text disseminated by mass media can often acquire a different meaning. The reason for this is the general information field, which has many manipulative challenges. According to Boris Navasardyan, we are dealing with two parallel realities. “One is the media reality; the other is what exists in real life. These two realities collide, and it is unclear which one is more dominant.”
Chairman of “Gazprom-Media Radio” LLC, Yuri Kostin, assured that Armenia and Russia have a reasonable basis for cooperation. “It is not only the professional field, but the general history, upbringing, the unified cultural area. It was formed between our two countries and nations throughout tens of years. We have a good foundation that allows us not only to create media content but also to do projects that can be economically profitable. Creating ambitious, popular, and good projects that will interest young people is necessary. Only in that case can we see efficiency. The important thing is that the two countries maintain mutual understanding.
Yuri Kostin recalled the “Yerevan-Moscow transit” project and said that various other joint projects can be implemented as well. Yuri Kostin said about information wars: “Relentless wars are being waged on the media platform, which very quickly change people’s consciousness, especially young people.
Therefore, we should do it in such a way that we don’t regret it later. The media is not a toy but has a serious responsibility to future generations regarding how neighborly relations will be between these two countries, which, according to history, should be in an atmosphere of peace and brotherly mutual assistance. In Yerevan, I see how Russians walk around with a smile; Russian seems to be a native language here. I would like to see this situation always.”
Tatev HARUTYUNYAN
