2017 World Press Freedom Index: Armenia yields positions in terms of press freedom
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has released 2017 World Press Freedom Index where Armenia is ranked 79th among 180 countries - - down by five scores from the previous report published in 2016. “The print media are diverse and polarized, investigative journalism prospers on the Internet, but pluralism lags behind in the broadcast media. In the crucial transition to digital TV, a future space for critical broadcasters will depend on the impartiality of the frequency bidding process. 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. But police violence against journalists continues and still goes unpunished. In July 2016, a dozen journalists were injured while covering the use of force to break up a demonstration,” said RSF. Turkey is ranked 155th (-4), Azerbaijan is placed 162nd (+1), Georgia - 64th, Iran - 165th, Russia - 148th and the US - 43rd in the latest world rankings for press freedom published by the media watchdog.
