ArmInfo. Discussions have begun in Armenia on draft amendments to the law "On the Mass Media," which are based on the idea of self-regulation of the media.
Commenting on the draft new law to ArmInfo, Honorary President of the Yerevan Press Club, Chairman of the Supervisory Board on Media Ethics Boris Navasardyan noted that in order for state interference in internal media issues to be minimized, it is necessary for the media to formulate for themselves, what obligations they undertake, how they are ready to resolve information disputes that arise with citizens and government institutions.
This is what the new bill seeks to provide. Work on this area continues, which is necessary in order to free the media from everyday supervision by the state when solving various kinds of problems related to the content of materials: - slander, insults, hate speech, etc. It is very important, Navasardyan continued, that the media take responsibility for public accountability.
The honorary head of the YPC agreed that the bill is focused on the long term, but its main idea is that self- regulation mechanisms will work to the extent that the media themselves are ready for it. The document contains certain criteria by which it will be possible to determine whether a given media outlet or a given segment of the media community is ready for self-regulation. "If they are not ready or not interested, then everything will work as before. However, there is hope that there will be some progress on this issue, if not immediately, then after some time. When the harmonization of legislation occurs and self-regulation, a significant part of the problems and disputes that arise during the activities of the media will be resolved by them themselves through the structures that they themselves will form," Navasardyan said.
He added that to solve this problem, a transitional stage is envisaged, during which the question of how ready the media will be for new regulations will be decided. During the transition period, this work will be coordinated by representatives of those journalistic organizations, unions and associations that, in accordance with the law, have been operating for at least the last 10 years. After this, those self-regulatory structures that will be formed and will be tested for compliance with the approved criteria will themselves gather, for example, at their congress, and elect a media council that will subsequently coordinate all efforts to form a self-regulatory system.
Answering the question about what this will give to the media in terms of some benefits, the honorary chairman of the YPC noted that there are several ideas on this issue. For example, we can talk about encouraging media that are ready to adopt a system of self-regulation and accountability to society. In particular, it is planned to introduce a provision into the Civil Code according to which the consideration of legal claims when claims arise can be postponed for a certain period, that is, the countdown of the time limit when you can go to court will begin not from the moment of publication, but later.
During this period, with the consent of the person, the issue may be transferred to the self-regulation system. "This will give the opportunity to a person who has a problem with the media to try another option for resolving the dispute, and if it doesn't work out, then only then go to court. On the other hand, the media also has the opportunity to resolve problems through dialogue, and not end up in court. This, in my opinion, is the most effective mechanism, although other options are being considered, including accreditation by government agencies. If the media are part of the self-regulatory system, then they do not go through some of the procedures that are provided for accreditation. since it will be considered that these media obviously meet the necessary requirements," Navasardyan said, adding that this is still only a preliminary version, which can be considered controversial.
The honorary head of the YPC noted that the document must convince both the government and the legislative body in accordance with all the requirements of the country's Constitution and international obligations. It is important that the media community recognizes the usefulness of the initiative, and for this reason discussions will continue. It will take several more months for the bill to be put into circulation.