Director of Public Television to Submit Resignation

According to 24News, today Margarita Grigoryan, the executive director of Public Television, will submit her resignation. She is not alone; there will also be dismissals from the personnel responsible for ensuring the Prime Minister's live broadcast.

The reason behind these actions is the leak of a video from the communication channel of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s address on April 18, which turned into a mocking video of the Prime Minister, leading to intense discussions and criticism of the phenomenon.

It is recalled that on April 18, a video was prepared and circulated using footage from the preparation for Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s live broadcast. According to a statement released by Public Television, there has been no leak of the video.

At the request of the government, Public Television provided an open communication channel, which was utilized by the television companies “Shant,” “Armenia TV,” “Mir,” “H2,” “AR,” “Kentrion,” “Yerevan Media,” and “5th Channel.”

In response, the Prime Minister’s press secretary Mane Gevorgyan stated that a professional approach implies that the other television companies should have been informed about the open communication channel seconds before it aired.

“However, it turned out that Public Television, without notifying the Prime Minister’s office, had ensured access to the open communication channel for other television companies at least 15 minutes in advance,” said Mane Gevorgyan.

The incident was also commented on by director Vardan Hakobyan, who noted that he was in the same room with Mane Gevorgyan and that he personally said before the technical video signal, “We are recording.”

“This means that the Prime Minister should have been immediately informed about this... Who is supposed to inform the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia that he is on air by virtue of his office? My professionalism does not allow me to assume the working duties of another person. It is surprising that Ms. Mane Gevorgyan’s clarification does not mention this. This is the main question,” wrote Vardan Hakobyan.