‘Kentron’ TV to Appeal RRT Fine; Director Disagrees with Decision

‘Kentron’ TV’s General Director Bethlehem Arabyan has reacted to the decision of the Television and Radio Commission (TRC) to fine the television company 100,000 drams, stating that he disagrees with its justifications.

It should be noted that during a monitoring of ‘Kentron’ TV’s news programs from July 6-8, the TRC found that coverage of the same topic exceeded the legal threshold of 25 percent. According to the commission, the episodes centered around the criminal proceedings against Gagik Tsarukyan, the head of the Prosperous Armenia Party, for which the broadcaster was fined 100,000 drams.

However, Arabyan insists that the TRC has misinterpreted different events as a single topic merely because they pertained to Gagik Tsarukyan. “Operations conducted by six different state bodies at around 70 enterprises cannot be viewed as a single news topic or one piece of news. The fact that an enterprise has been closed or subjected to search operations is, in itself, distinct news,” he stated.

He emphasized that, for instance, the information regarding the suspension of operations of “Multi Wellness” was crucial for the company’s customers and cannot be deemed as news exclusively related to Gagik Tsarukyan.

Arabyan also expressed concern about the TRC’s approach, noting that such logic could mean that separate publications regarding the activities of various government ministries could also be treated as a single topic simply because they relate to the government.

According to him, the “Epicenter” news release did not have any pre-planned coverage regarding Gagik Tsarukyan but rather responded to the current actions of state bodies.

“We all maintained our positions. The TRC unanimously accepted the administrative act, and ‘Kentron’ TV received its second warning,” Arabyan noted.