Karen Harutyunyan
Dear Reader,
During this turbulent year for Armenia, Artsakh and the region, CivilNet struggled to do more than its resources allowed.
The bloody border clashes, internal political instability, economic and security challenges have forced and continue to force us to jump and act beyond our usual capabilities.
Our preliminary response to the challenges in post-war Artsakh was the expansion of our office and staff in Stepanakert. At a time when the entry of foreign journalists to Artsakh is prohibited for political reasons, the burden on CivilNet’s shoulders has increased - to provide unbiased information that reflects the reality of Artsakh not just in Armenian, but also in English and Russian.
CivilNet continues to be the only media outlet that has a bureau in Artsakh. Very soon, our Stepanakert office will also have an educational corner for local school and university students, who will gain journalism, photography, videography skills, and will be able to bring to light stories about all the positives and negatives that happen around them.
The security challenges in post-war Armenia are ever-present on Syunik's doors. The team in our Yerevan newsroom visited the border villages, covered the clashes first hand, presented the people’s stories and struggles in areas surrounded by Azerbaijan. Even our office car gave out, but not us. In October, we opened a newsroom in Goris, Syunik.
We kept the focus on regional developments. We added weekly in-depth reports about Azerbaijan, Iran, Georgia, to CivilNet’s already existing Turkey program. We conducted numerous interviews with politicians and specialists from these countries.
We started a new educational program, we focused on public health issues, especially Covid-19 and the ongoing disinformation surrounding it.
We set up CivilNet Check - a fact-checking unit that deals with misinformation and fake news in a systematic way.
We published numerous investigative pieces that reveal the abuse and corruption of various officials and government offices.
We have sued Armenia’s Environmental Protection and Mining Inspection body, demanding that they provide legally requested information about inspections carried out in the mining companies. We are involved in other litigations too, related to the reluctance of the government to disclose important information for the public.
National issues, culture, and challenges in the Diaspora continue to be at the center of our coverage. We have expanded our programs in Western Armenian. We have expanded our English and Russian content.
We have focused on women's equality issues, the problems faced by minorities, and human rights abuses in general.
CivilNet has never served any political agenda and continues to be loyal only to the public interest.
In the face of disinformation and deepening political polarization, we will redouble our efforts to provide people with unbiased information and in-depth analysis.
2022 will be no less full of challenges. Let's hope that in the new year the positive news will finally prevail.
Karen Harutyunyan, Editor-In-Chief of CivilNet
Stories
