Aravot

{{Short description|Newspaper in Armenia}} {{for|the leaves used on the Jewish festival of Sukkot|Aravah (Sukkot)}} __NOTOC__ {{Infobox newspaper | name = Aravot | logo = | image = Cover_of_"Aravot"_newspaper_published_in_Armenia.webp | caption = Cover of ''Aravot'' on December 13, 2024 | type = Daily newspaper | format = | owners = | founder = | publisher = | chief_editor = Aram Abrahamyan<br />Anna Israelyan (website editor) | founded = {{Start date|1994|08|02}} (first issue)<ref name="first issue">{{cite news|last1=Hovhannisyan|first1=Hripsime|title=Առավոտցիներ. "Ամեն առավոտ, "Առավոտը", որպես օրաթերթ, պետք է հասներ ընթերցողին". Արթուր Ղարագյոզյան|url=http://www.aravot.am/2014/05/26/464069/|work=Aravot|language=hy|date=26 May 2014|quote=1994 թվականին՝ ուղիղ 20 տարի առաջ, օգոստոսի երկուսին՝ հրապարակախոս Իգնատ Մամյանի խմբագրությամբ հրատարակվեց «Առավոտ» օրաթերթի 0` նախահամարը:}}</ref> | political_position = Liberal,<ref name="esiweb"/><ref name="Danielyan">{{cite web|last1=Danielyan|first1=Stepan|title=Կրոնական խնդիրների լուսաբանումը Հայաստանի ԶԼՄ-ներում -2010|url=http://www.religions.am/files/3247/documents/comments/p13.pdf|website=religions.am|page=7|language=hy|quote=Ազատական համարում ունեցող «Առավոտ» օրաթերթի...|access-date=2014-12-05|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141209134318/http://www.religions.am/files/3247/documents/comments/p13.pdf|archive-date=2014-12-09|url-status=dead}}</ref> independent<ref>{{cite book|title=Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2009 Volume II: Europe and Russia, Near East and North Africa|date=October 2012|publisher=United States Department of State|page=1245|quote=...the independent Aravot daily...}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|editor1-last=Karlekar|editor1-first=Karin Deutsch|editor2-last=Marchant|editor2-first=Eleanor|title=Freedom of the Press 2007: A Global Survey of Media Independence|date=2007|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|isbn=9780742555822|page=58|quote=...the independent daily Aravot...}}</ref> | language = Armenian<br />Website available in Armenian, Russian, and English | headquarters = Arshakunyats Avenue, Building 2a, 15th Floor, Yerevan, Armenia | circulation = 150,293 | circulation_date = 2018 | website = {{url|https://www.aravot.am/}} }}

'''''Aravot''''' ({{langx|hy|«Առավոտ»}}, "Morning") is a leading<ref name="Khachatrian"/><ref>{{cite book|last=Roberts|first=Simon Gwyn|title=Shades of Expression: Online Political Journalism in the Post-Colour Revolution Nations|date=2013|publisher=University of Chester Press|location=Chester, UK|isbn=9781908258076|page=133}}</ref> liberal<ref name="esiweb"/><ref name="Danielyan"/> and politically independent daily newspaper based in Yerevan, Armenia. It was founded in 1994.<ref>{{cite web|title=Aravot |url=http://www.ypc.am/Old/English/Collegues/pressclub/01.2000/5-20-5.htm |publisher=Yerevan Press Club |accessdate=30 May 2013 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131111031203/http://www.ypc.am/Old/English/Collegues/pressclub/01.2000/5-20-5.htm |archivedate=11 November 2013 }}</ref> Its editor-in-chief is Aram Abrahamyan.<ref name="esiweb">{{cite web|title=Aravot|url=http://www.esiweb.org/index.php?lang=en&id=322&debate_ID=5&slide_ID=3|publisher=European Stability Initiative|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140402015419/http://www.esiweb.org/index.php?lang=en&id=322&debate_ID=5&slide_ID=3|archivedate=2 April 2014|quote=Abrahamyan champions liberal views, as does Aravot.}}</ref>

==History and political alignment== Sources differ on who founded the newspaper. Some hold it was the newspaper's long-time editor Aram Abrahamyan,<ref name="esiweb"/> others believe it was the controversial Interior Minister Vano Siradeghyan,<ref name="Hetq 2004"/> while still others refer to a general "editorial staff".<ref name="Karapetyan"/> Its first issue was published on August 2, 1994. At the time its editor-in-chief was Ignat Mamyan.<ref name="first issue"/> Aram Abrahamyan replaced him in December 1994.<ref name="168 am">{{cite news|title="Առավոտցիներն" ու "չառավոտցիները"՝ 20 տարեկան "Առավոտ"-ի մասին (տեսանյութ, լուսանկարներ)|url=http://168.am/2014/07/28/391679.html|work=168.am|date=28 July 2014|language=hy}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable floatleft" ! Year ! Circulation |- | 1999 || 60,000 |- | 2003 || 107,000 |- | 2018 || 150,293 |}

Sources generally agree that ''Aravot'' was supportive of President Levon Ter-Petrosyan (1991-1998) and his liberal party Pan-Armenian National Movement (HHSh),<ref name="McCormack">{{cite book|last1=McCormack|first1=Gillian|title=Media in the CIS: A Study of the Political, Legislative and Socio-economic Framework|date=1999|publisher=European Institute for the Media|page=60|quote=Aravot is issued daily on 16 pages of A3 format. Politically, it is close to the Armenian National Movement. Aravot often publishes critical articles, but also gives space to different points of view. The circulation of Aravot is reported to be 6,000.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Harutyunyan|first=Arus|title=Contesting National Identities in an Ethnically Homogeneous State: The Case of Armenian Democratization|date=2009|publisher=Western Michigan University|isbn=9781109120127|page=223|type=Dissertation|quote=...Aravot (official before 1998, opposition thereafter)...}}</ref><ref name="Khachatrian">{{cite news|last=Khachatrian|first=Ruzanna|title=Armenia's Murky Business Of Media Funding|url=http://www.azatutyun.am/content/article/1567925.html|work=azatutyun.am|publisher=RFE/RL Armenian Service|date=17 June 2002|quote=...then President Levon Ter-Petrosian, whom "Aravot" has always supported. The liberal daily has never forgiven Kocharian and his allies for forcing Ter-Petrosian to step down in February 1998.}}</ref> although it gave space to different points of view.<ref name="McCormack"/> Abrahamyan denied that he was close to Ter-Petrosyan and his government in a 2004 interview and added: "Go and ask the former government what they think about ''Aravot''. You'll realize that their attitude is anything but positive."<ref name="Hetq 2004">{{cite news|last1=Sayadyan|first1=Liana|title=The Press Doesn't Worry the Government Much|url=http://hetq.am/eng/news/8767/the-press-doesnt-worry-the-government-much.html/|work=Hetq Online|date=15 December 2004}}</ref>

The newspaper was highly critical of the government of President Robert Kocharyan (1998-2008).<ref name="Khachatrian"/><ref>{{cite book|title=Fighting Corruption in Transition Economies Fighting Corruption in Transition Economies: Armenia 2005|date=2005|publisher=OECD|location=Paris|isbn=9789264009851|page=137|author=Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development|author-link=Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development}}</ref> During the 2003 presidential election ''Aravot'' "allocated 37% of its coverage to the incumbent President Kocharyan, with an overwhelmingly negative tone."<ref>{{cite web|author1=International Election Observation Mission|title=Republic of Armenia Presidential Election 19 February 2003: Statement of Preliminary Findings and Conclusions|url=http://www.osce.org/odihr/elections/armenia/14074?download=true|website=osce.org|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20141211023520/http://www.osce.org/odihr/elections/armenia/14074?download=true|archivedate=11 December 2014|page=6|date=20 February 2003|quote=The Aravot daily, for example, allocated 37% of its coverage to the incumbent, with an overwhelmingly negative tone.}}</ref>

Following the deadly 2008 presidential election protests, ''Aravot'' was prevented by security forces from being published according to a March 1 state of emergency decree signed by outgoing President Kocharyan.<ref>{{cite web|title=With news media paralysed and websites inaccessible, government is urged to lift state o emergency|url=http://en.rsf.org/armenia-with-news-media-paralysed-and-05-03-2008,26025.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100705143410/http://en.rsf.org/armenia-with-news-media-paralysed-and-05-03-2008,26025.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 5, 2010|publisher=Reporters Without Borders|date=5 March 2008|quote=...one of the most popular newspapers, Aravot, did not appear yesterday. The issue was banned by the security services after it was sent to the printer’s.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Censorship in action|url=http://www.ypc.am/bulletin/t/41816/ln/en|website=YPC Weekly Newsletter|publisher=Yerevan Press Club|date=14–20 March 2008|quote=The publication of newspapers - “Aravot”, “Haykakan Zhamanak”, “Taregir”, “Pakagits”, “Hraparak”, “Zhamanak-Yerevan”, “Chorrord Ishkhanutyun” stopped after the RA President’s Decree of March 1, announcing a state of emergency in Yerevan. Access to the websites of the mentioned newspapers was also blocked.}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Armenia: Censors Block Printing Of Opposition Newspapers|url=https://www.rferl.org/a/1079641.html|agency=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty|date=14 March 2008|quote=Aram Abramian, the editor in chief of the "Aravot" independent daily, told RFE/RL's Armenian Service that the Tigran Mets publishing house refused to print the March 14 edition of the newspaper after hastily commissioned censors objected to coverage of a press conference held by opposition leader Levon Ter-Petrossian.}}</ref> It was not until March 21<ref name="hrw"/> when the ''de facto'' media blackout was lifted along with the state of emergency that ''Aravot'' resumed publication.<ref>{{cite news|title=Newspapers under a ban|url=http://en.aravot.am/2008/03/21/160209/|work=Aravot|date=21 March 2008|access-date=15 December 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141216013852/http://en.aravot.am/2008/03/21/160209/|archive-date=16 December 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref> In addition, the newspaper's website (''aravot.am'') was blocked during that period.<ref name="hrw">{{cite book|title=Democracy on Rocky Ground: Armenia's Disputed 2008 Presidential Election, Post-Election Violence, and the One-Sided Pursuit of Accountability|url=https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/armenia0209webwcover.pdf|publisher=Human Rights Watch|location=New York|page=35|isbn=978-1-56432-444-3|date=February 2009|quote=Several other online news publications, including A1+, Haikakan Zhamanak, and Aravot, were blocked by internet service providers on the orders of the security services. During the state of emergency all pro-opposition newspapers were banned from publishing, after they went through prescreening by security service representatives at the publishing houses. [...] Although media restrictions were lifted on March 13, security service representatives continued interfering with the opposition newspapers’ printing, allowing them to publish only on March 21.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|editor-last=Deibert|editor-first=Ronald|editor-link=Ronald Deibert|title=Access Controlled: The Shaping of Power, Rights, and Rule in Cyberspace|date=2010|publisher=MIT Press|location=Cambridge, Mass.|isbn=9780262514354|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=ZojiQG4irWEC&dq=armenian+internet+community+froze+aravot.am&pg=PA143 143]}}</ref>

''Aravot'' has been critical of President Serzh Sargsyan, who came to power in the disputed 2008 election.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Freedom House|author-link=Freedom House|title=Nations in Transit 2014: Democratization from Central Europe to Eurasia|date=2014|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|page=76|quote=....several opposition newspapers (Zhoghovurd, Hraparak, Aravot...}}</ref>

During the 2013 presidential election, the newspaper's editor-in-chief Aram Abrahamyan publicly endorsed the liberal former Prime Minister Hrant Bagratyan, but stated that it's only his personal opinion and not that of the newspaper.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Abrahamyan|first1=Aram|title=We Are Far From Appeals|url=http://en.aravot.am/2013/02/16/152258/|work=Aravot|date=16 February 2013|quote=I am going to cast my vote for Hrant Bagratyan...|access-date=15 December 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141215053404/http://en.aravot.am/2013/02/16/152258/|archive-date=15 December 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In a 2014 interview, Abrahamyan stated that the newspaper's ultimate goal is to create a "mild and tolerant" atmosphere in the Armenian society.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Papyan|first1=Siranush|title="Առավոտի" գերխնդիրն է ստեղծել մեղմ, հանդուրժողական մթնոլորտ. Արամ Աբրահամյան|url=http://www.1in.am/1383729.html|work=1in.am|date=24 July 2014|language=hy}}</ref>

According to a research conducted in October–November 2014 by the Yerevan-based Region Research Center, in their reporting, ''Aravot.am'' had the second highest number of negative descriptions of Russia at 40%, but also the highest in terms of positive descriptions at 19%.<ref>{{cite news|last=Vardanyan|first=Gegham|title=Research Study: The Image of Russia in Armenia's Online Media|url=http://media.am/en/image-of-russia-in-armenian-media|work=media.am|date=6 February 2015}}</ref>

==Reception== ===Acclaim=== According to a 2012 study, ''Aravot'' was the "more neutral and objective" of all Armenian newspapers.<ref name="Karapetyan">{{cite web|last1=Karapetyan|first1=R. S.|title=Հայաստանի և սփյուռքի թերթերի կոնտենտ անալիզ [Motherland–Diaspora in Armenian Press (Based on Armenian Periodicals' Content Analysis)]|url=http://www.mindiaspora.am/res/Hratarakumner/2013/Karapetian.pdf|website=mindiaspora.am|publisher=Gitutyun|accessdate=11 December 2014|location=Yerevan|page=31|language=hy|date=2012|quote=Հետազոտական խմբի կողմից նախնական մոնիտորինգի և մի շարք փորձագիտական գնահատականների հիման վրա հայաստանյան տպագիր մամուլից որպես «իշխանամետ»-«ընդդիմադիր» տարբաժանման մեջ առավել չեզոք կամ օբյեկտիվ օրաթերթ առանձնացվել է «Առավոտը»:}}</ref>

Military analyst Vahram Mirakyan praised ''Aravot'' for being more balanced in their articles about the Armenian Army than other independent or opposition newspapers. Although the majority of articles were negative in their content, they were largely devoid of "libels" and had more neutral and positive articles than the other newspaper monitored in the study.<ref>{{cite web|last=Mirakyan|first=Vahram|title=Բանակի վերաբերյալ սոցիալական դիրքորոշումների ձևավորումը տպագիր մամուլի միջոցով|url=http://www.noravank.am/arm/issues/detail.php?ELEMENT_ID=6594|publisher=Noravank Foundation|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20141211031857/http://www.noravank.am/arm/issues/detail.php?ELEMENT_ID=6594|archivedate=11 December 2014|language=hy|date=12 July 2011|quote=«Առավոտ» օրաթերթում նույնպես գերակշռում են բանակի մասին բացասական երանգավորում ունեցող հոդվածները, սակայն այստեղ, ի տարբերություն «Հրապարակ»-ի, բավական շատ են նաև դրական և չեզոք երանգավորումով հոդվածները, և «Առավոտ-ի» ընթերցողների մեջ բանակի մասին բացասական սոցիալական դիրքորոշումների ձևավորման հավանականությունն անհամեմատ ավելի փոքր է, քան «Հրապարակ»-ի պարագայում:}}</ref>

In 2014, Raffi Hovannisian praised ''Aravot'' for its professionalism and unbiased reporting.<ref name="168 am"/>

===Criticism=== In 2005, Liana Sayadyan of ''Hetq Online'' wrote that ''Aravot'' is not an independent newspaper since it was established by former Interior Minister Vano Siradeghyan. She also suggested that Abrahamyan "does not hide his admiration for the former government. Hence, Aravot has not been independent from the start, and Vano Siradeghyan himself confessed on more than one occasion that by publishing ''Aravot'' he hoped to reestablish the popularity" of HHSh.<ref>{{cite news|last=Sayadyan|first=Liana|title=Freedom of the Press is Just an Ideal|url=http://hetq.am/eng/news/8843/freedom-of-the-press-is-just-an-ideal.html|work=Hetq Online|date=19 January 2005}}</ref>

'''Staff'''

Aravot's current staff include Aram Abrahamyan, Anna Israelyan, Emma Gabrielyan, Margarit Harutyunyan, Gohar Hakobyan, Nelli Grigoryan, Melanya Barseghyan, Tatev Harutyunyan, Roza Hovhannisyan, Ruzan Minasyan, Arpine Simonyan, Arsen Aivazian, Nune Arevshatyan and Armen Davtyan.

== References == {{Reflist|2}}

Category:Newspapers published in Armenia Category:Armenian-language newspapers Category:1994 establishments in Armenia