CJTeam, Yerevan, 22 Apr 2009 – There were 4 newsstands in Alaverdi. Today there is only one functioning in a city with 15 000 population. The other three were closed at the end of last year.
Arpik Muradyan, 46, has been the employee of one of the closed newsstands of Alaverdi for 11 years. She says the administration was displeased of her as she couldn’t meet the intended monthly plan. And now the newsstands’ sellers are experiencing involuntary unpaid downtime for already four months.
At that Arpik tells that every month the sales plan of newspapers and magazines was variable. During the recent months the plan was permanently increasing. “Until recently the monthly sales plan was 170 000 drams (US$450). Then it became 220 000 drams (US$585), which is impossible to provide in Alaverdi,” says Arpik.
She received 100 copies of daily newspapers, 200 copies of entertaining newspapers and magazines per week. “30-40% of those were not sold. In the main I had to return dailies and expensive magazines,” says Arpik. The most expensive goods in the newsstand were the magazines, up to 2000 drams (about US$5), and the cheapest ones were the dailies – 100 drams (US$0, 26).
According to her best of all “Aravot”, “Haykakan Zhamanak”, “Iravunk” and “Chorrord Ishkhanutyun” dailies were sold.
Some of Alaverdi citizens confess that there are few people who read newspapers, but feel sorry for the decreased number of the newsstands. And others say that they haven’t even noticed the newsstands being closed.
Two TV channels only – Public TV and H2 – are accessible in Alaverdi. Armine Babayan of Alaverdi says, “Print media was an alternative means to get information. We are deprived of it. The city districts are disconnected and it is impossible to get through with one newsstand only.”
Hakob Nazaryan, another citizen of Alaverdi tells that during last year he has spent 5000 drams to buy newspapers (about US$13). “It is not little, especially under such conditions. It is impossible to buy a newspaper every day, but at least twice I bought “Aravot” and “Haykakan Zhamanak” dailies per week, or we bought together with friends and pass it hand to hand. Now I will never spent 200 drams to pass 5 kilometers and buy a newspaper,” he says.
Some more newsstands have been closed also in Vanadzor, the regional center of Lori region, 45 kilometers far from Alaverdi. Roza Sargsyan who is a newsstand seller for 35 years works at one of the newsstands functioning in the city center. She too is afraid of her newsstand to be closed, as she could hardly meet the plan. Roza says that the newspapers and magazines she receives every week are of 120 000 drams (US$320). But at the end of a week she has to return those of 50 000 drams (US$133).
“I come at 8 in the morning and work till 8 in the evening in the case my work time ends at 6, but with no result. My colleagues too are experiencing the same. The newspapers are not sold,” says Roza Sargsyan and adds, “2-3 years ago 800-1000 weeklies containing TV programs were sold every day. Now I receive 40 copies, moreover it is already the end of the week but there are still five newspapers remaining.”
The issue is not for Alaverdi or Lori region only. Newsstands have been closed also in other regions of Armenia. About 1, 5 years ago those from Haymamul (ArmPress) passed to Press Stand Company according to the right of property.
The Company assistant director Gurgen Sarukhanyan refused to represent data on how many newsstands have been closed in Armenia, but told it is economic crisis and the reductions are addressed to ease the company’s crisis. “If it is possible, the newsstands will be reopened,” says Sarukhanyan.
In comparison with regional newsstands those in the capital are not being decreased. And during recent months about 40 old newsstands have been substituted for new ones with bigger area and opening windows. The company administration has recently promised to change all of them until the end of this year.
And at the end of last year Arpik, of Alaverdi, was promised that the old newsstands of her city would be reopened in March of this year. However those are still closed. According to Press Stand Company people under involuntary downtime have already been discharged, though Muradyan was unaware.
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