“These days, people only believe information broadcast on TV and radio. A person who reads the news in the newspaper does not believe that information without hearing it confirmed on the TV or radio”, said the head of the Azerbaijani Presidential Administration’s Social and Political Department Ali Hasanov during the specialized courses on election rights held for the chairmen of District Election Commissions in Central Election Commission, APA reports.
Hasanov said that several newspapers wrote either positive or negative information about the same person for material interests. According to him, they take money from one person and portray him in a positive light; for negative portrayals, they don’t take money.
“Some newspapers put ministers into ‘jail’ ten times, or ‘dismiss from their jobs’ 15 times,” Hasanov said.
Hasanov said that the law must prevail in every type of activity. He underlined the importance preserving transparency for all activities. He stated that the newspapers must provide readers with true and accurate information. “From 9am to 2pm every day I read local and international newspapers, websites, watch TV news and give instructions. After that, I have only 4 hours to deal with the management of socio-political activities.”
There are 9 TV channels broadcast throughout Azerbaijan, all of which are believed by independent experts to be under governmental control.