17 January 2013 Last updated at 05:08 ET

Armenia profile

Television is Armenia's dominant medium. Some 25 private stations operate alongside two public networks. The main Russian networks are widely available.

Few Armenians rely on newspapers as their main news source. Print runs are small - usually a few thousand copies - and most titles are owned by wealthy individuals or political parties.

A media law prohibits censorship. However, libel and defamation can be punished by prison terms and journalists have been sentenced under relevant laws.

US-based Freedom House says a lack of judicial independence, a climate of impunity, and violence and harassment against the media have led to widespread self-censorship.

There were 1.8 million internet users by December 2011 (InternetWorldStats.com). Most surfers access the web via their mobiles. There have been no reports of official curbs on internet access since 2008, when the government restricted access to opposition websites.

Russian-language Odnoklassniki and Facebook are the most popular social media platforms.

The press

Television

Radio

News agencies/internet

  • Arka - private, English-language pages
  • Armenpress - state-run, English-language pages
  • Mediamax - private, English-language pages
  • Arminfo - private
  • A1+ - news website, English-language pages

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