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AMC Becomes an Emergency Center for Journalists
April 30, 2009 Azerbaijan Media Center staff makes an emergency call to the nearest police station immediately after the first shot at the Azerbaijan State Oil Academy. Located opposite from the Academy building, AMC staff can watch every moment of tragedy from the window.
AMC becomes an emergency center for journalists reporting on the breaking news accident. Reporters are offered work stations, fast internet and phone lines to provide public with information.
Heated debate on the First May Holiday
May 05, 2009 At once three MPs visit Media Center to debate on the role of 1 st May holiday. Initiated by the Azerbaijan Yeni Nasil Communist Party, it becomes one of the hottest debates in the entire AMC debates history.
Is 1st May holiday for communists or workers? Diversity of opinions slightly turns into war of words. Moderator and Debate Coordinators make their best to calm down the opponents. For the first time in AMC debates history traditional handshaking does not take place.
Marketing for Museums
May 20, 2009 OSI AF plans to restore culture of museums through marketing and fundraising. Media Center hosts OSI AF press conference where Foundation's spokesperson Rovshan Bagirov says trainings on marketing and fundraising will be provided for museums personnel.
Alarming Regulations for internet
June 04, 2009 Authorities intend to regulate internet newsmaking, yet still to figure out how. The conference on Internet Media Regulations jointly organized by Council of Europe and National TV and Radio Council becomes a ground for different gently expressed opinions on the subject of internet media regulations. Having the Head of Political and Social Department at the Presidential Office, NTRC Head and Council of Eurore representative at the one table does not help however to achieve an integrated idea of internet media regulations.
95% of the Azerbaijani population use dial-up or similar connections and the average cost of a 1Mb/s monthly connection is between 60-120 manats, which is a huge price for an average person in Azerbaijan.
Civil Society Under Threat
June 08, 2009 Controversial amendments that would impose new restrictions on non-governmental organizations could force numerous local and international NGOs in Azerbaijan to cease operations. Proposed amendments had been sent to Parliament for consideration.
Ad-hoc NGO coalition is formed to protect civil society. Media Center hosts the first meeting of coalition to agree on action plan.
US Ambassador Condemns Proposed Amendments to the NGO Law
June 17, 2009 US Ambassador Anne Derse says proposed amendments to the NGO law "would contravene international standards, result in further restrictions on freedom of speech and association, and put development of civil society in Azerbaijan at risk."
The US government is one of the largest international donors in Azerbaijan. Over $10 million of this year's $25 million budget request for assistance to Azerbaijan was allocated to civil society programs, including rule-of-law initiatives and anti-corruption programs.
The 50-percent-local-funding requirement proposed in the new amendments could be a serious setback for US-funded civil society programs.
Hearings on the NGO Law Postponed
June 19, 2009 Azerbaijan's Parliament, Milli Mejlis, is expected to consider the bill on June 19, just 10 days after the proposed amendments were announced. However, MPs decide to postpone discussions to June 30.
1.1 million fromTaxpayers to Media
June 25, 2009 State Support to Media Foundation allocates 1.1 million manat for development projects. Foundation Head, Vugar Safarov names human rights, Karabakh conflict, freedom of expression and media professionalism among key categories for grant competition. Deadline for receiving application is July 30, 2009. Only print media (except state-run newspapers) and information agencies are eligible to apply.
NGO Survived, Religious Communities Under Threat
June 30, 2009 Parliament drops most contentious changes to the NGO law. Meanwhile, Milli Mejlis adopts controversial amendments to the Religion Law which prohibit foreign-educated people from heading religious bodies, changes that were opposed by religious groups.
Help to make our newsletter better!
We are continually working on expanding and enhancing the newsletter so, if you have ideas on how we can improve it and what you would like included then please email your ideas to us.
We also welcome contributions. If you have an interesting write-up feel free to share with us. We may consider posting it in the next issue of our newsletter.
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| Issue 4. July 2009 |
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Letter from the Editor |
 Having arrived unpredictably quickly after a cool May, the summer rounds its second month leaving behind not only the early days of sweltering heat and exasperating moisture, typical for the local climate, but also the heated disputes around internet media regulations and possible restrictions on NGO and media activities, atypical events even for the battle ready and vetted civil society.
The June conference on Internet media, coinciding as it did with the possibility of new amendments to the Media and NGO laws, portend the prospect of a continuing restive and eventful summer.
The Azerbaijan Media Center staff has had several hectic months organizing its series of debates covering all the summer's "hot issues" while also finalizing the package of recommendations for improving media professionalism in Azerbaijan. In parallel, we were working on the first issue of the Media Times newsletter, the successor to The Debater, our previous bulletin that reported mainly on our debate project.
Media Times. We could not have found a better name for a newsletter that aims to keep you close to the media. Hopefully the interview with recognized journalist, Ilhamiyya Rzayeva, expert insights from OSI AF PR & Media Director Rovshan Bagirov, and an overview of the former White House spokesperson's visit spiced with soldiers' stories and May - June highlights will help our newsletter to become your favorite source of information.
As you continue to read this introductory edition of the newsletter, you may find yourself commenting that this sounds like a typical "let's throw things together ahead of schedule, cross our fingers, and pray we're done in time" effort. But at the same time, if you're scanning this page sometime in July 2009, it means we've been so far successful.
Enjoy the rest of the newsletter,
Gulnara Akhundova
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Standing on the Front Line
 By Gulnara Akhundova
Fully dedicated to her work, Ilhamiyya Rzayeva may be considered very tough person by those who have not had a chance to meet her closer. Indeed, she is very friendly and open-hearted woman with incredible charisma in each move and word. Today, we've met not for typical women's chat (we have them sometimes: ) but for discussion of the AMC and Yeni Nasil-run Debate Project in which Ilhamiyya takes a leading role.
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Working for the White House is like working as a reporter
By Elshad Farzaliyev
 14 May, 2009 - Former White House spokeswoman, Dana Perino arrived at the Azerbaijan Media Center to meet local media. During that event Perino shared her experience of working in the White House and told journalists about her impressions of meetings with government officials. For two hours, Media Center became a floor of diverse opinions on the current situation around media in Azerbaijan.
"I am delighted to be in Azerbaijan and to meet local journalists", Perino welcomed the audience. Perino's meeting with journalists was part of her US Embassy-organized visit to Azerbaijan..
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Guns & lies
 By Gulnara Akhundova
To any passerby, despite the presence of a military unit situated in one of the picturesque, mountainous regions of Azerbaijan, this would seem nonetheless just a green and quiet place. No one knows what happens inside the walls of this installation except the soldiers and their commanders. In a car parked just outside the newly-colored gate, we are waiting for our friend who serves the country in this unit.
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Expert Interview
 In this section, we are pleased to share with our readers experts' opinion on the topics related to professionalism and pluralism in the media. This time Gulnara Akhundova has interviewed Rovshan Bagirov, a board member for AMC and Media Programs/ PR Director for OSI AF in Azerbaijan.
GA: In light of the recent arrest of two bloggers and youth activities what would you recommend to Azerbaijani bloggers?
RB: First of all people should not get arrested for the free expression, if that was the case. The concept of open society is based on the recognition that people act on imperfect knowledge and nobody is in possession of the ultimate truth. An open society recognizes the importance of different views and interests and remains forever open to improvement.
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Keep the faith
 By Azer Nezerov
In early May, a few days after the tragedy in the Azerbaijan State Oil Academy I stopped at the grocery to buy some fruits for my family. The greengrocer, 30 years old guy with beard, looked very anxious. 'Everything bad that happens in this country is automatically attributed to the religion. I believe the government will soon say the tragedy in the Oil Academy was organized by religious groups', he said.
So far no one has claimed the tragedy was anyhow related to religion. Yet my neighbor had some reasons for such anxiety - for the year he has seen his religious folks arrested or detained.
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CONTRIBUTION
Deconstructing News Stories into Tweets
 By David Brewer
In this section, we post stories from our contributors-partners, donors and media. David Brewer's article can be very helpful for those who are interested in social networking and new media. David Brewer is a media strategy expert from UK. David's 30 years as a journalist and manager spans newspapers, radio, TV, and online. At the invitation of AMC, David will arrive in Azerbaijan to deliver 5day training on social networking in late August.
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