In Armenia, Blogs Step in as News Source

On 3 March, the Armenian government declared a 20-day state of emergency after confrontations between the former president and security due to tensions after the contested elections that took place on 19 February. As part of the state of emergency, the government declared that the only news that can be published by the media outlets is news that comes directly from the government.

As Global Voices notes, all television stations in Armenia are either state-owned or owned by businesses with close ties to the government, and any other news agencies who didn't comply with the order have been all but silenced. Even Radio Free Europe has been removed from the airwaves.

Google Blogoscoped has a report that YouTube has also been blocked, preventing Armenian citizens from getting news there. The YouTube blockage is undoubtedly to prevent Armenian citizens from viewing the official channel of A1plus news, the pro-opposition station that was taken off the air in 2002.

The Armenian government has apparently underestimated the power of bloggers, however. Armenian bloggers, both inside and outside the Armenian borders, have continued to post and discuss the news, linking those who have been cut off from any non-government news source to alternate sources of information. Both hosted and independent blogs are still able to post articles, and as of yet, no hosted blog services have been blocked.

While many of us take the ability to blog for granted, for many it has become the only way to get more than one version of important news events. Citizen journalism may be a luxury here in the U.S., but for many parts of the world, it's a necessity.