Up until six decades or more ago, the primary sources for Armenian news came through 
word of mouth or newspapers that were owned and operated by our opposing Armenian 
political factions.  There weren’t many independent publications to speak of.  And the 
few that did exist had an awful time surviving because independent thinking during those 
early years wasn’t in vogue.  You either leaned to one side or the other.  In short, if you 
weren’t ‘fer’ us, you were ‘agin’ us.


To be socially accepted, most of us were politically biased and our biases were generally 
dictated by the majority in the divided Armenian communities of which we were a part.   
And this was understandable since the politicals dominated the scene and changing sides 
was considered criminal.  For the most part, our immigrant parents were struggling for 
their day-to-day survival in a newly adopted and often hostile ‘odar world.’   As survivors 
from the 1915 Genocide, neither they nor their ancestors had ever lived in a democracy.   
Furthermore, the horrible memories of the genocide,  along with the uncertainties they 
were facing in their newly adopted country, left little room for realizing and practicing the 
luxury of being free and independent.    


In the old days, it was easy for our opposing politicals to keep their divided communities 
in check.  All they had to do was to initiate an opinion or decision and almost at the speed 
of light, through geometric progression, their respective divided communities would soak 
it up like a sponge.  And though there may have been some who may have had 
reservations, they seldom if ever voiced their feelings publicly for fear of being shunned 
or, at worst, ostracized.


As with most things in life, time is incorruptible.  Though some of those old one-sided 
attitudes still remain, we are finding more and more independent thinking being 
expressed publicly today.  As for our Armenian newspapers, the most widely distributed 
and read are our independent ones.  


And as for our once prominent political newspapers, though there are many who still 
subscribe to them because of the ideologies they represent, their directives are no longer 
carved in stone, as in the old days.  And with the Internet coming on line giving further 
access to accurate happenings throughout the world, credibility is no longer a myth; it’s a 
reality.


Before, the printed word was gospel.  In today’s world, the printed word without proper 
verification doesn’t go very far.  True, we do have some among us who still bury their heads in the sand but fortunately, with each passing day, their numbers are diminishing.


Of course, modern media does go to extremes at times.  But what is extreme to one reader 
may not be to another.  Fact is, if there ever is a chance for our Armenians to find the true 
meaning of unity, it can only come about through a network of accurate, unbiased, and 
objective news sources. 


Looking back over the old days and the politically preordained way we were living 
reminds me of my old army days.  Most of the rumors we heard originated in the latrine 
and when we heard a new one going around, we would always ask, "Which stool did you 
get that one from?"  


Freedom of speech is the bulwark of a free and independent society and the sentinel for 
that bulwark is a free press.


Joseph Vosbikian