In the middle of the 19th century, or rather in the summer of 1875, the first Azerbaijani newspaper "Ekinchi", which means "Plowman" in Russian, debuted. That is why, after the republic gained independence in 1991, the National Press Day is annually celebrated in Azerbaijan on July 22. But in the last decade, this holiday has not been celebrated at all.
On July 22, 2012 the Republic of Azerbaijan celebrated the National Press Day. On this holiday, members of human rights organizations and correspondents of independent media paid tribute at the graves of famous Azerbaijani journalists: Najaf Najafov, Elmar Huseynov and Hasan bey Zardabi, who devoted themselves to this dangerous profession and gave their lives for it.
Emir Huseynov, head of the Institute for Freedom and Safety of Reporters, gave an interview to the correspondent of the newspaper "Caucasian Knot". In it, he expressed regret that the republic has not been celebrating the press holiday for several years now. In his opinion, doing journalism in Azerbaijan is a rather risky business. Since here you can lose honor, health, freedom and even life.
Many correspondents and youth activists still remain behind bars. Various charges have been brought against them: treason, incitement to religious and racial hatred, the threat of terrorism, and even tax evasion. At this time, 4 correspondents and 2 bloggers have been taken into custody.
Shahin Khadzhiyev, who is the editor of the Turan agency, spoke about the fact that it is very unprofitable to do journalism in Azerbaijan now. That is why one of the problems of this Caucasian state is the lack of competition. Indeed, in order to display truthful information in the press, one often has to deal with political interests.
According to the editor, the Azerbaijani advertising market remains under state control. In a difficult financial situation, many media editors are forced to obey the instructions of the authorities and retreat from their positions in order for their publications to somehow continue to exist. Also, considerable pressure on the press is exerted by oligarchs who play their games in the economy and politics of the republic.
The lack of prospects for this profession in Azerbaijan was also confirmed by the teacher of Baku University Zeynal Mammadli. He stated that the only way out is to strengthen civil society, ensure an atmosphere of a democratic market and pluralism. And the current spirit of monopoly is killing the development of journalism in the republic.
Finally, in the opinion of Bakhtiyar Sadigov, editor of the “Azerbaijan” newspaper, the republics' media exist entirely with the support of the state. He claims that the government has written off debts to many publishers and media outlets and even provided loans to the press. In addition, the State Media Support Fund has been organized in Azerbaijan.
As a result, most of the editors of independent newspapers denounced the authorities for injustice. On the eve of Free Press Day, US President Barack Obama also said that Azerbaijan is one of the countries in which the right to freedom of the press is not exercised.
Nevertheless, the holiday in honor of the Day of National Press of Azerbaijan was marked by a concert on the stage of Buta Palace. On July 22, a concert of the famous Azerbaijani singer Roya took place together with Leonid Agutin, Honored Artist of Russia.
And on July 24, in honor of this celebration, the deputy of the New Azerbaijan Party, Ali Ahmadov, met at the headquarters with the editors of the country's leading media outlets and congratulated them on their professional holiday. At the meeting, he informed the guests about the achievements of the republic's correspondents, about the further goals of work on the development of the press, about the attention given to the media by President Ilham Aliyev. He also wished his colleagues further success in their work.
