United States Agency for Global Media

RFE/RL Mixes It Up with Live Blogs, Google+ Hangout

February 21, 2013

The February 18 Armenian presidential elections offered a platform for innovative and collaborative coverage by RFE/RL's Armenian Service. Service Director Hrair Tamrazian landed interviews with all major candidates, including incumbent president Serzh Sarkisian. On February 13, RFE/RL's inaugural Google+ Hangout launched with an election rundown that included political expert and scholar Richard Giragosian, Tamrazian, and other Radio Azatutyun journalists. Analyzing a complex political season that saw one candidate as the victim of an assassination attempt and two others holding hunger strikes, the panel also fielded questions from both Twitter and Facebook audiences. On election day, a live blogkept voters and election watchers updated with up-to-the-minute reports, video, graphics, and insight from the Armenian Service, Twitter, and others. Read More