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Armenian print media are diverse and polarized, investigative journalism prospers on the Internet, but pluralism lags behind in the broadcast media, reads the annual Worldwide Index of Press Freedom , released by the Paris-based Reporters Without Borders (RSF) on Wednesday.

The document adda that in the crucial transition to digital TV, a future space for critical broadcasters will depend on the impartiality of the frequency bidding process.

The report represents a country-by-country survey on the level of freedom available to journalists, rating 180 nations on indicators such as censorship, intimidation and violence against journalists.

According to the new report, Armenia has gone five pegs down to the 79th place in the annual media freedom ranking from the 74th place it occupied last year with a score of 30.38

The Reporters Without Borders compiles its annual survey based on several criteria measuring pluralism, media independence, media environment and self-censorship, legislative framework, transparency, and the quality of the infrastructure that supports the production of news and information. To note, the index rankings are based on a scale of 1 to 100, with 0 representing the highest and 100 the lowest level of press freedom.

The report also stated that the Ilur.am news website and the Hraparak newspaper won an important legal victory in October 2015 when the constitutional court issued a ruling upholding the confidentiality of journalists’ sources. “But police violence against journalists continues and still goes unpunished. In July 2016, a dozen journalists were injured while covering the use of force to break up a demonstration,” the document said, referring to the incidents following the hostage standoff in a police station.

According to the document, Armenia is ranked ahead of countries of the former Soviet Union except the Baltics and Georgia, that is ranked 64th in the table. Among EAEU countries Russia is ranked 148th, Belarus - 153th, Kazakhstan 0 - 157th, and Kyrgyzstan 89th.

Norway is leading the ranking, having gone two pegs up in contrast with 2016.Sweden has climbed to the second place and is followed by Finland, the past year's leader.