Georgia: TV talk show cancellation stirs media rights debate

Molly Corso 7/08/05

Georgian journalists are crying foul after a popular political talk show was taken off the air. While the law protecting free speech in Georgia is considered strong by international standards, journalists and opposition groups are accusing the government of pressuring local media and using indirect measures to dictate what is published or broadcast.

The talk show, Archevanis Zgvarze (On the Verge of Choice), a program on the privately owned television station Mze (Sun), reportedly came under pressure following June 30-July 1 street protests in downtown Tbilisi. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive]. According to show host Irakli Imnaishvili, Mze (pronounced muh-zay) management decided to take his show off the air after authorities criticized the program's coverage of the protests.

During a July 7 telephone interview with EurasiaNet.org, Imnaishvili stopped short of accusing the government of directly pressuring the station, although he believes its criticism played a large role. "It is a fact that directly after the events of Rustaveli Avenue, when members of the ruling party announced on air that they were not satisfied with the coverage, I was told that my program would be taken off the air after Friday, July 8," he said. Imnaishvili stated that although Mze management told him that the show was not popular enough to keep on the air, he believes that that was just an excuse for canceling the program. "Those are the reasons that they always give when they shut down a political talk show," he said.

Despite repeated calls to Mze, no member of management could be reached for comment. Half of the station is reportedly owned by Davit Bezhuashvili, a member of parliament, businessman, and brother of National Security Council Chairman Gela Bezhuashvili. The remaining shares are allegedly owned by Ivane Chkhartishvili, also a member of parliament.

Like Imnaishvili, many journalists are inclined to see the show's cancellation as a sign of the government's limited tolerance for criticism. Eliso Chapidze, a reporter with the daily newspaper Rezonansi, views the end of Imnaishvili's show as another sign that government pressure on the media is growing. "It is getting worse," Chapidze said.

Georgia's journalists have essentially divided into two camps – those who criticize the government and those who do not, added Chapidze. "There are some [journalists] who don't want any wall between the government and journalists," she said. "We think that we should separate ourselves from the government not because we are against them, but merely so we can voice our opinions."

However, other journalists say the issue of media-government relations in Georgia is not that straightforward. "There are problems, definite problems," Dmitri Avaliari, a news editor at the daily newspaper 24 Saati (24 Hours), told EurasiaNet. Avaliari puts the blame more on financial dependence than direct government pressure. "The private stations are being supported by owners who are often businessman. Some journalists feel that they are not free to express their views," he said.

Avaliari noted that he, however, does not sense "any direct pressure."

"In Georgia there are different newspapers and different television stations and we all have different views. The owners and the editors have their own positions. And a lot [of media outlets] are dependent on owners for financial support." Advertisements do little to help newspapers' cash flow, he added.

Chapidze predicted that newspapers' dependence on their owners could now worsen. As of July 1, newspapers and magazines are no longer being purchased with state funds for the office of the president or the State Chancellery, the presidential press service stated. Some journalists tie the decision to newspapers' critical coverage of the June 30-July 1 protests. "They want newspapers to close," Chapidze said. "After that [refusal to subscribe] we will be in a hard financial position."

According to research done by the International Research and Exchanges Board (IREX), Georgian newspapers receive 60-80 percent of their income from subscriptions and sales. In their 2004 Media Sustainability Index (MSI), a review of international media practices, panel members for Georgia noted that it is common for newspapers, television and radio to be owned by business conglomerates. And it is not always easy to identify who actually owns the media outlet. "It is not clear who stands behind the ownership," David Kikalishvili, a Rustavi-2 television anchor and panel member, is quoted as saying in the report.

In its 2005 Freedom of the Press Report, Freedom House, a New York City-based human rights monitoring organization, cited the lack of transparency in media ownership and increased self-censorship as among the concerns for Georgia's media environment.

"[T]he government has indirect control over many broadcasters, while the overall number of independent print and broadcast outlets has diminished. Journalists express wide-ranging and critical views, but diversity in the media decreased this year due to increased self-censorship. Journalists routinely get informal directions from ruling authorities, media owners, and editors. At times, government officials denied reporters access to public meetings."

Zurab Khrikadze, an expert with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe's Freedom of the Media Unit in Tbilisi, believes journalists are perfectly aware of who owns the media outlet and what to expect from the coverage. "Journalists know the [views] of [the] owner. So they really know what their owners expect them not to say, and which topics can't be covered," he said. Khrikadze added that most journalists engage in self-censorship because they have no choice. "The main reason for self-censorship, however, is they will be fired," he said. "They will be downgraded in position and not allowed to publish or produce."

Censorship has already featured prominently in a media scandal in Adjara, less than a year after the central government reestablished its authority in the Black Sea region. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive]. In March 2005, journalists at the state-owned Adjara Television Station in Batumi accused the management of censorship. While one Adjara Television journalist, Avtandil Gadakhabadze, defended the management, he mentioned that there are consequences for journalists if they don't play by the rules. "When [the late Prime Minister Zurab] Zhvania was looking for a way to compromise with [former Adjaran leader Aslan] Abashidze, journalists wrote something else and were fired. They don't work anywhere now," he said.

Prior to the protest in Adjara, there were allegations that the central government had also clamped down on media coverage during the August 2004 fighting between Georgian and South Ossetian troops. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive]. Reportedly, television footage of funerals was banned. The MSI report cited an incident in which the state television station was temporarily taken off the air while broadcasting an interview that contained criticism of government policy.

Most recently, the Interior Ministry has threatened to sue the private television station Imedi for using footage from another station, Rustavi-2. The ministry has an agreement with Rustavi-2 that allows the station to film the Georgian Highway Patrol at work. The ministry argues that Imedi used footage of the patrol without the ministry's permission and, therefore, is liable to court action. Rustavi-2 has not yet commented on the case.

Amid such controversies, the fact that Georgia boasts a strong law protecting freedom of speech does little to allay journalists' concerns. "The law is very good [however] if you will go to court, you have to believe that the court will be independent from the government," Chapidze said. The OSCE's Khrikadze agrees that while Georgia's freedom of expression law looks good in writing, there is little evidence that the law has so far increased a sense of security for journalists. "The laws are there, but laws need effective implementation," he said. "In many cases they [journalists] feel less protected or unprotected. They need effective tools of self-protection."

Some journalists claim that the government is, in fact, controlling the flow of information, selecting individual reporters for access or notification about public events, and excluding certain newspaper and radio reporters. "There is a difference in how today's president addresses journalists from television and how he addresses journalists from newspapers and radio," said Tamar Chikovani, the head of the Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Tbilisi bureau and a member of the IREX panel. "The majority of briefings that are held, only television journalists are informed about. And most occur live, so other journalists do not have a chance to ask questions."

While each ministry has a press secretary and communications office, some journalists say government agencies can be uncooperative and unresponsive to requests for information. Christina Tashkevich, a journalist with the English-language daily The Georgian Messenger, said it is often difficult to get answers to questions. "When I call the Ministry of Economy they say call in one hour, call in three hours. They don't care at all about us; that it is important I get information," Tashkevich said. "I called the Ministry of Economy several months ago when I wanted to check information on privatization. And the press secretary just started shouting at me. I was just trying to verify facts."

Tashkevich stressed that the situation was bad under former president Eduard Shevardnadze, but expressed disappointment that hoped-for improvements have not fully materialized under the reformist administration of President Mikheil Saakashvili. "Sometimes they [government officials] say ‘You don't write well about us. That is why you get such feedback from us.' I was told by the Ministry of Economy [under Shevardnadze] that we don't write well, we ‘misinterpret,'" she said. "It [the press-government relationship] has not changed."

Reporters are often left wondering how far official support for freedom of expression actually goes. "There have been worse times for journalists, but it seems like it is all repeating. It is just insulting that all of this is happening again after the revolution," RFE/RL's Chikovani said. "We all know how to fight for our freedom of speech. It is just insulting to have to do it again."

Editor's Note: Molly Corso is a freelance journalist and photographer based in Tbilisi.

Posted July 8, 2005 © Eurasianet