TI Georgia: Russian Media Sources in Georgia should be Limited

Today at the Hotel Courtyard Marriott in Tbilisi, Transparency International (TI) Georgia has organized a meeting between media, the diplomatic corps accredited in Georgia and representatives of international organizations.  

The topics discussed during the meeting concerned recent unfavorable trends in the media environment of Georgia. According to Eka Gigauri, the TI’s Executive Director, a number of unfavorable trends have been observed recent days, which somewhat limits income sources for some media outlets. At the same time, the closure of political talk shows of the Imedi TV and the Public Broadcaster were the core issues why the host organization invited embassies and international organizations to be aware of the entire situation.

The same Gigauri cited that some pro-Russian media sources have emerged in the Georgian media and it is a very alarming trend. She assumes the TI Georgia soon will publish a survey about pro-Russian media outlets in the near future saying, “It is clear that pro-Russian news agencies have emerged, particularly in the print media and on the Internet, which is a very alarming trend.” 

Gigauri assumes it is very complicated to fight against such media sources in an independent and democratic state, as they cannot be closed directly. “Therefore, other means must be used against them. It is not good that some of the pro-Russian media sources get funding from the state and we have some information proving it” – Gigauri concluded.