EU, UNDP Summarize Parliamentary Election Media Monitoring
A list of recommendations has been presented to Georgian media as the result of the 2016 Parliamentary Election media monitoring project, supported by the European Union (EU) and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Those recommendations include calling on the media to offer more in-depth analysis of political programs, to address trends of growing polarization in some media segments, and to root out instances cases of hate speech.
The final reports of media monitoring, released at a press conference on 16 December, acknowledged the progress made by the Georgian media in recent years, and highlighted remaining challenges on the path to quality reporting and professional, ethical media culture.
"Media freedom and pluralism are fundamental values in our cooperation with Georgia. I am pleased that positive trends were observed, pointing to more balanced and diverse reporting in media during the election period. This positive dynamic contributes to the further strengthening of democracy in Georgia," said Janos Herman, Ambassador of the European Union to Georgia.
The EU-UNDP media monitoring examined media performance during the 2016 Parliamentary elections in Georgia, covering forty-seven national and local media outlets in television, radio, print and online media. The monitoring was carried out from May through November 2016 by three Georgian civil society organizations: the Georgian Charter of Journalistic Ethics, Internews Georgia, and the Civic Development Institute (CDI). Throughout the entire monitoring process, media monitors received professional support from the Slovak media monitoring organization Memo’98.
“The findings of the election media monitoring have been informed by the tremendous job of collecting and analysing of up to 300 thousand media monitoring cases, undertaken by our partner civil society organizations. The EU-UNDP media monitoring has become an essential part of election cycles in Georgia, equally useful and beneficial for the media and public,” said Niels Scott, Head of the United Nations in Georgia.