Georgian media most trusted in Caucasus, poll reveals

Georgia’s media is more trusted than outlets in neighboring Caucasus countries, with 47 percent of Georgians partially or fully trusting the media compared to 43 percent in Azerbaijan and 39 percent in Armenia, according to a survey released Tuesday.

“I can say people trust the media in Georgia more compared to neighboring countries because the Georgian media is very diverse but not yet as professional and independent as we ultimately want it to be,” Nino Danelia, media researcher at the Caucasus School of Journalism and Media Management, told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review.

“We have pro-government media including the national TV broadcasters and we have opposition TV channels covering Tbilisi and the region. Also, we have print media, which is totally supportive of the opposition,” she said.

The Caucasus Research Resource Center, or CRRC, a network of research and training centers in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia, undertook an in-depth study into the Georgian media landscape between August and November.

The study consisted of a comprehensive survey of the Georgian public’s attitude toward the media, a series of focus groups with citizens, interviews with top media officials and a media-monitoring project to analyze the current state of Georgian TV news.

Georgia’s media landscape has been the subject of intense debate lately with press freedom high on the agenda of the European Union’s neighborhood policy program with Tbilisi. Georgian officials said free press is one of the most fundamental tenants of a democratic society but admit more needs to be done to expand press freedoms in Georgia.

“Georgia is much better in terms of media freedom compared to its neighbors but it is not enough,” said a European Union source who asked to remain anonymous. “Polarization is extremely high in society and in the media. You cannot find a straightforward broadcaster,” said the source.

International observers said Georgia has the best laws in the Caucasus safeguarding press freedom. Some said that despite economic hardships, the Georgian press is still relatively free, but warned that the polarization of the media must be overcome. Many respondents said media outlets are often viewed as biased in Georgia rather than acting as impartial sources of information. The trend appears to have deep roots in the country, where national channel Rustavi 2 played a major role in the process that led to the Rose Revolution in 2003.

“It is time to assess the level of media freedom in Georgia,” said Ana Karlsreiter of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. “Journalists have no risk of being imprisoned. The country has probably the best laws in the region but the print media is very much polarized.” 

TV drives Georgian politics

According to the survey, the results of which were announced at an international seminar in Tbilisi this week, television is very important in Georgia. It revealed that Georgians are avid consumers of news, with 84 percent of respondents watching TV news everyday, most for between a half hour and two hours.

“Georgians are very politicized people. They are very interested in politics and most watch TV to receive information on political news,” said Nino Zuriashvili, founder of Studio Monitor, an independent media outlet.

Asked by the Daily News if the Georgian media is trusted, she said: “If media is professional, people trust it. In Georgia, there are very biased TV companies and newspapers. People don’t trust information financed by politicians. We have independent sources not controlled by the government and people trust them,” she said. “Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, we have had independent media.”

There is an ongoing divide over access to different sources of TV news in Georgia, the survey revealed. Most of the country can only access Rustavi 2, Imedi TV and Channel 1 of the state-funded public broadcaster. These stations are considered pro-government by 51 percent of respondents. Tbilisi is also served by two channels Maestro and Kavkasia, which are widely considered to be supportive of the opposition. Some 68 percent of Tbilisi residents said Kavkasia represents opposition interests, and 50 percent said Maestro is also supportive of the opposition.

Biased reporting is unacceptable to 75 percent of Georgians, the survey showed. Some 61 percent or respondents said news coverage is influenced by the owners of the TV stations.

Georgians are strongly opposed to any form of state censorship, according to the survey. It showed that 63 percent agree the government should not control media output, with just 22 percent saying the government has a right to control the press. The survey revealed participants in the focus groups said censorship was only applicable at a time of war. Despite that, many respondents said Georgia currently lacks freedom of speech. At least 44 percent of respondents said they partially disagree with the statement that there is freedom of speech in Georgia, compared with 35 percent who agree.

Most Georgians are well aware of the problems in their media sector, according to the survey, which revealed that there is a real desire to achieve a more professional, unbiased and independent media landscape. A large majority of respondents said they would like to see crucial current events investigated by journalists without interference either from the government or from the owners of media outlets.

Despite the problems of the Georgian media, 64 percent of respondents said they trust journalists. Over 60 percent would be happy for their children to pursue a career in journalism, according to the survey. 

Media professionals: critical and concerned

Compared to the general public, media professionals are much more uneasy about the state of Georgian media, the results showed.

CRRC surveyed and interviewed 47 media professionals in October. It found that media professionals are much more concerned about government interference, with 83 percent believing that journalists are often influenced by government interests, compared to just 18 percent of the general public. Many of the professional respondents said pro-government bias was very detectable in TV stations.

"As the survey clearly puts it, TV is the main source of information in Georgia and the government tries to exert control over national broadcasters," said the anonymous EU source.

Some 54 percent of journalists agree that they have freedom of speech to some extent but this agreement is muted, according to the survey. Self-censorship is also considered a problem. Thus, the preferences of the government (83 percent) and the media owner (79 percent) are seen as more powerful than personal views (49 percent) in influencing how TV journalists report the news.