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2007 Assessment

Georgia: Integrity Indicators Scorecard

Georgia: Integrity Scorecard Report > Sub-Category: Media
Indicators		Score
5	Are media and free speech protected?	100
6	Are citizens able to form print media entities?	100
7	Are citizens able to form broadcast (radio and TV) media entities?	50
8	Can citizens freely use the Internet?	100
9	Are the media able to report on corruption?	75
10	Are the media credible sources of information?	60
11	Are journalists safe when investigating corruption?	67

Indicator and sub-Indicator Details

Are media and free speech protected?

5a: In law, freedom of the media is guaranteed.

Score:

YES

Comments: see: Freedom of Expression in Georgia by the Georgian Young Lawyers Association, Tbilisi, 2006; At: [ LINK ] for detailed review of the freedom of media legislation.

References: Constitution of Georgia, Article 19 Law on Freedom of Speech and Expression from 2004; Criminal Code; General Adinistrative Code

5b: In law, freedom of speech is guaranteed.

Score:

YES

Comments: see: Freedom of Expression in Georgia by the Georgian Young Lawyers Association, Tbilisi, 2006; At: [ LINK ] for detailed review of the freedom of speech legislation.

References: Constitution of Georgia, Article 19 Law on Freedom of Speech and Expression from 2004; Criminal Code; General Adinistrative Code

Are citizens able to form print media entities?

6a: In practice, the government does not create barriers to form a print media entity.

Score:

100

Comments: There is a problem due to high taxes and small circulation.

References: There are no media reports.

Peer Review Comments: The government encourages the licensing of community radio stations that are established in Kvemo Kartli and Samtskhe-Javakheti regions (which are populated by national minorities). The radio stations were established within the framework of a joint project of Georgian CSO Studio Re and the British Broadcasting Company.

6b: In law, where a print media license is necessary, there is an appeal mechanism if a license is denied or revoked.

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: Civil Code of Georgia No special license is requested.

6c: In practice, where necessary, citizens can obtain a print media license within a reasonable time period.

Score:

100

Comments:

References: There is no requirement for licenses.

6d: In practice, where necessary, citizens can obtain a print media license at a reasonable cost.

Score:

100

Comments:

References: There is no requirement for licenses.

Are citizens able to form broadcast (radio and TV) media entities?

7a: In practice, the government does not create barriers to form a broadcast (radio and TV) media entity.

Score:

100

Comments: The issue with the TV company is still unresolved. The government does not allow for any new TV station to be created, especially if it is not controlled by them.

References: Report of the Newspaper "Rezonansi" from May 1, 2006 "TV Company 'Europe' Has Been Unable to Launch Its Programs in Georgia During the Last Two Years" see at: [ LINK ]

see report Freedom of Expression in Georgia by the Georgian Young Lawyers Association, Tbilisi, 2006; At: [ LINK ] CHANGES IN GEORGIAN MEDIA INDUSTRY REFLECT POLITICAL INFIGHTING ... established in 2003 still cannot start broadcast due to artificial barriers created by authorities, the television founder Temur Shengelia complained. see at: www.jamestown.org/edm/article.php?article_id=2370675 Interview with the lawyers of Mr.Temur Shengelia, the owner of TV company "Europe", March, 2007

Peer Review Comments: One should also mention that the GOG and the ruling party are "boycotting" one of the TV stations, owned by Badri Patarkatsishvili, who is rumored to be the chief financier of opposition parties.

7b: In law, where a broadcast (radio and TV) media license is necessary, there is an appeal mechanism if a license is denied or revoked.

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: Law on Broadcasting, from December 2004, Chapter IV, Rules of Appeal Civil Code of Georgia Code of Civil Procedure

7c: In practice, where necessary, citizens can obtain a broadcast (radio and TV) media license within a reasonable time period.

Score:

100

Comments: According to the Law on Broadcasting, there is a 30 day-period for obtaining a license, yet it can be extended up to six months if problems arise. As the frequency is declared as a scarce resource by the Communications Regulatory Commission, virtually no new license can be issued in Georgia. Several TV companies have been shut down, but no new companies have been established. Establishing a radio station and getting a license is easier and possible.

References: See reports at: [ LINK ] see report Freedom of Expression in Georgia by the Georgian Young Lawyers Association, Tbilisi, 2006; At: [ LINK ] CHANGES IN GEORGIAN MEDIA INDUSTRY REFLECT POLITICAL INFIGHTING ... established in 2003 still cannot start broadcast due to artificial barriers created by authorities, the television founder Temur Shengelia complained. see at: www.jamestown.org/edm/article.php?article_id=2370675

7d: In practice, where necessary, citizens can obtain a broadcast (radio and TV) media license at a reasonable cost.

Score:

100

Comments:

Can citizens freely use the Internet?

8a: In practice, the government does not prevent citizens from accessing content published online.

Score:

100

Comments:

References: There are no reports of any problems in internet use.

8b: In practice, the government does not censor citizens creating content online.

Score:

100

Comments:

References: There are no reports.

Are the media able to report on corruption?

9a: In law, it is legal to report accurate news even if it damages the reputation of a public figure.

Score:

YES

Comments: Law on Freedom of Speech and Expression requires accurate news reporting, but there are no sanctions or administrative measures in case of violation of this rule.

References: Georgian Administrative Code; Georgian Law on Freedom of Speech and Expression, arts. 52 and 54

9b: In practice, the government or media owners/distribution groups do not encourage self-censorship of corruption-related stories.

Score:

100

Comments:

References: see reports from: Situation Reports: Caucasus (Armenia; Azerbaijan; Georgia): pro-government media often exercised self-censorship www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/AMMF-6V5F35?OpenDocument

Freedomhouse.org: Country Report: Georgia; reports from 2005, 2006,

Committee of Ministers - Honoring of Commitments by Georgia Report where reference was also made to some degree of self-censorship in the media, which was possibly the result of political pressure [ LINK ]

Peer Review Comments: Self-censorship has been a problem in all Soviet successor states. Yet, I don't see that Georgia is a particularly strong example of the existence of self-censorship.

Peer Review Comments: Self-censorship is a problem in Imedi TV as well, which is not under the government's control, but seems to take quotes from pro-government sources out of context in order to mislead the public.

Self-censorship must also be viewed from the point of view of individual journalists and their professionalism.

Peer Review Comments: Recent events in Georgia show that some TV companies and newspapers practice self-censorship. Consequently, it is evident that this is also practiced in regard to corruption issues.

9c: In practice, there is no prior government restraint (pre-publication censoring) on publishing corruption-related stories.

Score:

100

Comments: Although such publications are unlikely to exist in state-controlled media, there is still one national and one Tbilisi local TV that provide corruption-related covarage and stories. However, state-controlled media are all about pleasing the government and discovering only those corruption-related stories where the government already reacted and arrested officials. So, the situation is rather puzzling, as, in theory, newspaper are free to publish whatever they wish - true, not true, documented or false rumors. The government does not directly attack or prohibit those publications, but by placing increased tax burden over the print media and by officially prohibiting the government institutions to subscribe to newspapers, the state is putting pressure on the media.

References: No media reports exist.

Peer Review Comments: There is no official pre-publication censorship.

Peer Review Comments: I agree with the score in that there is quite a bit of censoring or self-censoring that takes place in certain newspapers and TV stations. While the government does not prohibit publications that are vocal in their opposition, there have been cases of referring to these publications are "yellow press" or "rubbish."

The increased tax burden was not a real increase. The press received exemptions for sometime, but the law provided that these exemptions would be abolished at a certain date. This was considered by many as increase in the tax burden.

Are the media credible sources of information?

10a: In law, print media companies are required to disclose their ownership.

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: Law on Broadcasting, art.61 Georgian Civil Code; There is a bussiness register that is publicly available.

10b: In law, broadcast (radio and TV) media companies are required to disclose their ownership.

Score:

YES

Comments: The law requires disclosure of all partners, shareholders with more than five percent of stocks.

References: Law on Broadcasting, art.61 Georgian Civil Code; There is a bussiness register that is publicly available.

10c: In practice, journalists and editors adhere to strict, professional practices in their reporting.

Score:

100

Comments:

References: There is no formal or informal code of conduct in Georgia. The Law on Broadcasting is requesting adoption of one, but it has never been adopted.

Peer Review Comments: Having been able to read Georgian newspaper in both the late 1990s and today, I certainly see some improvements.

10d: In practice, during the most recent election, political parties or independent candidates received fair media coverage.

Score:

100

Comments: During the last national elections, in Oct. 2006, there was no political debate and electoral talk-show on any Georgian TV. I believe it answers the question.

References: MONITORING MISUSE OF ADMINISTRATIVE RESOURCES 2006 LOCAL GOVERNMENT ELECTIONS Tbilisi, Georgia, TI-Georgia, 2006

Peer Review Comments: I agree with the score, but there are other ways than through a political debate that all political parties and independent candidates can receive fair coverage. All parties got a certain amount of time to address the public on the National Public Broadcasting Channel, though it was not nearly enough.

10e: In practice, political parties and candidates have equitable access to state-owned media outlets.

Score:

100

Comments: There are no state media in Georgia as such legally speaking. We have one public broadcaster and all other TV stations are private. By law, all parties and candidates have equal advertising time. Other than that, participntion in talk-shows and news programs is always dominated by the rulling party.

References: See OSCE election report, October 2006 local elections in Georgia see Election Media Monitoring report of the ISFED, for 2006 local elections in Georgia MONITORING MISUSE OF ADMINISTRATIVE RESOURCES 2006 LOCAL GOVERNMENT ELECTIONS; Tbilisi, Georgia, TI-Georgia, 2006

Peer Review Comments: Georgian Public Broadcasting is funded by the national budget.

Opposition leaders get much more coverage on Imedi TV than pro-government forces. But this is also a problem partly of their own making, as these forces have been boycotting Imedi TV for the past year or so.

Are journalists safe when investigating corruption?

11a: In practice, in the past year, no journalists investigating corruption have been imprisoned.

Score:

YES

$Scoring Criteria :: YES: A YES score is earned if there were no journalists imprisoned related to work covering corruption during the study period. A YES score is positive. NO: A NO score is earned if any journalist was jailed because of his/her work covering corruption during the study period. The causal relationship between the official charges and the journalist\'s work may not be explicit, however the burden of proof here is low. If it seems likely that the journalist was imprisoned due to his or her work, then the indicator is scored as a NO. Corruption is defined broadly to include any abuses of power, not just the passing of bribes.$

Comments:

References: No media reports exist.

11b: In practice, in the past year, no journalists investigating corruption have been physically harmed.

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: There were multiple such cases, especially in the regions. There were more than 45 cases reported of physical abuse over journalists all over the country, for reporting on corruption, or otherwise abuse of power by the public officials. See at: [ LINK ]

Peer Review Comments: In this regard, journalists of regional media outlets are more vulnerable than those working in the capital. International organizations and influential Georgian CSOs who are headquartered in the capital can mobilize support through Tbilisi-based free media easier than those who are located in other regions.

11c: In practice, in the past year, no journalists investigating corruption have been killed.

Score:

YES

$Scoring Criteria :: YES: A YES score is earned if there were no documented cases of journalists being killed because of their work covering corruption-related issues during the study period. A YES score is positive. NO: A NO score is earned if there were any documented cases where a journalist was killed in relation to his or her work covering corruption-related issues in the study period. The relationship between a mysterious death and an individual\'s work may not be clear, however the burden of proof here is low. If it is a reasonable guess that a person was killed in relation to his or her work on corruption issues, then the indicator is scored as a NO. Corruption is defined broadly to include any abuses of power, not just the passing of bribes.$

Comments:

References: No media reports exist.