Georgia: Rumored merger heightens concern about press freedom

Molly Corso: 7/16/08

Rumors of a plan to merge Georgia's three main television broadcasters are stoking concerns about the state of media freedom in Georgia.

Although Tbilisi has been held up in the past as a role model for other former Soviet states in the media realm, local and international observers now say that mass media trends are moving in a negative direction. That trend could accelerate if the media merger goes through.

Georgia Media Incorporated, the media arm of the Georgian Industrial Group (GIG) which owns 45 percent of Rustavi 2 and Mze television stations – the only two functioning, nation-wide stations not under state ownership in Georgia – is rumored to be considering purchasing a 51 percent stake in Imedi Television, a station known for its opposition standpoint.

A spokesperson for Georgian Media Incorporated told EurasiaNet that the proposal was "under consideration" and an announcement is planned for late August. Natia Turnava, the executive director of Georgian Industrial Group, would not comment on the rumors although she said that a merger was a "logical step" for the company.

The proposed purchase by GIG is just the latest in a string of ownership questions for the embattled Imedi. Formally the Georgian flagship entity of late media tycoon Badri Patarkatsishvili and the international media conglomerate News Corp., the station has not fully recovered from fallout surrounding a government case against Patarkatsishvili, who was accused of using the broadcaster in an attempt to overthrow the government.

Currently the station is under the stewardship of Joseph Kay, allegedly a relative and close associate of the late Patarkatsishvili. However, both Patarkatsishvili's family and News Corp announced in March plans to fight Kay's claims to the station. In May, a New York court ruled against Kay, although a Georgian court has ruled in his favor.

The station, which ceased news broadcasts in January of 2008, announced plans to resume full programming in September. Neither Imedi nor News Corp would comment about their involvement in the station for this article.

According to Nina Ognianova, the program coordinator for Europe and Central Asia at the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists, the questions surrounding Imedi's ownership highlight a particularly troubling aspect to Georgia's media market.

"What is currently not available in Georgia is the transparency of who the owners are, what their interests are. There is a lot of speculation about who is who and what their real stake is in these stations and wherever there is a lot of rumor, there is a lot of room for speculation," she told EurasiaNet in a telephone interview. "I think it is the state's role to come forward and to put an end to it ... [and] really declare who is in the market."

Ognianova noted that both Rustavi 2 and Mze are at least partially owned by Davit Bezhuashvili, one of GIG's founders and an MP associated with the governing National Movement Party, as well as the brother of Gela Bezhuashvili, Georgia's spy chief.

Based on information gathered during a trip to Georgia in June, Ognianova expressed concern about the government's growing influence over media coverage over the past year. In addition to state-controlled media, the news coverage of both Rustavi 2 and Mze was deemed to largely reflect the viewpoint of President Mikheil Saakashvili's administration. And in June, coinciding with Ognianova's visit, Mze announced that it was ceasing its news programming.

"My impressions were there weren't an alternative channel to the state version of events in Georgia. Rustavi 2 and the Public Channel and Mze," she said. "[T]he channels did not provide an alternative view to the majority of the public. That was a concern."

Local media observers generally share Ognianova's view about the impact of consolidation among broadcasters. Ia Antadze, a prominent Georgian journalist and media rights advocate, believes that television stations are systematically being purchased by pro-government companies in an effort to sanitize the information people receive. "The government wants to control ... all television companies and they are doing that, very successfully actually," she said.

On July 15, Public Defender Solzar Subari slammed the government's stewardship of media rights during his annual report before parliament. Subari's complaints, which were based on events in 2007, were largely concerned with the government's decision to raid Imedi television station on November 7 and close all media under the state of emergency.

Saakashvili has repeatedly defended his government's track record with media freedoms. During a June 28 press conference, Saakashvili denied allegations that television broadcasters in Georgia operate under government pressure. "[O]ne thing is absolutely clear, all the illusions about restriction of freedom of expression ... have disappeared," he asserted. Many Georgians were being misled by "propaganda of disgust" perpetuated by radio and television outlets that concentrate on the negative.

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

Posted July 16, 2008 © Eurasianet