Georgian Public Broadcaster board calls for investigation of journalists critical of the government

At a meeting on Friday, members of the Georgian Public Broadcaster (GPB) supervisory board stated that the Prosecutor’s Office should investigate the ‘baseless’ claims made by certain GPB journalists while criticising the broadcaster’s editorial policy.

The board members targeted GPB journalists who publicly criticised the channel’s coverage amid protests sparked by the government’s halting of its EU membership bid on 24 November

In December, during the early phase of the protests, one news anchor, Vasil Ivanov-Chikovani, stated live on air that the broadcaster’s editorial policy ‘fails to meet the public’s demands’. Later, he publicly spoke about specific influences on the channel's editorial policy, naming Vasil Maghlaperidze as a particular influence.

Maghlaperidze had served as the general director of GPB from 2017 to 2020, and is now the head of the supervisory board. Before rejoining the channel in a new role in 2021, he had also held the position of deputy chair of the ruling Georgian Dream party.

At Friday’s meeting, Maghlaperidze was one of those who called for the Prosecutor’s Office to investigate the statements made by critical employees.

It was revealed at the meeting that GPB had wrapped up looking into the matter of criticising journalists. However, the members also hinted that investigating the statements using only the broadcaster’s internal mechanisms may not be sufficient.

‘It seems appropriate for the Prosecutor’s Office to investigate this matter, to understand why these people acted this way’, Maghlaperidze said, adding, ‘If we don’t do this, there will be constant provocations’.

He also expressed his belief that political and financial motivations were behind the journalists’ statements.

‘This is the misuse of state resources for personal, political, and possibly financial purposes. If someone took money or expressed political desires, it must be investigated’, he stated.

Other board members also agreed with Maghlaperidze’s statements, discussing the ‘deliberate attempt to discredit’ the GPB  and characterising it as a ‘pre-planned agenda’ against the media outlet.

‘Let them answer to the investigation; there, questions will be asked differently to everyone, and I will answer as well’, another member, Bondo Mdzinarishvili, said.

‘That was an orchestrated, deliberate attack’, agreed one more board member, Tamila Dolidze.

Following this, the local media rights organisation, the Media Advocacy Coalition, condemned the board’s call regarding the intervention of the Prosecutor’s Office. The organisation emphasised that the statements made by the board were an ‘unprecedented pressure on media freedom’ and a direct threat to journalists who ‘expose the leadership of the Public Broadcaster and Ivanishvili’s regime for propaganda and violence’.

Responding to critics on Monday, GPB’s First Channel stated in an official statement that ‘the assessments expressed by the board members are of a recommendatory nature’.

‘As for decisions related to the ongoing processes, they will be made solely by the Public Broadcaster’s management, without the involvement of any external structures’, the statement read. GPB reiterated in this statement that it is the target of ‘an active, deliberate discreditation campaign’ carried out by ‘various political and civil groups’.

Apart from Ivanov-Chikovani, the targets of the board members’ criticism on Friday were GPB employees Nino Zautashvili, Kakha Melikidze, and Gia Imnaishvili.

Zautashvili, who hosts the programme ‘Realuri Sivrtse’ (‘Real Space’) on GPB’s First Channel, is known for her criticism of both the government and the broadcaster’s editorial policy.

Imnaishvili, an employee in the GPB’s procurement department, spoke in February about discriminatory attitudes and pressure he faced. According to Imnaishvili, the reason for this was his signature on a statement in which a group of GPB employees denounced the suspension of the EU membership bid, violence against protesters, and the broadcaster’s editorial policy.

Melikidze, who has been working for the GPB since 1989, claimed that the channel’s management requested frequent shots of Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze during the Georgian football team’s matches in 2024, a claim that the GPB denied.

Journalists respond

Later, some journalists responded to the statements made by board members.

Zautashvili called the initiative to refer her and others matters to the Prosecutor’s Office a ‘legal absurdity’, and stated that the board is composed solely by Maghlaperidze with his like-minded associates.

Commenting on the issue, Ivanov-Chikovani said he wouldn’t be surprised if the Prosecutor’s Office evaluates his statements in the same way as the board members did. According to him, such a scenario is entirely possible in a country where ‘Mzia Amaghlobeli is in prison’, referring to the imprisonment of the Batumelebi and Netgazeti director.

Until recently, Ivanov-Chikovani hosted the 18:00 news programme on the GPB’s First Channel. However, in early February, he was ‘temporarily’ removed from the air after the news service producers refused to work with him.

Before his removal, the news anchor openly protested Amaghlobeli’s detention, periodically repeating during the news programme the phrase ‘Solidarity and freedom for Mzia Amaghlobeli’.

During the board meeting, Ivanov-Chikovani was targeted for this action as well.

‘Such a thing is unheard of in the history of world television!’ board member Mdzinarishvili said, apparently irritated while commenting on the host’s act of solidarity.

Protests are still being held near the headquarters of the GBP on a nightly basis, though the organisation is now relocating to a new building. Critics claim that the broadcaster is biased towards the government and does not adequately cover current events, including not giving sufficient time to critics of the state.

The broadcaster’s management has repeatedly denied these claims.

Georgian Public Broadcaster ‘requested’ frequent shots of PM Kobakhidze during football matches

A Public Broadcaster employee has claimed that the channel’s management requested that he air shots of the prime minister during football matches.

OC MediaMikheil Gvadzabia