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Public Broadcaster employees demand daytime broadcast for political discussions

A group of the employees of the Public Broadcaster (GPB)  have made a statement demanding a daytime broadcast for social and political discussions. They made the statement at the stairs of GPB’s offices.

‘The main reason the management refuses to open [the daytime] broadcasting hours is technical’, the employees said, emphasising that the management’s position is irrelevant since GPB has both the technical and human resources to ensure several hours of daytime broadcasting for political programs.

The broadcaster’s employees believe that the channel’s editorial policy does not respond to the public unrest caused by the ruling party's suspension of the EU membership bid.

‘Current events oblige us to devote television airtime to dialogue on socio-political issues rather than films that have no connection with today’s reality’, they said.

The broadcaster’s employee Tamar Mshvenieradze added that the employees did not really want to hold the briefing on the stairs, but they were not given the opportunity to use the broadcaster’s press club.

According to her, at first, safety concerns were cited, and then they were told that the number of employees who wanted to give a statement were not enough ‘to represent the Public Broadcaster’.

In recent days, several protests have taken place near the Georgian Public Broadcaster’s building to protest its editorial policy, widely seen as being pro-government, and to demand airtime.

The channel has responded to previous pressure by allocating late-night broadcasts to discuss current events, featuring both government representatives and critics. The broadcast begins at 22:00.

However, critics argue that the late-night broadcast is not enough and that daytime airtime should also be allocated.

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