Georgia
Georgian comms regulator moves to block funding from TV Formula
It is the first time a public warning has been issued to Georgian media related to foreign funding.
TV Formula
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Cybersecurity
‘Russian hackers’ take down websites of Georgian media and president
The websites of Georgia’s President and two leading TV stations have been temporarily taken offline in an apparent cyberattack by Russian hackers. The website of Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili was offline on Friday morning, with local media reporting that the site initially displayed a message attributing the attack to a Russian hacking network. Screenshots purportedly of the site showed the message ‘HACKED BY COZY BEAR SLAVA [glory to] RUSSIA’ on a black background with an image of
Freedom of the Press
TV Formula says attack on founder was organised by Georgian Security Services
An investigation by TV Formula claims to have found that employees of Georgia’s State Security Service (SSG) organised and supervised an attack on the station’s co-founder and prominent government critic, Misha Mshvildadze. According to an investigation published on Wednesday, one of the people seen in CCTV footage of the area near the attack obtained by the channel is Giorgi Mumladze, an investigator of the Security Service, born in 1998. Formula additionally claimed that Giorgi Mumladze’s
Davit Kezerashvili
Georgian former Defence Minister gives up controlling share of Formula TV
Georgian former defence minister and media magnate Davit Kezerashvili has announced he is transferring half of his controlling share of TV Formula to the company’s ‘collective’, but will continue to finance the channel. In a statement on Tuesday, Kezerashvili announced that he would transfer the other half of his 51% stake to the company ‘after the end of oligarchic rule’ in Georgia, a reference to the founder of the ruling Georgian Dream party, billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili. Prior to his
Georgia
Georgian TV channel Formula fires 23 camera operators after illegal strike
TV Formula has fired 23 of its camera operators who had been on strike demanding better pay. The camera operators were let go on Friday night after unsuccessful negotiations with Formula, according to the TV channel’s lawyer Eto Katamadze. ‘Their demand was a salary raise. They were informed that it was not being discussed at this point due to financial reasons and the budgetary plans of the company,’ Katamadze told OC Media. Netgazeti has quoted a letter penned by the fired camera operato
Davit Kezerashvili
Georgian Dream vs Kezerashvili: the end of Formula TV?
Formula, a pro-opposition TV channel, potentially faces foreclosure as the Georgian government seeks millions of dollars in damages from its owner, sparking concerns over media freedom in Georgia among watchdog groups. Founded in 2019 by Davit Kezerashvili, Formula quickly became an influential opposition television channel in Georgia. Government officials and members of the ruling Georgian Dream party have refused to appear on Formula’s programmes and have often accused it of belonging to
Alt Info
Two attacks on journalists in two days in Georgia
News crews from two TV Channels — Mtavari and Formula — have been attacked while on duty in two separate incidents over the past two days in Georgia. In the early hours of Friday morning, Ema Gogokhia, a Zugdidi correspondent from opposition TV channel Mtavari, reported that she and her camera operator were attacked outside the office of the Conservative Movement, a party established by the extremist pro-Russian group Alt Info. Gogokhia said that she was injured and their equipment was dest
