Tbilisi. ''Transparency International – Georgia'' analyzed incomes, received through advertising that TV Companies declared, and conducted interviews with representatives of major TV Companies. ''The advertising market appeared to be quite sensitive to advertising regulations, which entailed change in duration of advertising and increase of an interval between commercial breaks, as well. Also, according to the opinion of representatives of televisions, new rules for sponsorship and placement of a product are not flexible and clear, which ultimately hinders effective work'' – is stated on the website of the organization. Read more… Source: www.transparency.ge

Tbilisi. The East-West Management Institute publishes recommendations of the Media Development Foundation - how to distinguish real information from satiric-humorous fictional materials: "Search for a primary source of information, check the mission statement of a media source, determine the identity of an individual on a photo”...         Source:The website of the organization in a social network

Tbilisi. The quality of a legal proceeding, related to the case of a TV Company ''Rustavi-2'', and questions, arisen at each stage, once again reconfirmed those systemic problems that exist in the justice system. ''The coalition considers that in the current circumstance it is important that the government admits systemic problems existing in the judicial system, really sets ensuring independence of the judiciary as a goal and starts fundamental reform of the judiciary'' – is stated on the website of the organization. In full… Source:gdi.ge

Tbilisi. Media Checker – media for media publishes a blog post: "9 facts from the Georgian media history”. ''Newspaper ''Droeba'' is one of the most popular and important publications in the history of Georgian journalism. The newspaper was founded in 1866 and used to cover a wide range of events of that time. Initially ''Droeba'' was published three times a week, however, since 1877, through the facilitation of its editor Sergei Meskhi, it became the first daily newspaper in Georgia” – is stated in the blog post. In full... Source: mediachecker.ge

Adjara. ''Transparency International – Georgia'' presented an assessment report on current situation at Public Broadcaster Adjara TV and Radio. ''Conflicting relation between the Board of Trustees and the Director has been an issue over the years, which could have hindered the development of the broadcaster. There seem to be certain defaults in the budget planning and management, as well as procurement processes. The report presents detailed recommendations for addressing existing problems'' – is stated on the website of the organization. In full... Source: www.transparency.ge

Tbilisi. 29 non-governmental organizations appealed to the European Court of Human Rights in regard to the ''Rustavi 2'' case. ''The organizations consider that so long as hearings at national level were accompanied by a number of circumstances, which questioned impartiality of court in this case and also invoked interest of the government in the outcome of the case, it is important that the European Court of Human Rights reviews the appeal of the TV Company, while until the final decision is made on the case, uses the temporary suspension mechanism'' – is noted in the joint statement. In full… Source: www.transparency.ge

Tbilisi. The Georgian Charter of Journalistic Ethics expresses the sorrow in regard to decease of the daughter of Maia Asatiani, a journalist of the TV Company "Rustavi 2. "It is categorically unacceptable to speculate with the tragedy and to raise the rating of a publication through this. The Charter addresses the media sources to respect relatives of the deceased and to refrain from manipulating private life of a person” – is noted in the statement of the organization. In full… Source: qartia.org.ge

Tbilisi. According to reports, on February 21, 2017, the website of the online media outlet Guria News collapsed due to a hacker attack and all of its information was deleted. "Unimpeded work of journalists is important for the freedom of media and free dissemination of information. For these purpose, it is necessary the law enforcement authorities to timely and effectively respond to the incident and relevantly punish the offenders. The Public Defender will follow the progress of the investigation into the hacker attack”, is noted in the statement. In full… Source: www.ombudsman.ge

Tbilisi. The Delegation of the European Union to Georgia announced the winners of the "EU Prize for Journalism” 2016. "On the fifth anniversary of the competition prizes have been awarded to the winners of 6 categories of print, broadcast, online and photo journalism” – is stated on the website of the Gender Information Network of South Caucasus. In full… Source: ginsc.net

Tbilisi. The Media Development Foundation responds to the reportage regarding malfunctioning of public toilets, aired in "Post Scriptum”, a TV program on Rustavi 2. The organization considers that the story discriminates Davit Narmania, the Mayor of Tbilisi, with the signs of geographical origin. In full… Source: mdfgeorgia.ge

Tbilisi. The Coalition for ''Media Advocacy'' responds to current processes at Public Broadcaster. ''The Coalition considers that none of the programs at Public Broadcaster should be closed until decision-maker individuals justify the decision on closure of programs and present a specific broadcast schedule that clarifies what they offer to TV viewers instead'' – is noted in the joint statement. In full... Source:gyla.ge

Tbilisi. Transparency International Georgia publishes a blog post: ''How transparent and informative are web sites of municipalities in Samegrelo – Zemo Svaneti?''. ''Local self-government authorities in Samegrelo – Zemo Svaneti do not use effectively an internet as a mean for communication with the society, business sector and the media. For democratic society e-governance is one of the important principles, which automatically increases transparency of activities of public institutions and promotes participation of citizens into activities of local self-government authorities'' – is stated on the website of the organization. In full... Source:www.transparency.ge

Tbilisi. Civil Society platform ''No to Phobia!'' addresses the Board of Trustees and the General Director of Public Broadcaster. ''We consider that it is unacceptable to allocate airtime of the public channel to organizations with Nazi ideology. We urge you to elaborate internal regulations, which will ensure adherence to anti-discrimination provisions of the codes of conduct of broadcasters and the Public Broadcaster within current format and prevention of similar cases in the future'' – is noted in the joint statement. In full... Source: mdfgeorgia.ge

Tbilisi. Transparency International – Georgia publishes a blog post: ''How the Parliament violates the law with respect to the Board of Trustees of the Public Broadcaster''. ''The parliament should assume more responsibility for staffing the Board of Trustees of the Public Broadcaster... Besides, election of members of the Board of Trustees of the Broadcaster must be transparent process and as objective as possible'' – is stated on the website of the organization. In full... Source:www.transparency.ge

Tbilisi. Transparency International Georgia publishes a blog post: ''Election of Vasil Maglaperidze indicates enhancement of political influence on the Public Broadcaster''. ''The board of the Public Broadcaster clearly failed to elect a politically neutral person as a Director of the Broadcaster, which fact will have negative impact on the reputation of the Broadcaster and may hinder the reform started at the channel, including introduction of a new organizational structure and personnel policy'' – is stated on the website of the organization. In full... Source:www.transparency.ge

Tbilisi. The Coalition for Media Advocacy responds to appointment of Vasil Maglaperidze as a Director of the Public Broadcaster. ''...Appointment of Vasil Maglaperidze clearly indicates that the priority of the Board of Trustees is not protection of the Public Broadcaster from political influence'' – is noted in the statement of the organization. In full… Source:The website of the organization in a social network

Tbilisi. An international conference Tbilisi Mediation Days on 21-22 November aimed to enhance mediation in Georgia as an alternative method of dispute resolution, and contribute to ongoing reforms in the system of justice. Tbilisi Mediation Days was supported by the European Union in Georgia, UNDP Georgia, USAID/Georgia, and German International Cooperation (GIZ). In full… Source: The web-page of the organization in a social page

Tbilisi. Transparency International Georgia presents interim monitoring report of Georgian Public Broadcaster, which focuses on the working condition at GPB.  ''Georgian Public Broadcaster adopted new organizational structure and plans staff certification. The report highlights challenges that accompany the ongoing reorganization process at the Broadcaster. Regardless persistent challenges GPB journalists enjoy higher degree of editorial independence. Prior 2012 there were cases of outside influence on the reporting of the Broadcaster, which does not happen now. Effective communication between management and staff remains a problem. Staff is not duly informed about ongoing processes including the reorganization'', is noted in the statement.  In full... Source: www.transparency.ge