TBILISI, November 4 – A fire in the building housing Formula TV forced the government-critical channel to temporarily stop broadcasting Wednesday afternoon. The fire started at the Delisi business center on Vazha-Pshavela Avenue shortly before 4 p.m., Interpressnews reported. Formula presenter Nino Zhizhilashvili initially said some employees could not get out because of the smoke, … Read more
TBILISI, October 2 – Georgia’s Communications Commission has fined Formula TV 10,000 lari after finding that its news programs violated legal requirements on fairness and impartiality, Interpressnews reported. The regulator said it monitored Formula’s 5 p.m. news broadcasts from September 14 to 16 and found cases where presenters and correspondents expressed personal opinions while covering … Read more
TBILISI, August 3 – The Facebook page of Georgian investigative outlet Studio Monitor has been removed after Meta reportedly accused it of copyright violations, the media organisation said on Monday. Studio Monitor editor Nino Zuriashvili described the deletion as the third recent attack on the outlet’s online presence. Its YouTube channel was also disabled on … Read more
TBILISI, July 29 – Tinatin Berdzenishvili has won a second six-year term as director general of Georgia’s Public Broadcaster. She was the only candidate. GPB’s Board of Trustees backed Berdzenishvili by eight votes to two on Wednesday. Her current term expires on September 25. Georgian law requires the board to appoint the director general through … Read more
TBILISI, July 22 – Georgian journalist Vakho Sanaia was sentenced to 14 days of administrative detention on Wednesday for a social media post about Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili and MP Vladimer Bozhadze, triggering sharp criticism from opposition parties, media groups and foreign commentators. Tbilisi City Court imposed the sentence on July 22. The decision was … Read more
TBILISI, July 15 – Georgian film director Goga Khaindrava has won a defamation case against the opposition-leaning TV channel Formula and says he will use the compensation money to create a fund for people who say they have been targeted by “media terror.” Tbilisi City Court ruled in Khaindrava’s favor on Tuesday, July 14. Judge … Read more
TBILISI, May 21 – The deportation of Azerbaijani journalist Afgan Sadigov from Georgia was a serious press freedom case and a warning sign for anyone who still sees Tbilisi as a safe refuge for dissidents from the region. This is not a new problem. Georgia’s record on Azerbaijani dissidents has been questionable since at least … Read more
TBILISI, May 10 – Georgian journalist Gela Mtivlishvili says he was attacked shortly after appearing on air, leaving him with injuries to his face. Mtivlishvili wrote on Facebook that the attack happened immediately after he left a broadcast. He accused a person he described as a hydropower lobbyist and a Georgian Dream-linked “street thug element” … Read more
TBILISI, May 6 – Georgian journalist Guram Rogava has been called for questioning after Formula TV aired an investigation claiming to have identified the person who allegedly attacked him while he was working. Rogava, a journalist with opposition-leaning Formula TV, is not currently in Georgia, so the questioning will take place online, Rezonansi reported, citing … Read more
TBILISI, May 2 – Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty has shut down Ekho Kavkaza (“Echo of the Caucasus”), a Russian-language project covering Abkhazia and South Ossetia. The project ended its work on Friday, May 1, according to a statement cited by Interpressnews. Ekho Kavkaza was the Russian-language section of RFE/RL’s Georgian Service. It served audiences in … Read more