EU, UNDP release findings on media coverage of elections in Georgia

The EU and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Georgia have released findings on media coverage of elections in Georgia over the past three years.

The findings cite “growing polarisation and political bias” as general trends in the Georgian media since 2016.

Televisions and online  media outlets have demonstrated significant improvement in reducing hate speech, which, however, remained a challenge for newspapers.

Election coverage on the radio has not changed much in the last three years and stayed relatively balanced but superficial. Election coverage in all media segments lacked the presentation of electoral programmes and issue-oriented debates among competing electoral candidates,” the report reads.

Deputy Head of the Delegation of the European Union in Georgia Carlo Natale says that the electoral environment during the last elections in Georgia was competitive but rather tense  and polarised and this has influenced the society as well as the media.

As in the past, EU-supported media monitoring aimed to promote diverse and high-quality reporting that is critical for voters to make an informed choice during the elections," he said.  

UNDP resident representative in Georgia Munkhtuya Altangerel stated that media monitoring is an excellent tool for journalists and media managers to examine their work and discover key areas for improvement.

The 2018 election media monitoring kicked off on 18 June and continued through the presidential runoff elections on 28 November covering thirty-seven TV, radio, print and online national media outlets.

In addition to the EU and UNDP three Georgian civil society organizations were involved in the monitoring – the Georgian Charter of Journalistic Ethics, Internews – Georgia and Civic Development Institute (CDI).

The media monitoring reports are available online at: www.mediamonitor.ge.