US State Department 2014 report assesses Georgia’s media environment

Georgia’s environment for the freedom of speech and press is detailed in Georgia’s 2014 Country Report on Human Rights Practices prepared by the US State Department.

US Secretary of State John Kerry presented all countries’ Human Rights reports to the US Congress yesterday. This year was the 39th year the US has released such reports.

Georgia’s human rights report consists of 64 pages and one of its sections is dedicated to the media environment in the country. 

The report stated the country’s media environment had improved and was found to be "independent and balanced”. Television continued to be the main medium and primary source of information for 80 percent of the population.

Broadcast media continued to improve in providing more balanced reporting during elections, further consolidating the overall positive trend since the highly polarized television coverage of the country’s 2012 parliamentary elections," said the document.

Regarding freedom of speech, individuals in Georgia were "generally free to criticise the government publicly and privately” while press freedom in Georgia noted "independent media were very active and expressed a wide variety of views”.

Additionally, the country "improved substantially” in International Research and Exchanges Board’s (IREX) 2014 Media Sustainability Index for Europe and Eurasia, noted the report.

Internet freedom

"Outside Abkhazia and South Ossetia, the government did not restrict or disrupt access to the internet or censor online content, and there were no credible reports that the government monitored private online communications without appropriate legal authority,” said the report.

According to the document, during the year Freedom House rated the country’s internet freedom status as "free.”

"According to Freedom House, 43 percent of the population had access to the internet. High prices for services and inadequate infrastructure remained obstacles to access, particularly for individuals in rural areas or with low incomes,” underlined Internet freedom section of the report.

The report stated:

• There were no reports during the year of physical and verbal assaults of journalists by police, or confiscation of journalists’ cameras by authorities.
• There were no reports that the government invoked libel laws or national security to suppress the publication of material criticizing government policies or public officials.
• There were no reported instances of specific government officials or opposition politicians influencing editorial or programming decisions through their personal connections with media personnel or by directing advertising through their personal connections with businesses, and 
• Media in the separatist regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia remained tightly restricted by de facto authorities and Russian occupying forces

Read the full report here.