Georgia 60th out of 180 countries in World Press Freedom Index
Influence of media ownership on editorial policy remains a challenge in Georgia, Reporters Without Borders says. Photo via emc.org.ge.
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Georgia has maintained its 60th spot out of 180 countries in the latest World Press Freedom Index from Reporters Without Borders (RSF), with the country's media landscape called "pluralist but not yet independent" by the organisation.
With the score of 28.64 Georgia is listed behind countries including Romania, Chile and Croatia and ahead of the likes of Poland, Japan and regional neighbour Armenia in the 2021 index.
The ranking comes with comments from RSF, with the organisation citing ownership changes in Rustavi 2 and Adjara TV channels as examples of issues with editorial policies being influenced by media outlet owners.
Reforms in the media field over the recent years have been noted for bringing "improvements in media ownership transparency and satellite TV pluralism" by the international organisation in comments about the country.
Georgia's positioning in the ranking has not changed since 2019 but has overall improved since the country's media landscape was first assessed by RSF in 2013.
In the original index Georgia was placed 100th, with improvements in the subsequent three years with 84th, 69th and 64th spots. In 2018 the country was listed 61st in the list.
The 2020 World Press Freedom Index by Reporters Without Borders says that ‘Georgia’s media are pluralist but still very polarized,’ adding that the reforms of recent years have brought improvements in media ownership transparency and satellite TV pluralism,’ but owners still often call the shots on editorial content.’
A study into how information is acquired by citizens of Georgia, as well as their attitudes to its sources, says the local information ecosystem is "rich and plural", however "many challenges" remain in the field.
The Communications Commission, a regulatory body in the broadcasting and electronic communications field, has dismissed allegations that the government’s proposed changes to the law on electronic communications are a threat to media freedom.
Georgia comes in 60th of 180 countries in the 2019 World Press Freedom Index by the international, non-profit organisation Reporters Without Borders, which promotes and defends the freedom of information and the press.
Georgia has debuted at Kearney’s Global Services Location Index (GSLI) 2021 and took 19th place among the top-ranked countries to source tech services, announces the export promotion agency Enterprise Georgia.
The EU and US ambassadors to Georgia have congratulated Georgian journalists on World Press Freedom Day.
The Georgian Charter of Journalistic Ethics has announced the winners of the Charter Prize 2021, awarding media professionals for their high-quality works published in the Georgian media.