Georgia to be 60th in Reporters Without Borders 2021 World Press Freedom Index
Georgia to be 60th in Reporters Without Borders 2021 World Press Freedom Index

According to the 2021 World Press Freedom Index published by the non-governmental organization Reporters Without Border, Georgia is 60th among 180 countries covered in the report. Following the report, Georgia scored 28.64 against 28,59 in 2020.

The report reads that Georgia’s media are pluralist but still very polarised. Reporters Without Border say the reforms of recent years have brought improvements in media ownership transparency and satellite TV pluralism but owners and bosses still often call the shots on editorial content.

“This was seen with the opposition TV channel Rustavi 2, which underwent a complete change in its editorial policy after a previous owner restored the channel. It was also seen with Adjara TV, a regional public television channel, which began backing the ruling party after new bosses were appointed and journalists were fired. A disturbing trend is emerging with attempts by the security services and the media regulator, the Communication Commission to interfere in media outlets. Their prerogatives have gradually been extended to surveillance and censorship. Its online platform, called the Media Critic examines media content and tends to discredit independent journalism. Even if police violence against journalists is less frequent, police sometimes attack reporters, especially during elections, and do so with complete impunity,” the report reads.