Small TV Station Off the Air

Maestro, an independent TV station with a Tbilisi catchment area, went off air on November 28.

Mamuka Glonti, the manager of the station, told Civil.Ge on November 29 that he suspected that the station’s plans to broadcast material aimed at the popularization of journalism and the promotion of democratic values was the reason behind the station’s abrupt closure.

?This series of programmes ? Journalism as a Profession ? constituted two parts. In the first one we planned to show a journalist?s everyday work and in the second part a journalist was going to talk with a guest about the meaning of democracy, the difference between a presidential and parliamentary system, etc.. It was more an educational type of project,? Glonti said.

Glonti said that about two weeks ago he had been contacted by an unnamed person, who had some ?friendly advice? for him – not to air the programme on journalism and democracy. Glonti also said that he was due to meet with officials from the Georgian National Communications Commission (GNCC) to clarify the situation.

Maestro used to go out on cable in Tbilisi via Global TV Co..

Giorgi Ratishvili, a GNCC official, however, said that the commission had nothing to do with the closure.

?There are some technical problems between Maestro and Global TV, which is the cause of the problem,? Ratishvili told Civil.Ge on November 29. ?Maestro did not go off air because of a GNCC decision.?

In recent times, Maestro had been airing only music videos. At one point it was a reality TV show producer.

The proposed programmes on journalism and democracy were to be hosted by four journalists: Alexander Elisashvili and Tamar Chikovani, both from RFE/RL Georgian Service, and two journalists, Ia Antadze and Zviad Koridze.

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