On June 17, journalist Tamar Sharikadze announced her resignation from the pro-government TV Imedi after five years working for the broadcaster, accusing her unnamed “immediate” supervisor of tasking her to prepare a TV story “which would definitely encourage violence.”
“I believed and still believe that I will never encourage violence anywhere! I will never endorse unverified facts that promote violence!” Sharikadze wrote on Facebook.
In the statement, she also thanked her colleagues at “Kronika”, a TV Imedi daily news program, saying that they “stood by me in an honorable way because they share my opinion.”
Amid tensions over the Foreign Agents Law and orchestrated repression against activists, opposition and civil society representatives, the pro-government channel has been repeatedly accused of biased reporting and misinformation.
UPDATE: The head of the “Kronika” news service, Natia Songulashvili, reacted to Sharikadze’s decision, saying that there is no place in TV Imedi for people “who avoid calling the United National Movement violent and are looking for reasons to avoid making TV reports that are critical of them. I am not really going to go deeper into this issue”.
As for “Kronika” producer Keti Latsabidze, “telling the truth is not an encouragement [to violence]. The UNM members are not “whitewashed” on Imedi TV. Everyone condemns violence. You should not look for an excuse for [the sake of] another job. Turning the issue into a heroic pattern is more like a comedy…”
On June 18, Mediachecker, a media analysis platform, reported that another journalist, Tiko Peikrishvili, had left Imedi TV. Peiktishvili confirmed her departure to Mediachecker, but did not give further details about the reason for her departure. She had not worked at Imedi since June 1. Peiktishvili was the host of a morning show at Imedi TV.
This article was updated on June 17 at 21:50 and on June 18 at 16:36 to reflect the resignation of another journalist, Tiko Peikrishvili.
Also Read:
- 10/05/2024 – TV Hosts Quit Pro-Government Imedi Channel
- 05/12/2023 – TV Imedi Journalist Quits, Alleges Anti-US Propaganda
