President’s Administration: GPB Does Not Provide Complete and Objective Information on President
On December 18, the President’s Administration reported that the Georgian Public Broadcaster did not broadcast live President Salome Zurabishvili’s address to the European Parliament. The Administration emphasized that once again GPB didn’t “fully and objectively” inform the public about the President.
“The Public Broadcaster, which according to Article 16 of the Georgian Broadcasting Law is obliged to promote integration into the European Union and which claims to be a balanced and objective media, is not broadcasting the Georgian President’s address to the European Parliament live, against the backdrop of a deep political crisis and unprecedented public protests in the country, at a time when the country’s European future is at stake,” reads the Presidential administration’s statement.
GPB is widely accused of broadcasting Georgian Dream propaganda and not giving airtime to the opposition views. Vasil Maglaperidze, the channel Board Chair, is a former deputy chair of the ruling Georgian Dream. The channel was previously accused by watchdogs of heavy bias, several journalists alleged censorship. The channel is publicly funded, with a proportion of the GDP allocated to its needs. In 2024, the projected funding stood at GEL 110.3 million.
In the past several weeks of protests, several rallies have been held in front of the GPB building, demanding air time and the resignation of its leadership. As a result some airtime has been given to activists, however no changes have been made so far in the management of the channel.
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