GPB Staff Leaves Channel Following Decision to Close Show
The editorial team behind the long-running Georgian Public Broadcaster’s (GPB) show “Real Space” rejected the offer to be transferred to various programmes and departments within GPB, saying agreeing to the offer would mean voluntarily endorsing the closure of the show. The team said they no longer have the opportunity “to bring truth to the viewers on this channel.”
The team accused the GPB of effectively closing the programme: “Let’s call a spade a spade,” the group said. “The current management of GPB, whose full names are recorded in the administrative archives of the network, shut down the 12-year-old program Real Space and illegally dismissed its host, Nino Zautashvili.”
The public statement came in response to an April 30 decision by GPB management, which officially notified the team that the show would not be renewed beyond its current project term, due to the dismissal of the host of the show, Nino Zautashvili. Zautashivli, who is known to have criticized the GPB board, was terminated on April 11. In its offer, GPB proposed that the remaining team members be reassigned to other areas of the broadcaster, including GPB Radio’s morning show, promotional content, the web division, and music programming.
The Real Space team characterized the move as an attempt to fragment the team and suppress its work. “None of its members would be able to do what they are experienced and qualified to do,” the team said, adding that the broadcaster’s refusal to continue the show ignores the public demand for spaces where social dialogue can thrive. “We are being prevented from broadcasting a program that we believe is particularly essential to the public right now — one that directly fulfills GPB’s mission: to make the public’s voice heard.”
First aired 12 years ago, Real Space built its reputation on facilitating equal, direct dialogue between citizens and public officials. The team said the program gave airtime to hundreds of voices from Georgia’s cities, towns, and villages, covering urgent social issues.
The team expressed solidarity with the remaining staff of GPB, especially the “Guardians of Public Broadcasting” who gather at the GBP every night as part of the ongoing protest, and vowed to continue to advocate for independent journalism and true public service media from outside the institution.
Zautashvili’s dismissal on April 11, along with that of journalist Vasil Ivanov-Chikovani, followed their public criticism of GPB’s editorial direction. Both were informed of their dismissals by GPB Director Tinatin Berdzenishvili. The dismissals came amid heightened internal tensions following pro-EU rallies in November 2024, after which several journalists accused GPB management of stifling editorial independence.
On April 15, the Media Advocacy Coalition, a local press freedom watchdog, said the dismissals posed a threat to journalistic autonomy.
Prior to those developments, on March 24, GPB management issued a public rebuttal to internal criticism. In its statement, the broadcaster claimed that employees who had spoken out — including Zautashvili and Ivanov-Chikovani — had damaged the institution’s reputation by spreading false information. Moreover, on March 22, eight members of the GPB board of trustees called for the prosecutor’s office to investigate what they termed “groundless accusations” by the critical employees.
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