The Communications Commission is issuing a statement regarding its decision to impose a financial penalty on Mtavari TV, which was followed by politicized comments and unsubstantiated accusations from the broadcaster.  Management of Mtavari TV is trying to mislead the public by claiming that the decision taken by the Commission on November 25, 2021 was aimed at curtailing the freedom of speech and freedom of expression. The claims of the broadcaster that the Commission had no legal basis...

The Media Lab of the Communications Commission is successfully holding the third edition of the start-up contest “Ideadrome.” The five top start-up ideas have already been identified. All five teams are taking part in a week-long training program at the Media Lab. The selected teams have an opportunity to obtain the necessary knowledge for their future activities and prepare to export their start-up ideas on the global market. The main goal of the Media Lab in this process was to...

The Communications Commission has fined Imedi TV and Studio Maestro GEL 2500 each and issued a warning for Georgian Channel TV for failing to hold pre-election debates. The broadcasters violated the Georgian legislation by failing to organize debates before the 2021 municipal elections. Moreover, the Georgian Channel TV did not broadcast any political programs.  According to the Law of Georgia on Broadcasting, a generalist broadcaster must air pre-election debates during electoral...

The Communications Commission has fined Mtavari TV GEL 112,000 for broadcasting political advertising outside the election period. On November 17 and 18, the broadcaster aired three video clips in violation of the legislation. Mtavari TV had already been sanctioned for a similar violation in the past year. Therefore, the broadcaster was fined 1% of its annual revenues for this breach. Previously, Mtavari TV was found to have violated the legislation under similar circumstances in 2019 and...

As part of the media literacy contest “Truth or Fiction?” the Communications Commission continues to care about the career development of bachelor’s degree students. Apart from the three winners, the Commission will also support 15 top performers of the competition in their career development and will hold certified trainings for them. Students will undergo a program created with special training materials and become certified trainers. The Commission will give them the...

The Communications Commission has carried out an analysis of paid and free pre-election advertising for the 2021 Georgian municipal elections, which showed that TV and radio broadcasters dedicated more than 39,000 total minutes to free political advertising, which is the equivalent of paid advertising worth approximately GEL 23.2 million. TV broadcasters allocated a total of more than 35,000 minutes, worth GEL 22.5 million, to free political advertising.    As for paid political...

The Communications Commission has issued a record of administrative offence against TV Pirveli, Mtavari TV and Formula for airing political advertising in violation of the legislation. In the period of October 27-29, the aforementioned broadcasters aired a paid political advert of the United National Movement, which featured the leaders of UNM, Lelo, European Georgia, Girchi – More Freedom and Droa.  The aforementioned political advert was commissioned for TV Pirveli by Lelo, thereby...

The Media Academy of the Communications Commission has held a two-day training for journalists. The interactive training titled “Psychology of Perception and Communication” was led by psychologist Rusudan Gorgiladze, who worked as a fellow at Harvard University Weatherhead Center for International Affairs for several years and was also the Regional Director for Eastern Europe at the Harvard Alumni Association. She took part in the negotiations concerning Georgia’s accession to...

The Media Academy continues to work on developing media literacy and enhancing the qualifications of journalists in Georgia. To this end, it is planning to implement new learning programs, seminars, and masterclasses both for fledgling and active media managers, producers and journalists. Activities of the Media Academy will soon resume in full, having been temporarily suspended due to the pandemic. The Media School will start practical teaching, which forms the basis of the Bavarian Regulatory...

ComCom Commissioner - Natia Kukuladze and the EU Ambassador to Georgia - Carl Hartzell held a meeting with teachers in the Pankisi Gorge and discussed the importance of media literacy, as well as the existing challenges in this field. The EU and ComCom representatives informed the teachers about future projects and answered their questions. After the discussion, 17 public school teachers from the villages of Kvareltskaro, Omalo, Birkiani, Dumasturi, Jokolo, Duisi and Sakobiano in the Pankisi...