Antadze: 2007 was a hard year for Georgian journalism

Iya Antadze, a journalist for the Radio Liberty who was recognized to be the best journalist of Georgia in 2007, thinks that the last year was hard for Georgian journalism.

"In the period that elapsed after the revolution, we, journalists, have lived through many difficulties: we were closed, deprived of information, etc. However, in 2007 the Georgian journalism had an especially severe period. The most negative event was what happened with the "Imedi" - both the first and second closures.

Among the achievements, Ms Antadze has noticed the appearance of a plenty of political talk-shows on Georgian television: at "Rustavi-2", "Mze", "Public Channel", "Maestro", where different parties were taking part.

"The only TV Channel, which representatives of power continued to boycott, was the 'Kavkasia', which, in my opinion, is absolutely incorrect. It's the Channel like all the rest," she told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

According to Iya Antadze, the currently functioning Georgian TV is notable for its tendentiousness. "For example, on the New Year's eve, 6 TV Channels were broadcasting one and the same holiday concert, which was in fact a part of the PR campaign," she has stated.

Ms Antadze asserts that if the transfer of the "Imedi" stock to complete ownership by the "News Corporation" is a success, it will be a great achievement and a novelty in the Georgian media space.

In her opinion, the problem of lack of independence of the Georgian journalism is not in the absence of professionalism but in deficiencies of the contractual system, which makes journalists highly dependent on media owners.