Caucasus Institute for Peace, Democracy and Development1 The Institute for War and Peace Reporting NEWSPAPERS OUTSIDE THE CAPITAL: How International Assistance Influenced Print Media in Georgias Regions Funded by the European Commission The Georgia Regional Media Development and Public Accountability Project Tbilisi 2007 2 ÂÀÆÄÈÄÁÉ ÃÄÃÀØÀËÀØÉÓ ÂÀÒÄÈ: ÒÀ ÆÄÌÏØÌÄÃÄÁÀ ÌÏÀáÃÉÍÀ ÓÀÄÒÈÀÛÏÒÉÓÏ ÃÀáÌÀÒÄÁÀÌ ÁÄàÃÅÉÈ ÌÄÃÉÀÆÄ ÓÀØÀÒÈÅÄËÏÓ ÒÄÂÉÏÍÄÁÛÉ ÌÛÅÉÃÏÁÉÓ, ÃÄÌÏÊÒÀÔÉÉÓ ÃÀ ÂÀÍÅÉÈÀÒÄÁÉÓ ÊÀÅÊÀÓÉÖÒÉ ÉÍÓÔÉÔÖÔÉ, ÈÁÉËÉÓÉ, 2007 © ÌÛÅÉÃÏÁÉÓ, ÃÄÌÏÊÒÀÔÉÉÓ ÃÀ ÂÀÍÅÉÈÀÒÄÁÉÓ ÊÀÅÊÀÓÉÖÒÉ ÉÍÓÔÉÔÖÔÉ ISBN 978-99928-37-07-8 Newspapers outside the Capital: How International Assistance Influenced Print Media in Georgias Regions Caucasus Institute for Peace, Democracy and Development, Tbilisi, 2007 © Caucasus Institute for Peace, Democracy and Development 1 M. Aleksidze Str., Tbilisi 0193 Georgia Tel: 334081; Fax: 334163 www.cipdd.org 3 CONTENTS Main findings of the study ............................................................................ 5 1. Ajaria ........................................................................................................... 14 2. Imereti ......................................................................................................... 30 3. Kakheti ........................................................................................................ 46 4. Samtskhe-Javakheti ................................................................................... 61 5. Shida Kartli ................................................................................................ 76 6. Kvemo Kartli and Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti ...................................... 92 7. Main findings of the comparative study ............................................. 117 Appendix Social, economic and political aspects of regional media development in Georgia 28 February 1 March 2007 .............................................................. 120 4 MAIN FINDINGS OF THE STUDY The Caucasus Institute for Peace, Democracy and Development in part- nership with the Institute for War and Peace Reporting launched the third phase of research of the development of the Georgian re- gional media in December 2005. The study was conducted under the Regional Media Development and Public Accountability project. The goal of the first two phases of the project was to describe and analyze the general picture of the Georgian regional media, which resulted in publishing by the Caucasus Institute of Georgias Regional Media Map. The objective of the third phase was to measure the effect of the activities which the Institute for War and Peace Reporting carried out in cooperation with the newspapers that were selected for the project. As early as 2004, the Institute for War and Peace Reporting selected four regional newspapers for the purpose of development of the capabilities of the local print media under the Development of the Regional Media in Georgia and Public Accountability project: the Spektri newspaper (town of Gurjaani in Kakheti region), the Akhali Gazeti newspaper (city of Kutaisi in Imereti), the Khalkhis Gazeti newspaper (town of Gori, Shida Kartli), and the Gazeti Batumelebi newspaper (city of Batumi, Ajaria). The Samkhretis Karibche newspaper was founded under the project in the Samtskhe-Javakheti region with the Georgian-language and Armenian-language editorial offices in Akhaltsikhe and Akhalkalaki, respectively. The goal of the Caucasus Institute for Peace, Democracy and Develop- ment at this phase of the project was to monitor the aforementioned newspapers and demonstrate the effects on their development of the Institute for War and Peace Reportings activities. The study was conducted by Malkhaz Saldadze, Giorgi Shubitidze and Merab Tsindeliani. The editor of the Georgian text of the report is Zeinab Saradze. The efforts of the Institute for War and Peace Reporting sought to support and develop the following aspects of operation of the local newspapers: 5 Ensuring structural stability through improvement of managerial skills and sharing of expert knowledge on fine-tuning of the organizational structure; Ensuring economic stability of the newspapers by strengthening the skill of marketing policy planning on the one hand and providing financial and technical support on the other; Improving the quality of the newspapers through professional development and improvement of skills of their journalists. The research team of the Caucasus Institute of Peace, Democracy and Development used the following criteria in measuring the effects of the activities which the Institute for War and Peace Reporting carried out for this purpose: The general picture of the media development in the given re- gion and the place and role of the newspaper which participated in the project in the regions public life; The organizational development level of the newspapers which participated in the project and its effects on the quality of media products; Compliance with public demands of the editorial policy which the newspapers that participated in the project formulated after receiving expert assistance; Influence of the newspapers that participated in the project on the development of the local media sector. For the purpose of studying the development dynamic, research in the target regions was conducted in two phases. The method- ological approach to the measurement of the aforementioned effects included the following techniques: Focus group discussions with participation of readers of the papers that participated in the project and other local papers; Detailed interviews with the main local groups which were inter- ested in the local papers (nongovernmental organizations, local officials); Observation of the functioning of the papers organizational structure (interviews with the papers journalistic, editorial, and managerial staff). The study was conducted not only in those regions where the newspapers that were selected by the Institute for War and Peace Re- 6 porting operated, but also in the regions where no activities aimed at the development of the local media were carried out under this project. These include Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti and Kvemo Kartli, where Zugdidi, Poti, Senaki, Marneuli and Gardabani were the target towns. The goal of the studies that were conducted there was to establish the difference in the development level, using the afore- mentioned criteria, between the media organizations which received financial, technical and expert support from the Institute for War and Peace Reporting under the Development of the Regional Media in Georgia and Public Accountability project and other local print media organiza- tions. The conclusions and differences that were found by the study are described in the chapters below. At the final stage of the study, a discussion was held On social, economic and political aspects of functioning of the Georgian regional press. The goal of the discussion was to highlight the trends of the re- gional media development in general and discuss the Institute for War and Peace Reportings contribution in particular. Leading Georgian media experts and representatives of the organizations which participated in the Georgia Regional Media Development and Public Accontability project took part in the discussion. The main topics of the discussion in- cluded the following issues: The media and the public The media and the state The media and the economy The role of international and donor organizations in the devel- opment of the Georgian regional media Materials from the discussion are attached to this report. Main findings of the study: The study has revealed the following picture of the aforemen- tioned aspects of the development of the local newspapers: 1. Ajaria:1 The Gazeti Batumelebi newspaper Against the backdrop of the current grave situation of the independent print media in the region, the paper has man- aged to win public trust and recognizability. 1 The third phase of research was conducted in the Autonomous Republic of Ajaria on 11-16 September 2005 and 9-13 September 2006. 7 The experience of planning the editorial policy, which was acquired in 2005-2006, and the strengthening of the norms of journalistic ethics with the help of training courses has improved the papers content, which the local reading public views as a positive development and which increases public trust in the newspaper. Against the backdrop of public trust, the paper has become a reliable source of information and analysis. It is actively playing the role of a mediator between social groups and the authorities in the regions public life. The awareness cam- paigns that it organizes usually result in broad public involve- ment and the local authorities reaction. The newspaper is actively performing the function of a tribune for the non- governmental sector, which for its part has a positive effect on the development of democracy in the region. The papers internal structure has improved as a result of expert support. Editorial and managerial functions are sepa- rated, journalists workload is divided into areas of compe- tence, and journalists have become experts in their respec- tive areas. The papers sales have grown noticeably in 2005-2006 (the distribution network has outgrown the city of Batumi to include all the districts in Ajaria). Its circulation exceeds 3,000, but it is issued at the same intervals as before. As a result of the improved marketing and advertising policy, the papers revenues from commercial advertising