Categoria: Oligarhi
Duminica, Ianuarie 6th, 2008
Triumf pro-occidental, anti-oligarhic in Georgia
IMEDI TELEVISION IMPLODES UNDER PATARKATSISHVILI
January 4, 2008 — Georgian Election Special
by Vladimir Socor
Imedi Televisionà€™s core journalistic staff is abandoning the channel, no longer tolerating its use as a political tool by its billionaire owner and presidential candidate Badri Patarkatsishvili. On December 26 and 27, eight journalists from Imedi TVà€™s political department resigned, six as a group and two others individually. Their move followed the release of recordings that showed Patarkatsishvili preparing violent actions against the governmentà€”including the intended use of Imedi as part of the plotà€”after the January 5 presidential election (see Eurasia Daily Monitor,
Georgian Election Special, January 4). Two popular anchors of Imedià€™s political programs had already resigned in October and November, respectively, also uncomfortable with Patarkatsishvilià€™s use of the channel for his own political agenda.
Following the latest defections, Imedià€™s general director Bidzina Baratishvili and political director Giorgi Targamadzeà€”close associates of Patarkatsishvilià€”announced on December 26 and 27 that the channel would be going off the air until further notice. They described the decision as a à€œtemporary suspension,à€ not cessation, of Imedià€™s broadcasts, which are to recommence when the channelà€™s ownership status is clarified.
Barely alluding to the recordings that expose Patarkatsishvilià€™s plans, Targamadze attempted to dismiss them as a à€œmisunderstanding involving the channelà€™s owner [Patarkatsishvili]à€ and blamed the government for creating à€œabsolute hysteria.à€ Trying to explain the recent resignations, Targamadze accused the government of à€œblackmailingà€ the journalists and their families, but provided no evidence of such. Revealingly, Targamadze alluded to Patarkatsishvili as à€œthe ownerà€ throughout his address from the Imedi studio and in follow-up interviews. Ostensibly on behalf of Imedià€™s staff, Targamadze proposed that à€œthe current ownerà€ [Patarkatsishvili] consider selling his 100% ownership of Imedi, either to Rupert Murdochà€™s News Corp or to the channelà€™s staff. Targamadze asserted that discussions were underway both with Patarkatsishvili and with News Corp for a possible transfer of ownership (Georgia Today, Rezonansi, December 28; Civil Georgia, December 27, 28, 31, 2007).
Until now, Patarkatsishvili and the Imedi management had claimed many times that 51% of Imedià€™s shares had been sold to News Corp in 2006-2007. Targamadzeà€™s statement, however, implicitly admits that Imedià€™s Georgian management had misled the Georgian government and public all along. The idea of à€œsellingà€ Imedi to its staff cannot be taken seriously because the staff lacks the funds for such an expensive purchase. Such a proposal seems designed as a populist stunt, a means to preserve Patarkatsishvilià€™s ownership under a different cover, a lure to the remaining journalists to stick with the company, or is perhaps attributable to all of these motives.
For its part, News Corp never confirmed or denied its Georgian partnerà€™s incorrect claims and refused to disclose the actual ownership situation to the Georgian government even after the November 2007 disturbances, which Patarkatsishvilià€™s management team at Imedi helped trigger.
On paper, News Corp has held 100% of the operating rights to Imedi since November 2007. According to the News Corp-owned Wall Street Journal (December 28, 2007), it was News Corp that decided to take Imedi off the air, effective on December 26. However, Targamadze and Baratishvili described the suspension as their own decision.
A joint statement by six of the resigning journalists explained, à€œSince Badri Patarkatsishvili has been at the center of recent developments, it is unacceptable for us to continue working for Imedi TV, where our journalistic freedom can now be misused. For this reason we are now resigning.à€ Members of this group also made clear that they felt it necessary to quit Imedi ahead of disturbances that Patarkatsishvili said he was planning for the aftermath of the January 5 election. Nevertheless, the group took pride in its previous work for Imedi, praised Targamadze for allowing them purportedly à€œtotal freedom,à€ and condemned the temporary closure of Imedi on November 7 by the government, not mentioning however that the channel had incited disturbances in downtown Tbilisi (Imedi TV, December 26; Civil Georgia, December 27, 31, 2007).
Commenting on that joint statement, editorialist Eka Kvesitadze wrote that Imedi journalists had basked in illusions of defending a citadel of free speech with Patarkatsishvili, but after the November and December events they began realizing that they were being used in a political operation dangerous to the country (24 Saati, December 27, 2007).
The government takes the positionà€”as stated by Prime Minister Lado Gurgenidze and other officialsà€”that the suspension is Imedià€™s internal matter, but that the government hopes for an early resumption of the broadcasts. It is up to Patarkatsishvili to decide whether or not to sell the channel, and to whom, Gurgenidze said. The government makes no secret of its wish to see a change of ownership. It discussed this possibility with News Corp shortly after the November incidents and is willing to continue that dialogue (Rezonansi, Civil Georgia, December 27, 2007).
The Georgian government had suspended Imedià€™s broadcasts on November 7 for instigating unlawful actions to overturn the constitutional order. The channel was able to return to the air on December 12, although far from fulfilling the government-stipulated conditions for reopening. Those conditions were: disclosure of ownership, financial transparency, adherence to professional and ethical standards, and an independent board of respected media professionals to monitor that adherence.
Although these conditions are normal ones in any democratic country, many Western officials and pundits urged that Imedi be reopened immediately and almost unconditionally. They seemed willing to overlook the fact that this channel was overtly being used since September against Georgiaà€™s democracy and had been turned into a potential security threat to the Georgian state. They also misunderstood the issue as involving freedom of speech, whereas the real issue in Imedià€™s case is defending the mediaà€™s freedom and integrity from abuse by politicians pushing their personal agendas. A growing number of Georgian journalists seem to understand this situation more clearly than much of the Western punditry.
— Vladimir Socor
2 Comentarii » - Postat la Manipulare, Oligarhi, Politica, Presa de GMT
Duminica, Decembrie 16th, 2007
Gala 10 pentru Vantu
Spectacol jenant, cu tente de grotesc si de ridicol. Mai intai, categoriile repetitive "cel mai bun ministru" (Tariceanu!!! Macovei, pe locul 2), "cel mai bun politician" (Basescu again, Becali pe 2, again) , "cel mai bun parlamentar" (Iliescu!!!). Parca asa croite ca sa ia fiecare ceva si sa nu supere nici dinozaurii, nici petroliberalii, nici […]
2 Comentarii » - Postat la Basescu, Macovei, Nastase, Oligarhi, Politica, Tariceanu de aol
Vineri, Noiembrie 30th, 2007
Codul Mafiotilor stupefiaza comunitatea euroatlantica
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0 Comentarii » - Postat la Anticoruptie, Justitie, Oligarhi, Parlament, Politica de JP
Miercuri, Noiembrie 28th, 2007
Romania devine Romafia?
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1 Comentarii » - Postat la Anticoruptie, Justitie, Liberali, Oligarhi, Parlament, Politica, UE de JP
Vineri, Noiembrie 23rd, 2007
Voiculescu paraziteaza TVR. Si cucereste Moldova
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2 Comentarii » - Postat la Oligarhi, Politica, Voiculescu, tvr de aol
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