Institute for War and Peace Reporting, UK
Oct 12 2007
IWPR visit to Samtskhe-Javakheti challenges biased reporting on this
neglected region.
By Salla Nazarenko, CCJN project leader
Local journalists say an IWPR-organised study trip to
Samtskhe-Javakheti has generated more balanced and informed reports
on the isolated southern region of Georgia in the mainstream media.
In mid-September, 13 journalists from Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia
took part in the second OSCE-funded visit to the region – aimed at
helping Tbilisi-based and regional media establish sustainable
contacts with journalists, NGO activists, politicians and government
officials there.
Samtskhe-Javakheti is considered one of Georgia’s problem areas. In
two of its six districts – Akhalkalaki and Ninotsminda – ethnic
Armenians make up 90 per cent of the population, the majority of
which has little or no knowledge of the Georgian language.
This together with the mainstream Georgian media’s lack of knowledge
of the region has led to Samtskhe-Javakheti being misrepresented in
the press, and stories which appear are often one-sided or based
entirely on rumour.
Giorgi Putkaradze from the Tbilisi-based Prime News agency admitted
that journalists in the capital have an unclear picture of
Samtskhe-Javakheti.
`After taking part in the study trip, I can see I was in an
information vacuum. It helped me a lot in my reporting, now that I
know more about the ethnic minorities, local government and state
structures here,’ he said.
According to Putkaradze, similar tours to the breakaway territories
of Abkhazia and South Ossetia are vital for Georgian journalists.
Local businessmen and former deputy governmor of Samtshkhe-Javakheti
Armen Amirkhanyan said he had noticed a change in journalists’
attitudes following the meetings – which is reflected in their
stories.
`I took part in the last meeting with the journalists and saw with my
own eyes that their attitudes were anything but positive towards the
ethnic minorities,’ he said.
`However, I read the stories published after the meeting, and for the
first time, I felt that some journalists were really trying to reach
balance and break the tendencies that usually prevail in Georgian
press.’
Representative of the local government in Akhalkalaki region Artur
Eremian said that his office – previously ignored by journalists –
has now become an important source of information for the media
throughout Georgia.
`These kinds of meetings are not only important but absolutely
necessary. As a rule, journalists write about our region without ever
having been here, never asking for our views. Although I must say
that my phone now rings perhaps too often,’ he said.
A third mission will take place in October and a concluding
roundtable will be held in Tbilisi in late November.
As a part of the project, the IWPR Georgia office will continue to
monitor the quality of reporting on Samtskhe-Javakheti in both
Tbilisi-based and regional press and broadcast media.