Imedi TV has the highest ratings of any TV network within Georgia's competitive media market, in which viewers enjoy a wide diversity of choice. Imedi TV has a responsibility to help safeguard and promote freedom of the press and free speech in our country. We are proud that Imedi TV consistently ranks as by far the most trusted TV network in Georgia, according to the National Democratic Institute's annual opinion polls.
Imedi TV notes with concern the apparent spread of disinformation, endorsed uncritically by some western voices, concerning its own alleged role in Georgia's current instability. For the avoidance of any doubt, Imedi TV is editorially independent. Any attempt to stifle or censor its journalism whether by political activists inside Georgia, or by self-declared champions of democracy abroad is deeply anti-democratic in nature. Imedi TV will resist all such pressure and will not be deterred in its editorial mission to keep Georgia's citizens well informed.
No news organisation is more conscious than Imedi of the need for authorities and political activists to exercise restraint in their treatment of a free media. Many of our journalists suffered first hand under the Saakashvili regime, when our offices were infamously ransacked by armed police and the channel was expropriated by the government. Key actors in that regime, including Mr. Saakashvili himself, who remains a key opposition figure, continue to attack Imedi TV and what it stands for.
We are aware of allegations of violence and intimidation directed at journalists, including against our own journalists, who have faced physical and verbal threats whilst reporting on the recent protests. These incidents need to be taken seriously. Threats and physical violence against journalists should have no place in Georgian civil society regardless of whether they come from supporters of Georgian Dream or opposition groups.
As a news organization, Imedi TV does not shy away from reporting on incidents of violence, whether against journalists, protestors or the police.
Commenting on recent reports, Irakli Rukhadze, Chairman of Imedi TV's Board, added:
"In Georgia, we have a free media consisting of scores of TV channels representing all political views and outlooks. Within that vibrant culture, I am proud that Imedi TV is by far the most trusted and the most watched channel. Some commentators in the West have likened our media scene to Russia's. This is completely misinformed. Georgians don't watch Imedi TV because they have to. They watch us because they want to."
"In turn, we at Imedi TV work for our viewers for ordinary Georgians, and not for any political party. To be clear, we want the government to succeed in its efforts not to place Georgia potentially into direct conflict with Russia. That is the view that most Georgians hold, and it is a perfectly reasonable position for a small country to take especially one that already went through a disastrous war with Russia in 2008, and whose northern territories are still occupied by Russian forces. But to suggest that means Imedi is pro-Russian or anti-EU, as some have done, is absurd and illogical. Imedi TV is in favour of Georgia's membership of the -EU. It is also anti-violence. This stance has been affirmed repeatedly both by the channel and me."
"Speaking personally, and as a US Citizen who has spent most of my life in the West, I would add that I have first-hand understanding of the benefits that EU membership and closer alignment with the West would bring to Georgia. It would also bring clear commercial benefits to many of the Georgian businesses in which I hold investments. So it is nonsensical for Georgian opposition figures to allege that we are anti-Western or pro-Russian and dishonest of them too, because they know there is no evidence to back those claims. It is also unfortunate to hear certain lawmakers in the West parrot the same ludicrous allegations, without taking any steps to verify them."
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250130346823/en/
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