Annual Research Publication
Media Environment 2024: The Fight for Trust and Freedom
“Media Voice” published the annual titled "Media Environment 2024: The Fight for Trust and Freedom," on December 10, Human Rights day.
The aim of the study is to describe and assess the media environment existing in Georgia in 2025 and the Russian genesis of media capture. It also seeks to identify the main threats and supporting mechanisms that influenced the information ecosystem, the viability of the media, trust in the media, and the institutionalisation of solidarity in Georgia.
The study highlights how the media operates under kleptocratic governance, and how it confronts Russian influence and the threats arising from disinformation and powerful propaganda. It further describes how the challenges present in 2025 affected the sustainability of media organizations, journalistic activity, and the quality of media output. One aspect of the study is to analyse the role and the process of transformation of the media environment in the context of Georgia’s European integration.
The study describes the importance of the journalistic profession and the editorial courage of journalists in crisis situations and highlights transformative examples of the struggle for the survival of freedom of expression.
Particular attention is devoted to assessing the arrest of journalist Mzia Amaghlobeli and its impact on the media environment. It analyses the impact on the media of the instrumentalisation of repressive laws and evaluates the incompatibility of the legislative changes with European standards, the challenges of court and protest journalism; how polarization and propaganda affect journalistic activity, and what means exist to counter them.
The study also includes a section on conclusions and recommendations, which highlights the importance of the institutionalisation of solidarity and the mechanisms for restoring trust in the media.
The media environment was examined, based on the evaluations of 22 respondents from 19 media outlets, their perceptions of reality and further comparative analysis.
Authors of the study are: Mariam Gersamia, Professor, Tbilisi State University, Founder of “media Voice”, Ekaterine Gigauri, Senior Fellow at “Media Voice”; Marika Gersamia, lawyer and Senior Fellow at “Media Voice”.
The study was conducted with the support of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom South Caucasus
Follow the link to read the study in English: