Rustavi 2 TV has new head of the news department
By Tea Mariamidze
Thursday, August 29
Georgia’s Rustavi 2 TV has a new Head of the News Department, a Georgian journalist based in the United Kingdom, Irakli Imnaishvili.
Rustavi 2 Director General Paata Salia announced that Imnaishvili will serve also as the executive director of Rustavi 2.
Salia noted that the changes were very positively received by the Rustavi 2 team, who are loyal to the channel.
“The doors of Rustavi 2 are open for everyone, for the professionals who have worked here for years and who want this channel to be independent, impartial and critical television,” he said.
According to him, Imnaishvili has worked for a long time in the UK, on BBC TV and Rustavi 2 had long conversations and negotiations with him over the new position.
“His [Imnaishvili] arrival has given people a big hope, and along with him, we are ready to recreate, revitalize, and strengthen the Television Company that has endured many crises during its existence,” Salia said.
Rustavi 2 Director-General expressed the hope that the TV Company will overcome this situation and will return even stronger.
“It will still be the number one channel in Georgia for the audience,” he added.
Imnaishvili said his wish is to establish high journalistic standards in the TV which will have an independent editorial policy, similar to the European media.
He also noted that the journalists, who quit the broadcaster a few days ago, want to return.
“People believe that the newsroom here is empty but I saw around 800 employees. I was told by them that the staff that quit wants to come back and that they are under the emotional pressure,” he added.
He said there is the final stage of negotiations for the moment.
“If the negotiation ends successfully, the main task is to create an editorial framework agreement, to have a written regulation with legal force. It will be a contract between the owners and the information service. This contract will allow journalists working here to defend themselves and the editorial independence," Imnaishvili said.
Nodar Meladze, ex-Head of Rustavi 2 News Department, was dismissed by Salia from his post last week, after which nearly the whole staff of the TV channel quit.
The developments came days after the new owner of what was once Georgia's main opposition television company, Kibar Khalvashi, announced his intention to sell the media outlet.
In mid-August, Khalvashi said the broadcaster is in a very difficult financial situation, adding it has a lot of debts due to the previous director, Nika Gvaramia, who has set up his TV channel last week.
To note, earlier this month, European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) upheld a March 2017 verdict by Georgia's Supreme Court on restoring the ownership of Rustavi 2 to Khalvashi, who is believed to be an ally of the government.
