Public Broadcasting of Georgia

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The logo of the broadcasting company

The Public Broadcasting of Georgia (SSM) ( Georgian საქართველოს საზოგადოებრივი მაუწყებელი, sakartwelos sasogadoebriwi mauzkebeli ) is the public service broadcaster of Georgia . The seat is in the Georgian capital Tbilisi .

history

It was founded on May 23, 1925 under the name Radio Tiflis as the state broadcaster of Georgia. Since 1956 he has broadcast the television program TV Studio Tbilisi ( Russian Tbiliskaja studija televidenija ). In 1971 a second state TV program was created. After the construction of the Tbilisi television tower in 1972, the station reached wide areas of Georgia.

After Georgia's independence in 1991, the station remained under state supervision and was named the Georgian Broadcasting Corporation (Georgian Sakartwelos Teleradio Korporacia ). In the same year, foreign services were initially set up in German ( Radio Georgia ), English and Russian. In 1995 a second national radio program was set up.

The Georgian parliament passed a broadcasting law in December 2004. On January 18, 2005 , the Georgian Broadcasting Corporation was given a public service structure and a new name.

In August of the same year, the journalist Tamara Kinzurashvili was elected the first general director of the SSM . She previously worked at the Freedom Institute in Tbilisi, where she directed communications and media programs . The station became a member of the European Broadcasting Union in the same year , and took part in the Eurovision Song Contest for the first time in 2007 with the singer Sopho Chalwaschi . The broadcaster used the participation to establish Georgia as a brand through nation branding .

In 2009 SSM sent the pop group Stephane and 3G with the song Put In Disco to the Song Contest in Moscow . It contains the line "We Don't Wanna Put In", which the Russian ruling party sees as a play on words against Prime Minister Vladimir Putin . There were demonstrations in front of the Georgian embassy in Russia.

The foreign services in eight different languages ​​operated under the name Radio Tiflis and were discontinued on December 1, 2005 due to lack of funds.

Legal basis

According to Article 15 of the Georgian Broadcasting Act, the SSM is part of the government and is financed by tax revenues, but operates “independently of government instructions and controls” . It should be "free of any state structure or institution" and only "publicly accountable" .

The law obliges broadcasters to “provide correct and up-to-date information that is free from political and economic tendencies and should be conveyed without hidden views” .

Public control is exercised by a board of trustees elected by parliament. It elects the general director of the SSM and reports annually to parliament on broadcasting work. In addition, eight public committees monitor the loyalty of broadcasters to its users and hold joint meetings with the board of trustees.

The station receives 1.5% of the taxes collected by the state annually. 2005, these were around 9.4 million US dollars .

Programs

The transmitter has two television and two radio channels. He is also responsible for the foreign programs broadcast in foreign languages.

The TV channels Public TV 1 and Public TV 2 broadcast news, documentaries, culture and entertainment, talk shows, sports and children's programs. SSM plans to set up regional television stations with programs for different ethnic groups.

Public radio broadcasts a TV program in Russian via satellite under the name Pervii Informazionnii Kawkaski (PIK, German - First Caucasian News ). It can be received six hours a day in Eastern Europe , the Caucasus , Turkey, and Iran . The general director of the program is Robert Parsons, former head of the Georgian service of Radio Free Europe .

Radio 1 - Georgian Radio (Georgian Radio Erti ) focuses on information. It also offers various programs for ethnic minorities in the country. Radio 2 - Georgian Radio (Georgian Radio Ori ) broadcasts mainly music and entertainment for older generations with an emphasis on Georgian music.

reception

SSM can be received digitally in Germany via the following satellites:

Eutelsat W4 at 36 ° East 12,563 MHz, vertical, symbol rate: 3,255 Msym / s, FEC: 2/3

Web links