The Georgian National Communications Commission has fined the government-critical television channel Formula 10,000 GEL (approximately $3,800) for violating Article 54, Paragraph 5 (“Fairness and Impartiality”) of the Law on Broadcasting.
According to the regulatory body, monitoring was conducted between September 14 and 16. As a result, Formula TV’s 5:00 p.m. news broadcasts were found to contain instances of “anchors and correspondents expressing personal opinions, as well as violations of statutory impartiality requirements.”
According to the media monitoring platform MediaChecker, the commission’s Media Services Regulation Department noted in a memo that Formula TV “systematically” used phrases in the disputed reports such as: “Dream’s Prime Minister,” “Georgian Dream’s State Security Service,” “Dream’s Parliament,” “Ivanishvili’s Prime Minister,” “Dream’s Finance Ministry,” and “Georgian Dream President.”
The regulator stated that such phrasing “constitutes an expression of the broadcaster’s position and personal attitude toward the activities of state bodies and institutions.”
Over the past year, Formula TV has already been sanctioned three times for similar violations: receiving a written warning followed by fines of 2,500 and 5,000 GEL.
Consequently, the commission noted that this time, pursuant to Georgia’s Law on Broadcasting, the broadcaster must be fined an amount not exceeding 3% of its annual revenue, but no less than 10,000 GEL.
