Five more journalists dismissed from Georgian Public Broadcaster

Five team members from the Realuri Sivrtse (Real Space) program—including a producer, editor, and journalists—have been dismissed from Georgia's Public Broadcaster. The program’s former journalist, Vasil-Ivanov Chikovani, confirmed this in an interview with Formula TV.

According to Chikovani, the dismissals on May 13 followed the employees' refusal to accept the management’s offer to transfer them to other platforms within the broadcaster’s structure. Those dismissed include producer Keti Kapanadze, editor Tukha Kvinikadze, co-host Soso Katsitadze, and journalists Tamar Mshvenieradze and Omar Tsotsoria.

Chikovani claims the management may have intentionally proposed significantly worsened working conditions, knowing the team would decline the offer.

"Two employees couldn’t be dismissed because they are on maternity leave. The other five were offered conditions worse than before. The show 'Realuri Sivrtse' is apparently no longer a priority for the broadcaster. They were not offered anything comparable to the work they were previously doing," Chikovani stated.

He added that the group was given an ultimatum: accept the new roles or leave when their contracts expired on May 8. As expected, they declined the offer.

Chikovani suggested the proposals may have been deliberately unacceptable, to prompt the employees’ exit without directly terminating them.

Previously, on April 11, journalists Nino Zautashvili and Vasil-Ivanov Chikovani were also dismissed from the broadcaster. Four other team members—correspondent and co-host Tamar Mshvenieradze, co-host Ioseb Katsitadze, director Kakha Melikidze (also working with the sports channel), and promo director Irma Chubinidze—faced disciplinary sanctions.

Director General Tinatin Berdzenishvili cited alleged violations of editorial independence and impartiality, claiming the employees damaged the broadcaster's reputation. They were issued formal warnings and informed that any further violations over the next 12 months could lead to dismissal.

The Public Broadcaster stated that the decisions were “fair, impartial, and legally justified.”