The Potential of the Advertising Industry in Georgia to Sustain an Independent Media (Research Brief)

The primary focus of the six-week research project in Tbilisi, Georgia, was to investigate the current status and potential of the country’s advertising industry to support the further development of a pluralistic and independent media. A secondary objective was to ascertain the effectiveness of recent governmental legislation requiring television and radio stations to file an annual report to the Georgia National Communications Commission (GNCC) listing individuals who were owners of the stations. Both research objectives were accomplished through reading published reports and in-depth interviews (60 minutes+) with 47 individuals from 30 organizations representing the media, advertising agencies, and NGOs.

Dennis L. Wilcox, of San Jose State University, was a 2011-2012 Embassy Policy Specialist (EPS) fellow.