Zakareishvili: events on November 7 in Georgia have moved the journalist phenomenon to the forefront

The events in Georgia on November 7, 2007, have contributed to the fact that the state with democracy in the country is now assessed also by the status of mass media. This was declared by Paata Zakareishvili, a political scientist and a member of the Republican Party.

"A journalist should not be at one with politicians, his or her relations with the society should be based on conscience, objectivity and comply with the ethics," the political scientist has stated when speaking within the discussion on the topic "Free Journalism", which was held today at the Goethe Institute and organized by Heinrich Boell Foundation.

"Georgian journalists were always notable for their strongly pronounced position. Every politician was accompanied by a group of journalists. Journalists are still proud of their friendship with politicians. From here stems the coverage of the problems, which differs from the true state of affairs. Objectivity of a journalist seems like Utopia, it should be better sought in other spheres, for example, in arts," Georgian poet Lasha Bugadze has stated.

"We should understand that independence of media is not a decision of one journalist. ...I don't condemn those journalists who lack courage to fight for their positions, because they need to support their families, or they know no other business and can't bake rolls. Heroism is a heavy burden. ...However, journalist's personal features matter as well. In fact, there are issues, which are regulated neither by the law nor by professional ethics," Marina Vashakmadze, journalist of Radio Liberty, said in her conversation with the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.