Georgian Public Broadcasting
Encyclopedia
Georgian Public Broadcasting (Georgian
Georgian language
Georgian is the native language of the Georgians and the official language of Georgia, a country in the Caucasus.Georgian is the primary language of about 4 million people in Georgia itself, and of another 500,000 abroad...

 საქართველოს საზოგადოებრივი მაუწყებელი, sakartvelos sazogadoebrivi mauts'q'ebeli) is the national public broadcaster
Public broadcasting
Public broadcasting includes radio, television and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service. Public broadcasters receive funding from diverse sources including license fees, individual contributions, public financing and commercial financing.Public broadcasting may be...

 of Georgia. It started broadcasting radio in 1925, and Georgian TV started broadcasting in 1956. Today, 85% of the Georgian population receive the First Channel (or 1TV
1TV
1TV is a Georgian television channel owned and operated by Georgian Public Broadcasting, launched in 1956....

), and 55% receive the Second Channel (2TV
2TV (Georgia)
2TV is a Georgian television channel owned and operated by Georgian Public Broadcasting....

). Georgian TV's programmes are also received by satellite and over the Internet in a number of European and Asian countries.

The adoption of Law on Broadcasting in 2004, started the process of transformation of Georgian TV from being a state broadcaster into a public broadcaster. In 2005 the Georgian Parliament elected a Board of Governors, composed of nine members. One of them, Tamar Kintsurashvili
Tamar Kintsurashvili
Tamar Kintsurashvili - former Director General of Georgian Public Broadcasting 22 of August 2005.Was born on May 8, 1970 in Tskaltubo, Georgia...

, from Liberty Institute
Liberty Institute (Georgia)
Liberty Institute is a Georgian research and advocacy organization affiliated with Ilia Chavchavadze State University.Liberty has always been the cornerstone of established Georgian values. It has been transformed into classical liberal tradition by Ilia Chavchavadze...

, was later elected as the first Director General of GPB. Levan Qubaneishvili is the current occupant of this position.

Programming

GPB's First Channel (პირველი არხი, p'irveli arkhi) broadcasts both its own original programming and also foreign series and movies. As of August 2009, the First Channel programming includes such shows as the following:
  • მოამბე moambe ("The Narrator") — a news program shown several times each day.
  • პოლიტიკური კვირა p'olit'ik'uri k'vira ("Political Week") — a talk show interviewing public figures.
  • პირველი თემა p'irveli tema ("First Theme") — a news analysis show.
  • მე მიყვარს საქართველო me miq'vars sakartvelo ("I Love Georgia") — a game show dealing with Georgian culture.
  • ცხოვრება მშვენიერია tskhovreba mshvenieria ("Life Is Beautiful") — a talk show.
  • Syndicated foreign shows such as The O.C.
    The O.C.
    The O.C. is an American teen drama television series that originally aired on the Fox television network in the United States from August 5, 2003, to February 21, 2007, running a total of four seasons...

    , Las Vegas
    Las Vegas (TV series)
    Las Vegas was an American television series broadcast by NBC from September 22, 2003 to February 15, 2008. The show focuses on a team of people working at the ficticional Montecito Resort & Casino dealing with issues that arise within the working environment, ranging from valet parking and...

    , and Veronica Mars
    Veronica Mars
    Veronica Mars is an American television series created by Rob Thomas. The series premiered on September 22, 2004, during television network UPN's final two years, and ended on May 22, 2007, after a season on UPN's successor, The CW Television Network. Veronica Mars was produced by Warner Bros...

    .

Controversies

A controversy arose in early 2009 over a GPB television program, Sakartvelos Didi Ateuli (საქართველოს დიდი ათეული; "Best Georgians" or "Georgia's Top Ten") — a show which invited viewers to pick Georgia's top historical personages. Officials of the Georgian Orthodox Church publicly objected to the inclusion of both religious and secular figures in the competition, as well as to the idea of having viewers rank the popularity of saints. After extensive public debate and private deliberation, GPB announced that Didi Ateuli would proceed, with both saints and secular figures retained in the competition, but that the final list of ten would not be ranked but would be announced in alphabetical order. A later statement released by the Georgian Orthodox Church attempted to downplay the controversy and suggested that it had been an effort to dissuade church officials from speaking out on social issues.

Georgia's entry in the 2009 Eurovision song contest
Eurovision Song Contest 2009
The Eurovision Song Contest 2009 was the 54th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest and was hosted by Russia after their win in 2008. It took place between 12 and 16 May 2009 at the Olympic Indoor Arena in Moscow, Russia....

 — "We Don't Wanna Put In" — was deemed to be a political statement against Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin served as the second President of the Russian Federation and is the current Prime Minister of Russia, as well as chairman of United Russia and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Union of Russia and Belarus. He became acting President on 31 December 1999, when...

, and the song was disqualified from the competition. After GPB officials rejected a demand to change either the lyrics of the song or the song itself, it withdrew from the contest.

External links

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