Caucasus: June ‘07
Leading Georgian newspaper acclaims IWPR’s regional reporting, saying republished stories prompt regular feedback from readers.
Caucasus: June ‘07
Leading Georgian newspaper acclaims IWPR’s regional reporting, saying republished stories prompt regular feedback from readers.
Paata Veshapidz, the editor of one of the biggest dailies in Georgia, 24 Hours, told IWPR in June that if it wasn’t for IWPR, their readers would know much less about neighbouring countries.
“Thanks to IWPR, our readers always get first-hand information about the situation in the region,” he said.
24 Hours republishes IWPR output weekly, and according to Veshapidze, the stories prompt readers to send him emails discussing the topics they raise.
“We sometimes put IWPR stories on the front page. Once there was an excellent story about refugees from South Ossetia, and there was so much feedback that we organised a round table about this issue in our office,” he said.
24 Hours is just one of the major news outlets in Georgia that relies on IWPR contributors’ ability to report issues, neglected by other media.
According to Tamar Khorbaladze, a producer on the Georgian Public Broadcasting TV show Moambe, the channel often uses IWPR’s Caucasus Reporting Service as a source of news.
“We sometimes even ask IWPR journalists in other Caucasian countries to follow up interesting stories they’ve produced for CRS. IWPR has a great network of journalists all over Caucasus,” said Khorbaladze.
Other media outlets republishing IWPR stories in Georgia include the local service of the Russian news agency Ria Novosti and the English-language daily Messenger.
In June, the story Caucasian Enemies Engage in Unofficial Trade, written by a three journalists from Armenia, Azerbaijan and Nagorny Karabakh as part of the EC-funded Cross Caucasus Journalism Network, CCJN, project, was republished on thirteen websites. Armenians and Azeris living both in the Caucasus and abroad discussed the article on online forums.
Another story published under CCJN, Caucasian Migrant’s Struggle in Russia, was republished online 17 times - notably featured on the Open Society Institute’s Local Government and Public Service Reform Initiative site.
The website of the independent Armenian TV station A1+, which ceased broadcasting in 1998 as a result of political pressure, republishes IWPR stories on a weekly basis. According to the producer of A1+ website, Susanna Ohanjanyan, the IWPR pieces are among the most popular articles of the site.
“There’s high demand among our readers for IWPR stories, especially those from Azerbaijan and Georgia. We always feature the 20 most popular stories, and IWPR stories are always among them. A1+ reaches daily an audience of nearly 7,000 readers, which is equal with the circulation of daily newspapers in Armenia,” said Ohanjanyan.
Meanwhile, a leading Georgian political scientist, Paata Zakareishvili, has singled out IWPR’s output for its coverage of Caucasus trouble-spots.
“I subscribe to Caucasus Reporting Service and read every single story. I feel like I get exclusive coverage of conflicts in the Caucasus. I am especially happy with IWPR coverage of South Ossetia and Nagorny Karabakh,” he said. “I feel that IWPR is among the few that report the South Ossetian conflict from all sides.”
“Thanks to IWPR, our readers always get first-hand information about the situation in the region,” he said.
24 Hours republishes IWPR output weekly, and according to Veshapidze, the stories prompt readers to send him emails discussing the topics they raise.
“We sometimes put IWPR stories on the front page. Once there was an excellent story about refugees from South Ossetia, and there was so much feedback that we organised a round table about this issue in our office,” he said.
24 Hours is just one of the major news outlets in Georgia that relies on IWPR contributors’ ability to report issues, neglected by other media.
According to Tamar Khorbaladze, a producer on the Georgian Public Broadcasting TV show Moambe, the channel often uses IWPR’s Caucasus Reporting Service as a source of news.
“We sometimes even ask IWPR journalists in other Caucasian countries to follow up interesting stories they’ve produced for CRS. IWPR has a great network of journalists all over Caucasus,” said Khorbaladze.
Other media outlets republishing IWPR stories in Georgia include the local service of the Russian news agency Ria Novosti and the English-language daily Messenger.
In June, the story Caucasian Enemies Engage in Unofficial Trade, written by a three journalists from Armenia, Azerbaijan and Nagorny Karabakh as part of the EC-funded Cross Caucasus Journalism Network, CCJN, project, was republished on thirteen websites. Armenians and Azeris living both in the Caucasus and abroad discussed the article on online forums.
Another story published under CCJN, Caucasian Migrant’s Struggle in Russia, was republished online 17 times - notably featured on the Open Society Institute’s Local Government and Public Service Reform Initiative site.
The website of the independent Armenian TV station A1+, which ceased broadcasting in 1998 as a result of political pressure, republishes IWPR stories on a weekly basis. According to the producer of A1+ website, Susanna Ohanjanyan, the IWPR pieces are among the most popular articles of the site.
“There’s high demand among our readers for IWPR stories, especially those from Azerbaijan and Georgia. We always feature the 20 most popular stories, and IWPR stories are always among them. A1+ reaches daily an audience of nearly 7,000 readers, which is equal with the circulation of daily newspapers in Armenia,” said Ohanjanyan.
Meanwhile, a leading Georgian political scientist, Paata Zakareishvili, has singled out IWPR’s output for its coverage of Caucasus trouble-spots.
“I subscribe to Caucasus Reporting Service and read every single story. I feel like I get exclusive coverage of conflicts in the Caucasus. I am especially happy with IWPR coverage of South Ossetia and Nagorny Karabakh,” he said. “I feel that IWPR is among the few that report the South Ossetian conflict from all sides.”
