Tinatin Berdzenishvili, the director general of the Georgian Public Broadcaster (GPB), was re-elected to the post for a second six-year term on July 29 following a selection process in which she was the sole candidate.
The selection process took place in two stages, according to MediaChecker, an independent media watchdog. During the first stage on July 27, the Board of Trustees was set to review the submitted documents and shortlist candidates. Berdzenishvili, who was the only candidate, received the support of eight of the nine board members present at the session.
The second stage was held on July 29, when Berdzenishvili was due to present her vision for the broadcaster’s management. She was supported by eight members of the Board, according to GPB. The other member, Lika Basilaia-Shavgulidze, a staunch critic of Georgian Dream, reportedly voted against.
Berdzenishvili has served as GPB’s director general since 2020. She joined the broadcaster in 2011 and led its public relations department before becoming marketing director in 2014. She was appointed first deputy director in 2018 and became acting director in August 2020, having previously served in the same role following the resignation of then-director general Giorgi Baratashvili in 2016.
According to media reports, as of January 2026, her net salary was GEL 15,000 (around USD 5,800), around six to seven times higher than the average nominal salary in the country.
Berdzenishvili’s second term, which is set to run until 2032, comes amid continued discontent with GPB’s editorial policies from the anti-government protest movement. Critics have repeatedly accused the broadcaster of bias toward the ruling party, and protesters, including parents of individuals arrested and convicted in connection with the protests, have demanded airtime.
For nearly a year after protests began on November 28, 2024, following Georgian Dream’s decision to suspend the country’s EU accession process, nightly marches took place from the Public Broadcaster’s former building near Heroes’ Square to Parliament over the broadcaster’s editorial policy. Some GPB employees raised similar concerns about its editorial independence, while the broadcaster dismissed the criticism as “false accusations.”
Amid the protests and the imprisonment of Batumelebi/Netgazeti founder Mzia Amaglobeli, GPB’s prominent news anchor Vasil Ivanov-Chikovani was removed from the air in February 2025 after repeatedly expressing support for Amaglobeli during broadcasts. He and another prominent GPB journalist and anchor, Nino Zautashvili, were fired in April 2025.
In May 2025, GPB dismissed the producer, editor and several journalists of Zautashvili’s program “Real Space” after they refused reassignment to other departments.
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