Freedom of Expression in the Republic of Georgia: Framing the Attempted Shut-down of the Independent TV Station

by Sulkhanishvili, George

The purpose of this study is to examine the perception and the level of freedom in the media of the Republic of Georgia. The study examines the medias perception of freedom by identifying the frame newspapers used while covering the event between the government and the independent media outlet. The main interest is to define the predominant frame. A content analysis of 115 news articles of the four Georgian daily newspapers find that responsibility and conflict frames were more frequently used than economic consequences frame and morality frames. The study concludes that the Georgian media have considerable freedom from external restraints but less understanding of what may be accomplished by freedom.