IWPR: Caucasus: June ‘07

From: MSN NicknameEagle_wng  (Original Message)    Sent: 7/13/2007 3:55 PM
Caucasus: June ‘07

Leading Georgian newspaper acclaims IWPR’s regional reporting, saying republished stories prompt regular feedback from readers.

By Salla Nazarenko, Cross Caucasus Journalism Network Project leader
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.

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