The consent for creating a public council will be an important test in protecting the editorial policy of the channel for the new owner of Rustavi 2 - NGOs and media experts are ready to guarantee the independence of the channel.
The third sector thinks that this mechanism will protect journalists from possible interference with political motivation, which is a real threat under the new management. Giorgi Mshvenieradze, the chairman of the non-governmental organization "Democratic Initiative", said that if the new owner of the channel did not actually intend to change the editorial policy, he would agree to create the council.
"This depends on his will and it will be an answer to the question if he really wants to restrict editorial independence, "- said Mshvenieradze.
Eka Gigauri, the executive director of the NGO "Transparency International Georgia" positively evaluates the idea of the board. She says that if this initiative is implemented, it will be possible to maintain editorial independence.
"If there is agreement on my candidacy, I"m going to go to this board, but the most important thing here is the idea of the board and I think that this new owner should take into account the offer and think about it," Gigauri said.