In 1994, a gradual relaxation of political control of the press got underway and in November 1995, several journalists confirmed that the media enjoyed greater freedom than one year earlier. In 1996, the Independent Federation of Georgian Journalists recorded no obvious violations of freedom of speech. In one case, an article contradicted the criminal code. The newspaper Noy was closed down following the publication of anti-semitic material. The rather monopolistic position of the Information and Publishing Corporation of Sakinform also raised concern, in particular regarding the provision of information.
Direct interference seems to be absent.
Some forms of indirect influence on the media are still visible. The case of Rustavi 2 illustrates how the government or local authorities may use certain administrative levers. However, it is only a disturbing aberration in a country where the trend has been towards greater freedom for the independent media. The government's decision to raise the cost of receiving a license to broadcast has been detrimental to some of the smaller independent broadcasters, and there have been accusations of favouritism in the allocation of frequencies and Georgia is not without incidents of conflict between journalists and the authorities. The EIM correspondent reported recently that journalists surrounded a police station in Tbilisi when a colleague was arrested, because they hoped with their demonstration to discourage the police from beating their fellow-journalist.