OSCE conference discusses media freedom in South Caucasus

The event brought together more than 60 editors-in-chief, media owners and managers from Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia. They will discuss the financial and commercial situation of the media and related implications for their editorial independence.

"Media outlets can only be truly independent if they are commercially able to withstand pressure from business or political interest groups," said Roland Bless, Director of the Office of the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media. "This event will show ways to strength media outlets so they become robust businesses in addition to editorially independent."

Participants at the conference said the future of democracy in the South Caucasus was intimately linked to the media situation.

A new dimension to this year's conference is a capacity-building training programme on successful media management, implemented by the Eurasia Foundation.

The event is organized by the Office of the Representative on Freedom of the Media and the OSCE Mission to Georgia in co-operation with the OSCE Offices in Baku and Yerevan. OSCE