Constructive journalism in the prism of Georgian television news

Abstract

Our rapport is about getting to know the results of the research, which was carried out within the targeted scientific research project of the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences of Tbilisi State University of Ivane Javakhishvili. The project aimed at a scientific evaluation of the media product created in the Georgian television space based on the principles of constructive journalism, in order to study how modern Georgian television media responds to the challenge facing it, namely, gaining the trust of the audience, whether it provides the public with news in a constructive prism, whether it tries to change negativism or not. With a new vision - by searching for ways to solve the problem, which is vital for a polarized society, so as not to lose the course of development in a democratic way. The reports and stories of the main information releases of "Public Broadcaster", "Imedi TV", "Rustavi 2" and "Mtavari Channel" in 2022 were selected as empirical material. The determination of the research period was determined by the 2021 project of the Public Broadcaster, within the framework of which the journalists of the news program "Moambi" were trained at the Danish Constructive Institute, the results of which were to be reflected in the news prepared by them from 2022. The relevance of the research topic is determined by the fact that the research of the elements of constructive journalism in the Georgian television space has not become a subject of special study, especially since the above-mentioned project of the Public Broadcaster confirms the existence of constructive news in Georgian television. Based on the objectives of the research, the theoretical framework of the research is one of the theories of media effects - the theory of framing, on the basis of which we were able to discover the frames that the television material disseminated by the news services of the mentioned televisions includes, based on their own editorial policy, when covering the news. Taking into account the specifics of the research material, we used qualitative research methods, in particular, qualitative content analysis and partially structured in-depth interviews, which we recorded with specialists in the field (the founder and general director of the Danish Construction Institute, Ulrik Haagerup, the head of the Danish Construction Institute's scholarship program, Orla Borg), practicing Georgian journalists. and with foreign (Daniel, Finnish and Norwegian) working editors who create news based on the principles of constructive journalism. Based on the mentioned methodology, the research of the problem allowed us to implement the main goals and objectives of the research, which includes:  revealing the specifics of constructive journalism;  Rethinking news coverage with a new vision - in a constructive prism.  On the basis of frame analysis, to identify the main journalistic tools that the research units use when telling a news story.   Studying the empirical material according to the 6 main distinguishing marks of constructive journalism - time, goals, questions, style, role of the journalist and focus of the story - allowed us to outline the frameworks that the target TV channels created when reporting domestic news. The stories aired on "Georgian Public Broadcaster" provide viewers with more detailed information, the emphasis was mostly on nuances, on the search for ways to solve the problem, than on the other 3 TV channels, on "Rustavi 2". "Main channel", "TV Imedi", where information was often trending, the aim was to show problems. The same picture emerges from the semi-structured in-depth interviews recorded with the journalists. For journalists of Public Broadcasting, in contrast to their colleagues working in commercial TV channels, it is important to focus on nuances so that the viewer perceives the event in detail, in the right context, and also shows alternative ways of solving the problem. It should be noted here that the desire to create constructive news made the journalists of Public Broadcasting think about the social problems that concern the viewers and which were not or rarely paid attention to in the media.