Euronews CEO Michael Peters - I Believe the Independence is the Essence of Media

CBW had an interview with the CEO of Euronews, Michael Peters about the updates after launching Euronews in the country and the challenges the team had to face.

Euronews Georgia started broadcasting in Georgia on Monday 31th of August, could you please sum up, these past two weeks? Did everything go as planned?

After one week of the beginning, in terms of rating, I would say it’s a good start. Honestly, ratings at the beginning are not something you can trust. I think, what we were excepting was the product itself – what we did and what is the offer. And I think that’s what we can be happy with and whether it's good or bad is that we have done what we said. Euronews Georgia what you can see on screen, is exactly, what we wanted to do. We did not compromise with independence. So the aim of us was to find open-minded journalists, not used to work for the polarized media organizations and we knew that it would be hard because a lot of senior journalists in the country are used to work in such organizations. But we took the bet. We recruited a new, young generation – less experimented journalist. It is a risk, but for the time being, no one can say that Euronews is not balanced and independent. This is everything that we were going to achieve, and we did.

Euronews Georgia has stayed on target despite very challenging conditions with the global COVID-19 pandemic, what were the main challenges and how did you manage to make sure to launch of Euronews Georgia on time?

I think COVID-19 was the hugest challenge ever. When we came here last year, we said we would launch the television in September, and we managed to open the channel in the middle of coronavirus, which is crazy. The team of Georgians has been able to launch such a channel in the middle of COVID. So the challenges are everywhere. Technical equipment is not from Georgia, people who make and set the equipment are not from Georgia, the journalists are from Georgia, but people of Euronews to train the journalists and to help to supervise the equipment are not from Georgia. So, you need to make all of this in a time when all doors are closed and it was the hugest challenge.

Now that it is launched, we are facing the same problem that any media can face now in Georgia, and by the way, in the rest of the world.

Euronews Georgia benefits from the brand-awareness and reputation of Euronews, associating their new media with a household name in independent journalism. In a country striving towards the west, what are the motives of choosing Georgia for Euronews?

We are interested in any country in general. The Caucasus is a hugely important region for us. I think there is no willingness to go to one country or not to go there.  Of course, there are some countries in the world where we can not go because of press freedom, etc. Then, I think that once you say this, the idea is not about the country itself. The idea is about who you find as a partner.

We are setting self-power. Business is very complex. It’s not only about the contract, license, or franchise,  but it’s about the trust I give to this partner. I think that this is one of the key things. After one visit to Georgia, I’ve been presented to Georgia and immediately understood that this country was the one who would 100%, not 99%, but 100% share Euronews values and my vision of things. So that’s why it is so interesting.  But besides this, of course, we are extremely conscious that your country is at the heart of such a geopolitically important region. One can better understand this situation while being inside the region. So for all these reasons, Georgia is such a great choice for us.

This project means that we are a bridge - we will bring more Western Europe to Georgia but will equally bring more Georgia to Europe. So the great part of the project is that it goes both ways.

What is the importance of an independent news channel in the media space and how does the existence of this channel contribute to media pluralism?

I think that whatever the state of the market is in the country, there is nothing more important than the independence of media. I think it’s the essence of media. We should not even say media independence. I believe that this is the DNA, the blood, the essence of being a media. This is the role of the media.

By the way, looking at the pure definition of the media, the role of it is not to judge anything but to empower the people and give a potential of views and perspectives to make people consume the media. It is not easy. Those things are complex. We just show them the facts, with the quality and the serenity, that is something that would help the people. So I think the media is independent by the nature of it.

And to complete your question, having independent media in the market like Georgia, like many of the markets, which you understand on TV is very polarized, is very interesting for us. And I’m not playing the Jesus of media and I’m not here to judge others. But professionally speaking, it is very interesting because it makes us unique – So it’s just a unique setting point to be independent in the media where everyone else is polarized. I’m not saying that we are better than anyone, I’m not saying it is better to be independent I just think that this is the essence of media. At least, what is good, in terms of marketing of media in Georgia, we are coming here with complementary positioning from the others.