M-TAG Quarterly Report April 1, 2015 to June 30, 2015

The program is implemented by IREX in partnership with local organizations Transparency International – Georgia, Ethics Charter, and Innova. The program's goal is to be achieved through a set of coordinated activities in support of three objectives: journalists demonstrating accurate and ethical reporting on public interest issues, regional media outlets demonstrating improved financial viability and transparency, and access to balanced and relevant information increased in the occupied territories of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. During the reporting quarter, the IREX Assessment Team traveled to the regions to finalize the selection of partners for the Regional Media Sustainability Initiative (RMSI). Out of six prospective partners visited, five were selected for partnership, bringing the total number of partners to 15. By the end of June, media sustainability plans (MSPs) and supporting documents for the 10 media outlets selected for partnership earlier were developed. IREX launched the first series of its hallmark sector-specific training courses to increase knowledge of Georgian journalists on NATO Integration policy and EU DCFTA policy. IREX continued to provide technical assistance to Georgian regional television stations as they prepared for the digital switchover. The organization's digital switchover consultant developed a DSO planning tool with a costs calculator to guide the stations on the process. On July 5, IREX and TNS held a meeting with 15 representatives of 9 radios and 3 advertising agencies to present the results of the latest wave of radio audience research and discuss trends in the radio industry. The Ethics Charter conducted a 2-day training on "How to cover ethically ethnic, religious, and LGBT communities and gender" for 24 members from regions. Twenty-one journalists participated in on-site data journalism mentorships at 5 RMSI partner media outlets. IREX started implementing some aspects of the MSPs with video production and business management technical assistance to ICN, Kutaisi Post, and Samkhretis Karibche. The CMS was successfully tested by Kutaisi Post, while the mobile application software development is moving forward. IREX subcontracted a lawyer to develop a chart outlining Radio NOR's legal obligations, which are dispersed in various laws and regulations, decrees by GNCC, and license documents. The chart will keep Radio NOR organized and help the management in meeting their obligations. The chart was translated into Russian, as the Georgian language skills of Radio NOR's staff are limited. The M-TAG program's baseline data collection was completed for 10 media partners engaged at the initial stage. Received data was analyzed and aggregated. The M&E Specialist also continued to develop the MCAT (Media Content Analysis Tool) with additional information on coding instructions and calculations of final scores. Some parameters of the tool were assigned different weights for final score calculations to better reflect their importance in M-TAG work, and coders received additional training. MCAT coders analyzed 931 randomly selected media products produced by 10 media partners to establish baseline data. The MPAT (Media Partner Assessment Tool), which measures media partners' progress in management, sales, and marketing, was also refined in discussion with the project team to better fit the capacity of M-TAG partners. The MPAT report establishing the baseline will be provided to USAID at the end of Y1. Baseline PMP data from all sources was analyzed and entered into PMP baseline table. A scope of work was developed and agreed with the members of M-TAG responsible for managing delivery of Technical Assistance and ongoing communication with individual RMSI partners – Account Managers.