Civil.ge

https://civil.ge

Civil.ge is a Tbilisi-based news media outlet run by the Georgian non-governmental organisation UN Association of Georgia (UNAG). It is a media outlet publishing news stories and analyses of Georgia's political and social life in Georgian, English, and Russian.

It was founded as a public service media project to provide civil society commentaries on ongoing events in Georgia to local readers and the international community. However, as it was the only English language media outlet in the early 2000s, in addition to commentary, soon Civil.ge responded to the audience's demand and started reporting on the news.

Today, Civil.ge is the largest freely accessible online media archive in Georgia and a crucial resource for scholars, researchers, and the wider audience.

Civil.ge's mission is embodied in its slogan: "News. Nuance. Context." The publication aims to inform the readers by covering the local and international context with nuance. The organisation is primarily supported by funding from donors, but its financial sustainability is still a challenge. Over the years, its uninterrupted functioning has been ensured by the financial and administrative support of its parent organisation (the UN Association of Georgia), which has covered between one and two-thirds of the outlet's total expenses annually.

While other online media initiatives were not able to survive longer than five or 10 years in Georgia, this support has sustained Civil.ge as the oldest digital native media outlet in the country. Even though it is still struggling to reach financial sustainability, the outlet remains true to its core values and serves as a public service for its audience, rather than chasing viewership or turning into a clickbait media outlet.

Last updated date: February 2025

Location:
Tbilisi, Georgia
Year the organisation started publishing:
2001
Languages:
English
Georgian
Russian
Type of coverage:
National

Content

Type of content produced by theme:
Economy and business
Economy and finance
Education
Law and crime
Environment
Politics
Health and well-being
Society and human rights
Gender
Feminism
LGBTIQ+
Ethnic minorities
Religious minorities
DEIA: Diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility
Refugees
Migration
War crimes and transitional justice
Journalism genres:
Essays
Interviews and reporting
Opinion
Investigative journalism
Narrative journalism
Satire
Reviews
Journalism coverage types and techniques:
Solutions or constructive journalism
Engaged, community-driven or participatory journalism
Explanatory journalism
Collaborative journalism
Fact-checking
Curated/aggregated content
Breaking news
Live coverage of events
Data journalism
Tech platforms and other mediums used:
Website
Newsletter
Messaging service
Telegram
Social media platforms
Twitter
Facebook
Instagram
YouTube
Primary tech platform or medium used to publish content:
Website

Audience and reach

Social media audience

Facebook number of followers:
22000
Twitter number of followers:
29400
Instagram number of followers:
3817

Management and team

Founders

Female:
3
Male:
3
Founders:
Jaba Devdariani, Giorgi Sepashvili, Salome Jashi, Nino Khutsishvili, Tea Gularidze, Givi Ordenidze
Directors:
Jaba Devdariani, Ramaz Aptsiauri

Team

Full-time employees:
7
Freelancers or consultants:
0
Volunteers:
3

Business structure and revenue sources

Organisation tax status:
Non-profit
All revenue sources reported by media leaders:
Grants
Grants from private donor organisations
Grants from foreign governments
Grants from United Nations, UNESCO, and other agencies
Other
The primary source of revenue reported by media leaders:
Grants from private donor organisations
The second most important revenue source reported:
Other
Others revenue sources:
Mother organization UNAG (local NGO)

Transparency

Doesn’t publish information about annual revenue
Publishes the names of donors
Has an ethics policy / manual
Publishes an ethics policy / manual
Has a data privacy policy
Publishes a data privacy policy
Doesn’t have a whistleblower policy
Doesn’t have a complaints policy
Has a sexual harassment or institutional violence policy
Doesn’t publish a sexual harassment or institutional violence policy
Is not signed up to a press regulator, trust initiative, or part of a press association
Publishes up to date information about its team
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