In the era of algorithms and technologies, the main challenge of media is a social network. If during the years, information was accessible for only journalists and without them it would not have been delivered to the audience, now the user is often the source of information for media. Quick dissemination of the news is not a priority for media. The main difference of media from people who have large following in these networks, is that media has responsibility. A citizen will not restrict himself in what to say and how to say it, but a journalist is obligated to follow ethical standards, verify the information and don’t share unchecked news, don’t violate others privacy without argumentation, etc. These principles are there to gain the trust of the audience. The audience has to have a belief and expectation, that in difference to social networks, information shared by media is trustworthy. Therefore, the main goal of media is to gain trust of audience.

Responsible journalism is becoming more and more important, when fake news, propaganda and Post-truth period are rampant and it is harder to differentiate between the truths and lies. This environment makes self-regulating organization an institution, which makes audience able to be certain, whether the ethical standards were violated or not. This is a mechanism for citizens to influence and engage in media professionalism development and media, to develop its own professional standards, strengthen responsibility and increase the trust of the audience.

Georgian Charter of Journalistic Ethics aims to fulfill this goal. Its activities, programs, public statements are dedicated to improve media environment and professional standards. This was the goal in 2018 too. Charter tried to discuss public criticism against journalists in self-regulating environment. The work done in pre election period is worth of special mention. Several cases about the ongoing events were discussed in restricted time. A campaign head of one of the presidential candidates, as well as governmental representatives were among applicants to Charter. This proves that the discussions about media work shifts more and more in self-regulating sphere.

The aim of the Charter is to explain the meaning of self-regulation to as many journalists as possible, because if we don’t have self-regulation, the government will try to regulate media itself. Other than that, Charter tries to create resources to increase professionalism. The work done in 2018 was dedicated to achieving these goals.

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