Objective TV was founded in May 2010 by the Institute of Reporters’ Freedom and Safety (IRFS) in partnership with Turan News Agency as a non-profit, independent online news source dedicated to providing alternative human rights news from Azerbaijan to counter the increasing government control of traditional news sources. Objective TV focuses on issues generally ignored, underreported, or reported with bias by the mainstream media, such as freedom of expression, rule of law, transparency, and civil rights. Objective TV is not affiliated with any political party in Azerbaijan. It is an independent media watchdog which promotes the freedoms, transparency, and political pluralism necessary for a democratic society.

The main objective of Objective TV is to increase access to human rights news on the part of Azerbaijanis and international stakeholders and raise awareness among the local audience of their rights as citizens of Azerbaijan. By reporting on violations of or threats to those rights, Objective TV supports a culture of transparency and pluralism. It provides a professional platform for opposition politicians, civil society leaders, journalists, and ordinary citizens, groups who are otherwise sidelined by Azerbaijan’s state-controlled mainstream media, in order to increase awareness of the gap between what the population needs and what the state is providing.

Objective TV also targets the international community, particularly the diplomatic corps in Baku and political representatives of foreign states. Its team of English language translators and editors produce English language versions of each news bulletin in order to make problems and issues in Azerbaijan that would otherwise go unreported available to the worldwide human rights community

IRFS is a non-profit, independent NGO dedicated to protecting the rights of journalists and

media personnel in Azerbaijan, and to promoting the freedom of expression and rule of law. To

learn more about IRFS, please visit the IRFS website at ww.irfs.az and see the About Us page.

Contact Us

Chairman: Emin Huseynov

Address: 8 R. Behbudov St., Apt. 85/86, Baku, Azerbaijan

Tel: (+994) 408 08 42

(+994) 408 75 30

E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Website: www.Objective.tv

Current Objective TV Projects

Objective TV offers daily news videos 6 days per week in 8 categories related to democratic development, transparency, and freedom of expression. It also produces two other programs, “Word on the Street”, a vox-pop project, and a “Difficult Questions”, a panel discussion. Currently all Objective TV videos are available in Azerbaijani and the website and news coverage is translated into English. The news coverage will soon be available in Russian as well.

News:

Obeyktiv TV delivers 5-7 daily news reports in the following 8 categories: rule of law, freedom of expression, election freedom, freedom of assembly, transparency, gender equality, civil rights, freedom of association

Programs:

Talk Show—The talk show program is a work in progress, for which Objective TV is still looking for a studio.

Word on the Street—Objective TV correspondents travel around the city, stopping ordinary passersby to ask questions about their political opinions/awareness or various aspects of their daily lives. The team gives special focus to social demographics that are usually marginalized by traditional media, such as women. These short interviews can be surprisingly revealing.

Difficult Questions—This program invites experts, politicians, civil society leaders, and civil rights defenders to the Objective TV studio to ask them “difficult questions” about current topics, providing a deeper insight into the issues facing Azerbaijan today.

Interviews- The interview section is also still being developed but Objective TV hopes to offer quality interviews with local politicians, opposition activists, and international diplomats in the near future.

Live Broadcast—In its live broadcasts Objective TV reports from important events, transmitting the coverage live.

Week in Review—At the end of every week Objective TV offers a brief summary of the week’s main news.

No Comment—These videos stand alone, whether they are reports from other news agencies, interviews, or footage of demonstrations.

Meet the Staff

Emin – Project Manager  and IR         FS Chairman This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Idrak Abbasov— Journalist This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Fimar Hajiyeva—  Journalist

Rasul Jafarov – Legal Advisor This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Ismayil Jabrayilov –  Translator- This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Celia Davies – English editor This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Get Involved

Donate- The situation for independent media outlets is increasingly difficult in Azerbaijan as there is an unwritten ban on providing advertising for media that is critical of the government. Therefore, independent media organizations survive exclusively on grants, newspaper sales (for print sources), and membership fees. Objective TV is free to watch and is funded completely through grants from foreign organizations. Private donations would allow us to expand the range and quality of our news coverage. Until now, there has been no way for those who support freedom of expression in Azerbaijan to give safely and anonymously to one of the very few local organizations that upholds the values of free expression and independent reporting. As we open up our donations section we hope that Azerbaijanis as well as the international community will respond and support press freedom in Azerbaijan.

Volunteering—IRFS welcomes volunteers who wish to gain media or translating experience, or those with good knowledge of website design and media technology. Interested volunteers should send a letter of interest to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

International Internship position— IRFS offers unpaid internship opportunities for international students and recent graduates. The of internships are flexible but those available to work for at least three months are preferred. Interested applicants should send their CV and a simple statement of interest to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Applicants should have an excellent knowledge of English.

Job Openings—Job vacancies are posted below. If there are no fitting openings feel free to send a CV to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and it will be kept on file. Please check back periodically for posted openings.

Our Partners

Objective TV

National Endowment for Democracy (NED)

European Commission

German Marshall Fund—Black Sea Trust

IREX

IRFS (current and past donors)

Human Rights Institute (HRIDC- Georgia)

European Society Foreign Operation

International Research and Exchanges Board (IREX)

National Endowment for Democracy (NED)

Eurasian Cooperation Fund

MEMO 98

US Embassy Baku

Open Society Institute

British Embassy Baku

Council of Europe

OSCE

Norwegian Royal Ministry of Foreign Affairs

German Marshall Fund—Black Sea Trust

Human Rights House Foundation

European Commission

Links