“The media was like a bomb ready to explode. The media organs used by some oligarchs to expand their sphere of influence have exploded.”
This is statement on the Greek media crisis was made by Nikos Xidakis, editor-in-chief of the Kathimerini daily, a right-wing paper owned by one of the largest media groups in Greece. Director of the state-run broadcaster ERT World, Nikos Megrelis, holds similar views.
“There were too many papers. I was surprised by how they could survive with a daily circulation of 500 or even 200 copies. On the other hand, how is it possible in a 10-million-[person] country that there are 10 sports papers?” he asked.
The ongoing economic crisis in Greece also caused a huge tragedy in the media. Many print and visual media outlets have disappeared and thousands of journalists have lost their jobs. The media even held strikes for 10 days in 2012.
Pavlos Tsimas, produces show called Erevna and hosts a news hour on Mega TV, spoke of the three pillars of the media crisis: “Advertising has declined by 30 – 40 per cent. This will remain a problem. The second is financial support. The banks have no power to provide support. Thirdly, there is an ongoing crisis between the media and the people.” According to Xidakis, the overall decline in the total sales of newspapers over the last five years is 15 – 25 per cent.
In reference to the decline in advertisements, he added: “This is a dead market; it is unable to produce. … Ads are the main [source of] revenue in the media.” Since 2008, Alter TV has been shut down and the ownership of the Alpha television network has changed two times. When Eleftherotypia – the second largest paper in the country – was shut down, 980 people lost their jobs.
To Vima, one of Greece’s most prestigious papers, owned by media giant Lambrakis Press Group, is now published only on Sundays. In the meantime, a few small papers, such as Sintakton, at which journalists are also partners, have been launched to fill the void in the media. According to Tsimas, “every one of them tries to say something. I mean, the papers take risks.” In reference to pay, Xidakis said: “There have been reductions by 15 to 35 to 40 per cent in the salaries of correspondents. Salaries are around 400-600 euros at Internet news portals.”
Megrelis confirmed this. “According to some statistics, 25 per cent of journalists are unemployed. Salaries have been dramatically cut, by 40 – 50 per cent.” Tsimas summarized the overall situation at Mega Channel, once the most popular TV station in the country. “Since the beginning, Mega has tried to avoid layoffs. Top executives who were working for great salaries agreed to reductions to keep the others employed. However, this summer, 30 – 40 per cent of our colleagues had to leave.”
Tsimas also drew attention to the tension between the people and the media: “The people were caught unprepared by the crisis. It is natural for them to blame the media for not warning.” Megrelis has a pessimistic view of the future, “There could be more shutdowns in the media.” Ta Nea, Ethnos and Kathimerini, which were selling 70,000 copies daily before the crisis, now have a circulation of 30,000 to 35,000. The total circulation of Proto Thema, To Vima, Kathimerini and Ethnos on Sundays has declined from 250,000 to 100,000. *This article was published in Today’s Zaman.