Greek financial crisis hits media world

By Takis Tsafos Jan 5, 2012, 2:06 GMT 

 

macedoniadaily.blogspot.com 

Athens - Greek newspapers and radio and television broadcasters are closing down as a result of the financial crisis that has hit the country, with hundreds of journalists and media technicians finding themselves without a job over recent months.

The main cause of the decline is the drastic fall in advertising revenue, by almost 60 per cent, alongside the fact that banks are no longer prepared to support media companies with loans at favourable rates.

'We're slowly bleeding to death,' Dimitris Trimis, president of the ESIEA association of Athens journalists, told dpa.

The first major newspaper to be affected was the conservative Athens daily Apogevmatini, where the presses stopped rolling in November 2010 after it declared bankruptcy.

Now the left-leaning Eleftherotypia, one of the country's most important newspapers, is in trouble and has ceased to appear on the streets.

The editorial staff of the paper, whose opinion columns are widely read and respected, have not been paid since August and have been on strike for weeks, while the owners have applied for insolvency.

The private television channel Alter ceased broadcasting in the middle of December. Here, too, staff have not been paid for months and are on strike.

'These developments are an indication of worse to come. We are not the only victims, but society will also suffer because of the lack of information,' Trimis says.

Other media outlets are also showing signs of financial strain. Most private television stations are now broadcasting repeats of their own series made over the past decade. Reports indicate that radio stations are 'on a knife-edge.'

There are daily strikes lasting a matter of hours at state broadcaster ERT, because one of the three television channels along with a number of regional radio stations are to be closed.

The crisis follows a 20-year boom in the Greek media sector, with much of the funding coming from state advertising. This relatively small southern European country of 11 million inhabitants offers a wide range of media outlets, and it is now certain that there will be permanent cutbacks.

There are eight sports newspapers and seven private television broadcasters, alongside three state-owned national broadcasters.

In addition, there are more than 100 local television stations, as well as around 300 radio stations. State radio is represented by five national and 11 regional stations.

 SOURCE: Greek financial crisis hits media world http://bit.ly/xrnLe4

Via Yimber Gaviria, Colombia