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How objective are the Greek media?

Let's be honest - there has never been any objectivity. On the one hand, we have events and they are something that happens. Of course, there are journalists who fabricate events. They present events that have never occurred or present them as if they have occurred while the reality is quite different. I will mention specific cases we have had here in Greece. A journalist who was supposed to be a correspondent from Iraq was in Cyprus and made sounds in his hotel room to prove there were bombs in the surrounding area. Another Greek journalist who worked for German television presented a report on the PKK guerrillas, but it was not shot in the mountains in Turkey, but somewhere in the region of Thessaly in Greece. Here we are talking about fabricated events.

Most of the things television shows are real. We should not forget that we should not conceal events because this is a kind of intervention too. However, it is one thing to present events that have occurred, how we understand them is quite different. We live in a society the members of which perceive things differently. We have different political and ideological views, different interests, different religious beliefs, different lifestyles. Therefore, everyone can examine an event from a different perspective and it is impossible for anyone to reject his or her view. For example, some perceive the current crisis as a crisis, some call it "income redistribution", others believe it is a transition period that will lead Greece to better conditions, some expect and possibly even wish the Greek economy to worsen and for Greece to become a third world country. Therefore, it is almost impossible to divest ourselves of our point of view when describing an event. From this perspective, there is no and has never been objectivity.

What we can do is to respect the events. However, the problem is that the Greek media often do not even do that. First of all, they do not show all events. They only cover those in tune with the government or the opposition. I can cite an example that was mentioned in a comic show. The famous actor Lakis Lazopoulos had made the comment that TVs report the expensive prices of products in the markets, but not in the supermarkets because they are their sponsors or advertisers. No matter how simple this example is, it is real. But here we are talking about concealing an event. The same happens with international news, from which very specific events are selected. To sum up, I could say that the lack of objectivity in the Greek media is not due to the way we look at the events but to the fact that we do not want them to exist. That is why we remain silent about them.

Will all the media survive in these harsh conditions?

I am not sure. I expected that some media would be closed as a result of the crisis. They fired many journalists and technicians but they still exist. Is it not strange that, despite the lack of advertising funds from government funding or support from the parent companies, they are still here?

In Greece, there are private broadcasters who owe tens of millions, not to mention greater amounts, to the state. This money is not paid back as it should be. Some televisions owe large amounts for the social security of their employees, which are covered by the state. I would like to say that these media are still here, because corruption still exists today. It just operates differently than in the past. I have an example. When it was announced in February that Greece should sell its assets to foreign firms, the Greek media reacted very strongly, arguing that state assets should not pass into foreign hands. I.e. the problem for them was not that they would be sold, but that they would be sold to foreigners. However, after the government explicitly stated that it would not sell them to foreigners, TV stations and especially newspapers, which reacted most strongly, were more moderate in their criticism. Recently, it became clear that this national treasure will not be sold after all and will go directly into the hands of a foreign company under the Eureka plan. They started raising the voice of "national pride". This shows that corruption has not gone away. It still exists today. I believe that corruption will continue to exist even if all state property is sold. This is because it does not depend on companies but on the way the political system in Greece is structured.

What is the role of journalists in this chain and could it be broken?

It could not be broken. There are many journalists working for a TV channel, newspaper or other media who at the same time are employed in the press offices of some government functionary: a deputy, member of European Parliament, governor, mayor, etc. They do not do any special work; at least that is what the results show. They are just there to help the department that employs them reach publicity when necessary. But why not eliminate that? Why isn't any public authority or functionary prohibited from paying someone working in a medium to be his media representative?

Do you think this could happen?

I do not know. If Greece fails to avoid bankruptcy, as it seems will probably happen now, and things get even more negative, many things will change. But nobody can know exactly what will happen and in which direction things will go in a period of great and profound changes.

What is the role of electronic media in this situation? Could they replace traditional media or exert pressure for change in this direction?