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Makis Triandafilopoulos believes that the media which create remain modest, they are relieble and have a future

08 April 2011 / 22:04:27  GRReporter
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Anastasia Balezdrova

Makis Triandafilopoulos is one of the most emblematic figures of the Greek journalism. A recent publisher of the Veto newspaper, he is better known to the public for his broadcasts Jungle and Yellow Press, in which politicians, representatives of the social and economic life as well as ordinary citizens discuss reports on topical issues of the Greek reality.

Several years ago he created the news portal zougla.gr, which emerged as one of the leading electronic news media.

The famous journalist answered GRReporter’s questions on the state of the media in Greece and their development.

What is your attitude to the 4-day strike held by the media employees?

We are not on strike in zougla.gr. When a man who has struggled for so many years for strikes, rights and achievements of employees reacts in this way it has its meaning. We are not on strike for a variety of particular reasons.

One of the key reasons is the following: Although the Internet is considered the most prominent representative of the mass media in Europe and America and is the first in the list of advertisers, it is not recognized as a means of information in Greece.

This, of course, does not diminish the value of the Internet, and shows the inability of the government. Thus, if there is not a trade union organisation that supports you, why should you take part in their strike? Just to be involved with them?

The second reason is that all these strikes have no effect ultimately. They offer nothing to the working people. They provide more benefits to the unionists and a few to the working people and the unemployed journalists.

Besides zougla.gr and some other news web sites, however, Greece was left without access to information for four days.

We are happy and proud to inform it.
 
There have been a strong ignorance in society to politics in Greece in the last year. Do you think that there is such an attitude to the media to some extent?

Yes, there is. Things overlap in this case, they go hand in hand. When there is ignorance to the authority, there is ignorance to the fourth informal power, which is the media.

But this attitude of people has a little impact on me, because I think that those who curse the Parliament, the politicians and the lawmakers actually are cursing them themselves. And that is because they have voted for them. In this sense, I do not understand why they curse their reflection in the mirror.

This is my opinion. If they did not want this power they ought not to participate and vote. But even assuming that the majority was not actually 48 or 46 or 42 per cent but 28 or 18 per cent which is quite often, I believe that even this percentage is too large to accept this behaviour of politicians for so many years and not to respond.

Makis Triandafilopoulos neither accepts, nor rejects the view that the Greek media are numerous. It is more important for him that the means of information are good, capable and reliable. He was not inclined to comment on the future of the media in Greece, especially in these difficult economic times. "I can tell you how I see our future. When you create, stay humble and try to prove that you are reliable, you have a future. When you "assist the Germans" you have no future".

Tags: MediaMakis TriandafilopoulosElectronic mediaStrike
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