Greece closes public broadcaster ERT

[Hakim]

Have they just scrapped state television altogether?

Greece suspends state broadcaster ERT to save money

The Greek government has announced that it will shut down the radio and TV services of the state broadcaster ERT.

A government spokesman said transmissions would cease early on Wednesday.

All employees, numbering at least 2,500, will be suspended until the company reopens "as soon as possible."

It is the latest move in successive rafts of spending cuts and tax rises that the government hope will lead the country out of recession.

"ERT is a case of an exceptional lack of transparency and incredible extravagance. This ends now," government spokesman Simos Kedikoglou said, according to the AFP news agency.

Unions voiced strong opposition to the move.

An engineer at the broadcaster's multimedia department who gave his name as Yannis said: "The government announced that channels will shut down at midnight - after that the screens will go black.

"According to the government, from tonight I will be unemployed. It is a complete shock. In four hours' time I will not have a job."

ERT is funded by a direct payment by of 4.30 euros (£3.80; $6) added monthly to electricity bills.

The broadcaster runs three domestic TV channels, four national radio stations, as well regional radio stations and an external service, Voice of Greece.

In April, parliament passed a bill which will see 15,000 state employees lose their jobs by the end of next year.

The law was a condition for Greece to receive its next tranche of loans from international lenders worth 8.8bn euros (£7.4bn; $11.4bn).

Since 2010, the European Union and the IMF have promised more than 200bn euros in lending for Greece, the first country to be hit by the eurozone crisis.

The government has imposed tough austerity measures in return for aid, including cuts in pay and pensions leading to numerous general strikes.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-22861577

Quite shocking. Does anyone know if this is the only state media company in Greece?

It's sounds like a good target for slashing costs given Greece current situation. In a modern country the state shouldn't need to run a media company. What do you think?

 

[Silurian]

In a modern country the state shouldn't need to run a media company. What do you think?

So why are you quoting a state media company

 

[Tahuti]

Not really my problem, since I don't watch Greek public television. I would really be angry if Britain pulled the plug on BBC though.

 

[Praise_Satan]

Good news.

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

So why are you quoting a state media company

Damn, you got there first.

 

[Kyriakos]

Some background here:

ERT (which for the biggest part of its presence had three channels) used to be a decent public television, up to around to the early 1990's. That was when privately-owned tv channels were first allowed. This soon led to a massive loss of what quality there originally was in Greek tv (not very great, but probably on par with most other euro state tv's of the time). Nowdays there are literally tens of channels on national Greek tv, and more than a hundred which are local. It is pretty much a teleoptical zoo.

None of this means that the powers that be have less control of tv. Most of the private-owned channels present the same story, which is pro-government (even moreso now that the old parties which used to dominate since 1974 are in a rulling coalition at the moment, having lost a lot of their voters).

The other two parties of the ruling coalition (Pasok and Demar) have said today that they will not vote to validate the decision to close ERT. This does not have to mean it will not happen, since they are not exactly very trustworthy anyway.

Still, a sad development, although in theory a new "public, but not state-owned" (sic) tv channel will be created, according to the mouthpiece of the main governing party, ND.

PS: I have not watched anything on tv for the last 2 years, since i do not even own one and do not need one. Most programs run on Greek tv end up soon on the web anyway, either on the places related to the stations, or youtube. I check the latter sometimes.

 

[Gucumatz]

Interesting. Deutsche Welle should offer a discount in the meantime to attract a new Greek Audience

 

[metatron]

It's sounds like a good target for slashing costs given Greece current situation. In a modern country the state shouldn't need to run a media company. What do you think?

The opposite.

ERT is funded by a direct payment by of 4.30 euros (£3.80; $6) added monthly to electricity bills.

Germans pay 17.98 € for their public broadcasting.
But the Greek ruling class apparently feels these 4.30 € should be used by Greeks individually for the import of consumption goods instead of maintaining (arguably some of the most useful) jobs in the country.

 

[Silurian]

The BBC costs me £12.13 per month.

Maybe the Greeks will have to watch another station.

 

[Kyriakos]

Yes. And 5 euros do not buy one much nowdays anyway (iirc a kilogram of most types of meat is worth more than that in most supermarkets).

Besides it is obvious that the rise in taxes is what is killing consumerism, not some erase of five miserable euros from a bill.

 

[tonberry]

Have they just scrapped state television altogether? http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-22861577

Quite shocking. Does anyone know if this is the only state media company in Greece?

It's sounds like a good target for slashing costs given Greece current situation. In a modern country the state shouldn't need to run a media company. What do you think?

I disagree. I think having one news network whose goal is not to only make money is a good thing.

 

[Tycho Brahe]

Perfect time for a millionaire owner of a private chanel to run for president.

 

[FriendlyFire]

Greece Shuts Broadcaster in Bid to Show Resolve

To understand what the government is up against, consider the case of Georgia Tsiounis and more than 10,000 other “temporary” workers. Eight years after landing a four-month contract with the municipality of Athens to water flowers and trim trees while other workers were on vacation, she was told recently that her services would be eliminated after her latest contract ends.

Rather than meekly accepting her fate, she turned to the well-worn tactic of filing a restraining order seeking to make the job permanent.

While she may well lose in court, legal analysts say, she cannot be fired while the case is pending. Given the glacial pace of Greece’s overburdened and inefficient court system, her case and thousands more like it will not be heard for nearly two years.

“I am suing to keep food on the table,” Mrs. Tsiounis said recently. “If I am let go amid high unemployment, where will I find work?”

.....

That leaves Mr. Manitakis searching for what would seem to be low-hanging fruit. But other targets came with their own set of problems. For instance, he hoped to swiftly fire around 1,500 civil servants facing disciplinary action, including a man who skipped work for more than 100 days and a worker accused of demanding bribes.

Yet only a handful have gone before the tribunal that decides such cases.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/12/world/europe/greece.html?hp&_r=0

So they cannot fire idiots whos contract have ended and corrupt public employees so in the end they had to fire the entire public broadcaster.

 

[Kyriakos]

Some news:

It seems there is now a (still small) possibility that the tripartite government (i do not mean the other troika ) will dissolve on account of the ERT issue.

Both the leader of Pasok, and the leader of Demar, seem to have said that the country may be led to new elections, although they do not wish for such a development.

Great idea from ND (the bigger party in the government). So great that i wonder if it was not just staged so as to lead to this collapse of the coalition. No one expected such a draconian ruling as the one destroying ERT, and anyone could expect that this would be instantly a major issue. So currently it does seem that the oligarchy in ND (and elsewhere) are not so much stupid, as reckless and possibly even have more ambiguous ends.

If elections happen it is in theory possible (although not that probable) that ND will still be the first party, but with even a smaller majority than before. Syriza will be somewhat better-off (at least in regards to percentages in relation to ND) although it might lose some voters as well. GD is set to at any rate have a larger percentage than its previous 7% (most polls show it at around 10%). And new elections are a bit pointless, since again we will see the same people, with the only possible difference that now Syriza will be the head of a new coalition.

Of course it does not have to end with new elections. The ND leader is another moron, and stubbornly ruled out any possibility to back down on his attack on ERT (the stupidest part was making the attack itself, and instantly cancelling ERT from existence). I would not be surprised if the next parliament has less parties (the communist party, and the party of "independent Greeks" are unlikely to be there again, and so is Demar), but more pronounced extreme elements on both ends of the spectrum.