In the top 70s

A recent report by the organization "Reporters Without Borders" showed that, in terms of press freedom, Greece is in the 70th place worldwide, with its situation being considered “problematic”. It is impossible to exaggerate the importance of a properly structured and ethical press, for all societies but especially for democratic ones. So, alongside the global and international crisis that journalism is experiencing in modern times, it is useful to compare the situation and find out if journalism in Greece, in particular, is going through a crisis of its own.

The evolution of technology and social media has brought many challenges to journalism worldwide. A key problem is the inability of news media to be profitable in an electronic environment where most services are provided free of charge. On this basis, journalists who abide by journalistic ethics, fall behind in popularity compared to amateur online journalists, who with misleading headlines, unfounded information and emotional pieces, dominate the Internet. Thus, the online environment is hostile toward professional journalists but lenient toward amateurs.

News stations suffer a similar fate. The established news sites are losing ground to amateur newcomers, blogs and social media pages. This can be attributed to the above, but also the tendency of the public to distrust mainstream media, due to several accusations levelled against their credibility. On the one hand, any internet user can concoct a lie, start a rumour, and do so (due to ignorance or ulterior motives) without the journalistic standards that a respectable journalist would subject themselves to. On the other hand, individual users have revealed things that mainstream media tried to silence. Great examples of this are the prime minister’s lunch in Ikaria, which didn’t follow any Covid-19 measures and the incident of police brutality in Nea Smyrni (to which initial coverage reported an attack against the police!).

In this global journalism crisis, however, Greece is found to be particularly problematic and, unfortunately, with good reason.

At the moment, someone turning on their television might believe that Greece has triumphed over the coronavirus. Besides the triumph against the first wave, this is completely false. No rational person would refer to Greece as a success against the pandemic, let alone a triumph. So, such statements, insofar as they are not truthful, constitute propaganda in favour of the government. Propaganda is a serious accusation. It is, however, much easier to formulate when considering the huge funds that (indirectly or directly) were given to media channels by the government (the so-called Petsa list and all other funding that followed it). How can people's trust in the media not be shaken? How can one not talk about corruption?

Και κάπου εδώ ψάχνουμε φταίχτες. Ναι, φταίνε όσοι δημοσιογράφοι αδιαφορούν και καταπατούν τον κώδικα δεοντολογίας τους. Αλλά δεν φταίνε μόνο αυτοί. Παρά τις όποιες ενστάσεις πολλοί έχουμε κατά του Στέφανου Χίου, ο δημοσιογράφος υπήρξε θύμα απόπειρας δολοφονίας. Λίγο καιρό μετά, ο Γιώργος Καραϊβάζ δολοφονείται. Πώς να απαιτούμε την πλήρη ακεραιότητα των δημοσιογράφων, όταν αυτοί απειλούνται; Ναι, εδώ δικαιούμαστε να κατηγορήσουμε τη δικαιοσύνη, που δεν τους προστάτευσε ή πού δεν βρήκε, τουλάχιστον, τους δράστες. Όμως πέρα από το να κουνάμε το δάχτυλο σε όλους τους άλλους, καλό είναι να θυμηθούμε και τη θέση μας. Δεν μένουμε άμοιροι των ευθυνών μας. Έχουμε δεχτεί όλες αυτές τις παραβάσεις, χωρίς να εναντιωθούμε, χωρίς να θυμώσουμε και χωρίς να απαιτήσουμε μια καλύτερη ενημέρωση. Αφήσαμε  τα μέσα ενημέρωσης μας, να είναι γεμάτα με συγκρούσεις συμφερόντων, από τους μεγαλοϊδιοκτήτες που τα κατέχουν, ως τους δημοσιογράφους και τις προσωπικές τους σχέσεις με άτομα της κεντρικής πολιτικής σκηνής. Αφήσαμε «ανεξάρτητα» κανάλια να κάνουν προπαγάνδα και να αδιαφορούμε, γιατί: «δεν τους ξέρεις μωρέ; Πάντα με αυτούς ήτανε». Και ενώ συμπολίτες μας έχαναν τη ζωή τους από τη νέα αυτή νόσο, επιτρέπαμε στα κανάλια να μην κάνουν την απαραίτητη κριτική ή να αποκαλύπτουν την αλήθεια για όσα λάθη γινόταν.

We have no right, therefore, to demand that things change, if we are the ones staying inactive. We can not tolerate the decline of Greek media and journalism. Because a worn-out press environment leads to a septic democracy. So, for the sake of our institutions and with respect towards the struggle of the remaining ethical journalists, it’s high time we demand explanations for all the incidents that have degraded Greek journalism and our dignity as proud democratic citizens.