The government ordered the state broadcaster NERIT not to broadcast the speech given by opposition leader Alexis Tsipras at the Thessaloniki International Fair earlier this month, according to two former executives who resigned in protest at the government interference. The speech was broadcast in full by most other major channels.
The allegation, if true, amounts to gross political interference in a supposedly independent broadcaster.
The new state broadcaster, NERIT, was established following the sudden closure of ERT the former broadcaster in the summer of 2013. The move, which the government maintained was necessary to cut costs, led to the layoffs of 2,500 employees and was widely condemned both in Greece and abroad. It also led to the withdrawal of the Democratic Left party from the coalition government.
The government had then provided repeated assurances that the new state channel, NERIT, would be fully transparent and independent.
Yet according to the latest damning allegations by the former board members that appears to be far from the case.
In a letter sent to the president of NERIT’s Supervisory Council, Antonis Makrydimitris and Rodolfos Moronis, respectively the former president-CEO and vice president of NERIT, maintain that the government spokesperson interfered to alter the content of specific broadcasts.
In the most damning case, they maintain that the interference on the part of government officials led to the non-broadcast of Alexis Tsipras’s speech at the Thessaloniki International Fair. Instead NERIT only broadcast the subsequent press conference held by the leader of the opposition, and not his full speech during which he presented his party’s detailed platform.
Conventionally the state broadcaster has always broadcast in full the International Fair speeches given by the prime minister and the leader of the opposition. Most of the major private channels also broadcast both speeches in full from this years fair.
According to the letter signed by Mr Makrydimitirs and Mr Moronis, “…the general director of content was informed of the board’s decision to broadcast both events. The general director of content informed those who, obviously, he considers his superiors with the result being that there was a political intervention towards the president for the non-broadcast of the speech of the leader of the opposition at the Thessaloniki International Fair. This intervention prompted, as you know, our resignations.”
The former members of the board of NERIT also state that on a previous occasion the government spokesperson, Ms Voultepsi, had called the same general director of content, Vassilis Thomopoulos and demanded that NERIT cover live and in full a cultural event in Crete with limited interest for the wider public. They add that neither Mr Thomopoulos nor Ms Voultepsi had denied the interference, with Ms Voultepsi allegedly stating, “I will talk to whoever I want, even if that is Thomopoulos’s cat.”
The recent revelations add to the gathering controversy surrounding NERIT and its apparent lack of independence from governing party New Democracy. The ERT closure and lack of transparency around NERIT have led to Greece falling precipitously in recent international press freedom rankings.
The case could also take on wider international implications as the EBU, the European Broadcaster’s Union, has yet to accept NERIT as ERT’s successor. A final decision on whether it will do so is expected towards the end of the year. The EBU has expressed concern regarding NERIT on several occasions.
Significantly if the EBU rejects NERIT, it will mean that Greece will not be allowed to participate in the next Eurovision song contest.
Given the international attention around the annual event, that would amount to a development far more damaging to the government's reputation than the broadcast of any speech by a rival politician.
Οι πιο πρόσφατες Ειδήσεις
Διαβάστε πρώτοι τις Ειδήσεις για ό,τι συμβαίνει τώρα στην Ελλάδα και τον Κόσμο στο thetoc.gr