Greece, without public television, six family clans split their ... - 20minutos.es

Employees class=”text”> state television ERT radio and seen on television statements PASOK party leader, Evangelos Venizelos. (Simela Pantzartzi / EFE)

Greek government’s announcement to close the entity public broadcasting chain (ERT) last week is the last of the episodes black in Greece leaving a panorama increasingly bleak. This closure means immediate dismissal of about 2,600 public workers, and even the Prime Minister Andonis Samaras, has backed half in its decision and proposed to continue transmitting the information until there is a new public entity operating the governing coalition country agrees not and Greek citizens continue with the television signal in black.

Amid the international outrage and workers of the chain, which relay the information through Internet-, the highest administrative court has decided this past Monday that signal immediately resume the Greek public broadcaster. However, the government still has not reached consensus on how to interpret the court’s injunction.

Six clans rule

5 channel

ERT

off the map, these are the other national channels, of course, private-left in Greece and which directly and indirectly keep strong ties with companies in other sectors and the Government:

is the largest television station in Greece, with 23% share (share) on average. Pro-government trend, the owner of this chain is George Bobolas , parent of an ‘extended family’ which also controls other newspapers as Ethnos . One of the sons of George Bobolas, Fotios, is director of Teletypos , a holding company of the chain. Another son, Leonidas, is chief executive and principal shareholder of Ellaktor , a giant building founded by his father and has been involved in multimillion-dollar contracts with the state.

But Bobolas family is not the only controlling Mega. In this channel also involved a child of Vardis Vardinoyannis , oil magnate and maritime transport in Greece. George Vardinoyannis is board member of Mega.

To make matters worse, Stavros id=”articleText”> , which controls the communication group DOL-owner of major newspapers Hellenes, is the network president .

belongs to the media empire founded by Minos Kyriakou Greek tycoon , which includes radio stations, telecommunications and advertising. This billionaire has two oil companies and a shipping company. He is president of the Olympic Committee of Greece and also basketball club owner Panhelinios. One son, Theodore, who is also owner-, is the CEO and a major shareholder antenna1 group.

Vardinoyannis family , which also holds shares in Mega, is the owner of this chain. Furthermore, Vardinoyannis are major shareholders of Motor Oil Hellas, one of the two Greek refinery operators.

entrepreneur Dimitris

Kondominas is the president of the Greek media group, that although he was part of the Luxembourg media giant RTL, Kondominas currently has again become the largest shareholder of Alpha Group. Kondominas also owns DEMCO Group, a conglomerate of companies from different sectors: aviation, insurance, media, telecommunications and entertainment area.

chain is the fifth largest in Greece, which is owned by family Alafouzos shipping , which also owns some newspapers as Kathimerini . Yiannis Alafouzos is the executive director of SKAI and is also involved in the famous football club Panathinaikos.

triangle-political-media companies

According

20Minutos targets Thomais Papaioannou correspondent public broadcaster ERT in France, these television networks ideology lack own . “They are pro-government, protroika, and are now open to the neo-Nazi party Golden Dawn, who invite their programs,” says Papaioannou. “Greece is turning to populism and extremism”, summarizes this journalist.

class=”quote_new”> in Greece Private channels are not licensed to issue On the other hand, Papaioannou said that for many years to such communication “does not have cared if they had gains or losses in this sector while consiguieran contracts in construction, oil, energy … “lists. “Now they are illiquid, debt and want to pay the state. Moreover, banks can not lend more money and because they are being monitored by the troika,” he adds.

illiquidity if off, “private channels in Greece not licensed to issue ” says Thomais Papaioannou. “It sounds crazy, but this is the situation of the last 21 years,” he says. The strategy pursued by then to survive is: get a temporary permit renewed every so often, and so on.

class=”imp”> The estratregia of the TV is to get a temporary permit renewed from time to time “It’s a blackmail that has two sides -explains this correspondent ERT-: every government in the past 21 years these chains blackmails telling them if they are pro-government, they are not renew the temporary permit. ” Furthermore, although since 2011 are required to pay a 20% tax on profits made by advertising, Papaioannou noted that “still pay less tax than they should.”

Thomais Papaioannou, Samaras’s decision to close the public body hidden aspects that go beyond want to give a facelift. “The ERT there corruption, nepotism , lack of competition, rejection … created by the same politicians who now accuse ERT of these evils: Samaras, Venizelos, Greek Socialist leader, PASOK – and all who have held power since the end of the dictatorship “, denounces this journalist.

troika agreements and the Government of Samaras play an important role at this point: “Until the end of summer need to lay off 2,000 public employees. ERT workers have 2650 . The numbers add up, “he says. Once you start the new public entity which is believed to employ about 700 employees-, Papaioannou is convinced that “hire the most loyal, trusted and incompetent people, because it is the best way to control it.”

In his opinion, “the journalists who resist are still repressed, threatened and are on the blacklist. Most are unemployed , is the best way to silence them “he says.

Yet this journalist claims around the ERT: “If aside there is no freedom of expression in Greece.’s more the principle of what public television is that it that it has become. “