Had a nosey last night, good numbers there despite constant rain! They are still broadcasting online and without a boss in sight!

Interesting how people can cope without bosses around innit.

we'll they will just go back and turn the telly on

Black Cloud wrote:
Eh?

Who 'they'?

oioioi wrote:
the populace

The irony was not lost on most viewers of the Greek Prime Minister's statements as he replied to the public outcry over the hasty shutdown of ERT, the country's national broadcaster, with the immediate layoff of over 2,600 employees. Like a wolf in sheep's clothing, Antonis Samaras was chastising a system that his own New Democracy party had helped to ingrain in Greek society and political life.

Speaking at an award ceremony organized by the Athens Chamber Of Commerce And Industry (EVEA), he labeled ERT a "symbol of corruption and waste," and claimed it "controlled the flow of information without any accountability." Constantly repeating righteous keywords such as "transparency," he tried to justify his decision to pull the plug on ERT's national and regional TV channels and radio stations around the country, which Greek taxpayers had been paying for for the past 75 years.

Newly-unemployed former ERT employees rebutted these attacks by issuing a statement revealing publically what had been common knowledge in Greece's journalistic circles: the final word always lies with the heads of the organization -- appointed by Mr Samaras.
Sophia Ignatidou
Sophia Ignatidou

Namely, they pointed out "it was the General Director of ERT Emilios Liatsos who decided that the anniversary of the Paraskinio newspaper was more newsworthy than the tortures at GADA." Last October, in an article that led Greek Public Order Minister Nikos Dendrias to threaten the Guardian with legal action, anti-fascist protesters claimed they had been tortured by the police at the Attica General Police Directorate (GADA). The GADA denied the claims.

Back then, the government that now champions transparency, went so far as to suspend ERT's morning show hosts, Kostas Arvanitis and Marilena Katsimi for criticising Dendrias's response to the incident.

Only after this week's announcement of ERT's closure, under a Presidential Decree, did its employees feel free to broadcast uncensored. Only in the final hours before the shutdown was economist and writer Yiannis Varoufakis able to reveal on TV that he had been banned from that very channel for two years, and that on one of his appearances, TV presenter Elli Stai had asked him not to mention the words "debt restructuring."

Of course, a portion of the public were aware of government-imposed censorship, and some even endorsed Samaras' recent drastic move. But in a country where unemployment has reached a record 27.4 per cent and cronyism has been the rule of the day for decades, it's slightly naïve to believe the coalition government leader's claims of cleansing and of a will to reinstate transparency.

The shutdown was met with mixed feelings, not just among the viewers but also among the journalists themselves, with some complaining about ERT's lack of support towards the rest of the media world that had been facing layoffs and company closures for more than three years. "The journalists should have already revolted on behalf of the pensioners," one commentator said.
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This attack on freedom of speech, still reverberating in the Greek and international press, has also divided the fragile coalition government itself. The leaders of the other two junior coalition parties, PASOK and Democratic Left, say they oppose Samaras' decision, but are open to a reasonable compromise. The New Democracy leader needs their support for his decision to become law -- the alternative will render the coalition unsustainable. PASOK leader Evangelos Venizelos said his party "doesn't want elections, but we're not afraid of them either."

Speculations about an imminent general election is already circulating in the Greek press, but Venizelos and Democratic Left leader Fotis Kouvelis' need to cling to power is likely to make them go along with Samaras' decision.

They might try to buy time, since at the moment international attention and support for ERT is overwhelming. The absolutist way in which Samaras chose to act on his decision triggered a media revolt which was long overdue, with blogs, websites and EBU streaming ERT's service online.

Reporters Without Borders' executive director Christophe Deloire deplored the closure, explaining that such media shutdowns are "usual in dictatorships and rare in democratic countries."

The question of whether Greece, formerly known as the cradle of democracy, still lives up to the title is a persistent one. What is certain is that the current form of democracy is deeply flawed and, unsurprisingly enough, the media and the way they have operated for decades are part of the problem.

But switching off the state broadcaster will only exacerbate the problems, derailing democracy.

A publicly-funded broadcaster is by definition crucial to media pluralism, simply because it doesn't have to make the financial choices privately-funded ones face -- especially in a country where the owners of private media firms are business magnates, whose aim is to influence the political world.

Samaras and his coalition partners lack any credibility that would make a cleansing of the organisation possible. The Greek PM might claim he wants to get rid of the "corrupt" and "sinful" ERT only to establish a new, efficient organisation with only 1,000 employees, but the question is, given the track record of his party, who believes him?

"We have a short span memory, we Greeks," he said last Wednesday. He must surely hope so.

Greece court orders state broadcaster ERT back on air

Officials at the mothballed state broadcaster described the court ruling as a "victory" over the Greek government
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A Greek court has ordered that state broadcaster ERT, which was shut down by the government last week, can resume transmissions.

However, the court also upheld a plan by Prime Minister Antonis Samaras to replace ERT with a smaller broadcaster.

The ruling came as Mr Samaras and his coalition partners - furious that they had not been consulted about ERT's closure - held crisis talks.

The prime minister's decision triggered mass protests across the country.
Continue reading the main story
Analysis
image of Mark Lowen Mark Lowen BBC News, Athens

Greece's government has emerged from this battle intact but badly bruised.

The prime minister's plan to replace ERT with a smaller, cheaper broadcaster can now go ahead. But his move to pull the signal in the interim has been reversed by Greece's supreme administrative court, a victory for the other coalition leaders who were furious at the sudden closure.

There were jubilant scenes among staff at ERT headquarters that programming can continue, although many will lose their jobs as a leaner structure is formed.

Greece's government seems to have survived its worst political crisis in its year in office - but the coalition leaders will meet again to discuss the cracks that have widened over this issue and to present a show of unity.

The leading party in the governing coalition, the conservative New Democracy, said last Tuesday that ERT suffered from chronic mismanagement, lack of transparency and waste.

It shut the broadcaster down with the loss of nearly 2,700 jobs. Viewers saw TV screens go black as the signal was switched off.

Greece's top administrative court - the Council of State - upheld Mr Samaras's plan to replace ERT with a new broadcaster later this year but backed the position of the other coalition partners that the signal must be restored in the interim.

Some ERT journalists have continued live broadcasts unauthorised over the internet, and when the ruling came through, a strapline across the screen said: "In a few hours ERT will be broadcasting everywhere."
'Seven nights'

The case was brought by ERT's union in an attempt to overturn Mr Samaras's surprise move.

The BBC's Mark Lowen in Athens says each side will claim victory, but in the end the unity of the government has been badly weakened.

During talks, Mr Samaras had suggested a new, leaner, cheaper broadcaster would be established within weeks and he proposed hiring a small team to produce news programmes in the interim.

But this idea was rejected by his two coalition partners - Evangelos Venizelos of Pasok and Fotis Kouvelis of the Democratic Left.

"The court decision is essentially in line with what we've said: no one has the right to shut down national radio and television and turn screens black," said Mr Kouvelis after the emergency talks ended.
Protest in Athens. 17 June 2013 Opposition party Syriza staged a protest in Syntagma Square on Monday evening

Mr Venizelos said they would meet again on Wednesday to discuss a cabinet reshuffle.

An official from New Democracy said the ruling affirmed the government's position that ERT had been scrapped.

The row has threatened to topple the government and force Greece into snap elections, triggering political turmoil with implications for the whole eurozone.

ERT workers celebrated outside the broadcaster's headquarters after hearing the court ruling.

"I've been here seven nights and this is the first time I've seen people smile," said reporter Eleni Hrona.

However, our correspondent says there is also the recognition that later this year many will lose their jobs as a smaller broadcaster is formed.

Meanwhile, as coalition leaders went into talks, the main opposition party Syriza held a rally in Athens' Syntagma Square to demand early elections.