Untangling media capture in Greece

Latest episode of Media Freedom In Focus podcast examines
findings of new report on threats to independent media in Greece


Independent journalism and watchdog reporting in Greece faces
challenges from many sides.


In the last few years, the country has experienced the
broad-daylight murder of a crime reporter, multiple threats to
the safety of journalists, a sprawling surveillance and spyware
scandal and numerous vexatious lawsuits and legal threats against
media and journalists, with detrimental consequences for Greek
democracy.


However, these immediate challenges sit atop deeper historical
and systemic issues including a problematic landscape for
independent journalism, weak media pluralism, prolonged economic
threats to media viability, entrenched capture of private media
by powerful families and owners, and low levels of trust in
media.


Greece suffers, in short, from media capture.


A new report, published on 30 January, looks in detail at this
situation in Greece for the first time, with damning conclusions
about the scale of media capture in Greece, and its impact on the
country’s democracy.


Guests: Danai Maragoudaki, a journalist at Greek investigative
media outlet Solomon, who also works for The Manifold


Producer and Host: Jamie Wiseman, Europe Advocacy Officer at
International Press Institute (IPI)


Editor: Javier Luque, Head of Digital Communications at IPI


Other episodes in this series:


Navigating Hungary’s Sovereignty Protection Act - Media Freedom
In Focus


Under illegal surveillance – the Greek ‘Predatorgate’ – Media
Freedom In Focus


Related links:


New report examines media capture in Greece


Report: Stemming the tide of Greek media freedom decline