This story is real and took place about fifty years ago. The governor of the Bank of Greece, professor Xenophon Zolotas, was amazed by the furore of “editor” of a usually weekly “financial newspaper”. The “servant of the Press” in name demanded advertisements from the bank for his newspaper.
The professor-banker responded negatively. Then the “editor” told Zolotas:
– Why do you give ads to (such and such)
– Because he is blackmailer!
– And what am I?
The story ends here because what is important is not how Zolotas reacted, but the fact that today, even though nobody admits its, there are media that extort.
There are various small-time crooks who circle private and public companies asking – some times begging, other timess extorting – for money in the form of advertisements. Of course these peculiar blackmailers are slowly disappearing, as the world becomes more cultured and the inevitable biological evolution takes place.
In our everyday life though, as soon as you “praise the Lord” though, you are forced to beg God for help. The old, uneducated blackmailers are being succeeded by the dandies of the new technology.
The government’s decision to create the conditions of judicial control regarding the various websites and blogs, is a step towards ridding the media of these creatures. Thankfully, both today’s and tomorrow’s leaders seem to agree upon purging the media.
PS: Those who think or expect the merging of various media outlets – and hoping that To Vima and Ta Nea will decline – should think again. Despite the crisis, the country’s largest publishing group is recovering impressively. And politically, we should not forget the quote of a young journalist who once told a junta minister “Mr. Minister, I will also be here tomorrow!”
Stavros P. Psycharis
