While the government has turned the so-called reform of the television landscape into a top priority in political developments, the feuds within the ranks of its prime propaganda tool, ERT, are coming to light. The ousting of the director of information and exchange of statements and letters that followed indicate that the battle for power in the kingdom of propaganda to control the media is out of control.
The innuendos exchanged between the outgoing officer and the general director illustrate the clash of party mechanisms, ministers and government to subjugate the media and enforce the line and officers that they please. The so-called independent state radio and television that is meant to allow the free expression of all opinions and act as a constitutional contrast to the private stations is once again turning into the obedient instrument of government propaganda mechanism, which can’t even coordinate with each other…
The SYRIZA government which after the Samaras government shut down ERT, was going to restore the station’s independence, but in turned it into a party instrument. Y investing in the agony and insecurity of the employees and cronyism, it reward those who yelled the loudest, by appointing party friends in all critical positions, with the aim of controlling the media.
This was achieved by as a result viewers turned their back on ERT with viewership having plummeted. Let us not even talk about the costly repeats which the people are paying, whether they like it or not.
The unreliable government propaganda is the government’s greater vision on the television landscape. This is the sort of information they want to enforce with legal initiatives such as the law of State Minister Pappas. That is why their only argument is the how much money they collected, while ignoring the constitutional provisions for pluralism and freedom of expression of all views…
