InCiDeR
13th June 2013, 19:20
Strikes Called in Greece to Protest Closure of Public Broadcaster (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323734304578540691323273424.html)
The government moved Wednesday to calm protests over its abrupt decision to shut Greece's public broadcaster while promising again that operations would resume in a few weeks—albeit most likely with a much smaller staff and budget.
The decision to radically revamp Greek Radio and Television, known as ERT, is the boldest move yet by Greece to slash its bloated public sector workforce, after dragging its feet for years in complying with demands by international lenders.
But it was also a political gamble that could threaten the fragile unity of the governing coalition—although the junior partners said Wednesday that they would not try to topple the government.
The political fallout depends in part on how the public reacts to the temporary shutdown of both ERT's television and radio broadcasts.
http://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/WO-AO152_GKTV_A_D_20130612185546.jpg
People gathered at the headquarters of Greek public broadcaster ERT on Wednesday to protest its closure.
Greece's two largest union groups, representing public and private sector workers, called a 24-hour general strike for Thursday. The journalists' unions also declared an open-ended, nationwide news blackout starting Thursday across all media outlets.
Defying government orders, workers at ERT continued streaming programming over the Internet throughout the day—special reports related to its shutdown rather than regular shows, however.
Private television stations across the country suspended news broadcasts Wednesday in a show of solidarity.
In the northern city of Thessaloniki, riot police late in the afternoon forced ERT employees to abandon the local premises and many people expected a similar show of force outside the ERT headquarters in an upscale suburb of Athens, where about 1,000 people were gathered peacefully Wednesday night.
Prime Minister Antonis Samaras defended the shutdown and stressed that the closure would be temporary.
"Today, we must address the wrongs of decades," he said at a public ceremony in Athens. "We decided to temporarily close what existed until now and create a new public television in its place."
Party officials from the Socialist Pasok and the Democratic Left—the two junior partners in the governing coalition—held an emergency meeting after which they called on the conservative-led government to reopen ERT.
"We all want an immediate, radical restructuring of ERT but a restructuring that will be approved by Parliament and while ERT is kept in operation," Pasok leader Evangelos Venizelos said.
But they indicated that they will continue to support the government, led by Mr. Samaras's center-right New Democracy party. A rebellion could risk an early election.
"No Greek wants to upset the country's course," he said.
New Democracy's decision to "impose a form of fait accompli against its junior partners is clearly risky, but there are potential rewards domestically if it is able to carry it off," Alex White, an analyst at J.P. Morgan Chase, JPM +1.67% wrote in a note to clients.
http://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/OB-XU916_gktv06_D_20130612041143.jpg
Employees of the Greek state broadcaster ERT keep reporting live early morning at the television station's headquarters in Athens.
"The next few days will provide an important indication of whether Greece is slowly working itself loose of past political constraints, or will be dragged back," he said.
Greece's conservative-led coalition government said it would lay off the company's 2,700 employees—with compensation—as part of cost cuts demanded by international creditors. Some of those workers will likely be rehired when ERT reopens sometime this summer.
Known mainly for its lengthy news broadcasts, documentaries and low-budget entertainment shows, ERT is also unlikely to be missed by the wider public, which in recent years has increasingly tuned in to the popular soap operas and more sensational news reports offered by Greece's half-dozen private TV channels.
ERT's one-time monopoly vanished when Greece liberalized its media sector in the 1980s. Its three channels today have a combined viewership of about half of that of an average commercial station.
Years of mismanagement and political patronage at ERT have created what many Greeks saw as a wasteful government public-relations machine. And despite seeing their incomes slashed and taxes raised, Greeks still had to continue financing ERT through a monthly fee levied on their electricity bills, fueling resentment.
Ironically, ERT's online programming is now attracting more viewers than ever before, while support messages were the top trend on Facebook FB -1.05% and Twitter in Greece Wednesday.
The government moved Wednesday to calm protests over its abrupt decision to shut Greece's public broadcaster while promising again that operations would resume in a few weeks—albeit most likely with a much smaller staff and budget.
The decision to radically revamp Greek Radio and Television, known as ERT, is the boldest move yet by Greece to slash its bloated public sector workforce, after dragging its feet for years in complying with demands by international lenders.
But it was also a political gamble that could threaten the fragile unity of the governing coalition—although the junior partners said Wednesday that they would not try to topple the government.
The political fallout depends in part on how the public reacts to the temporary shutdown of both ERT's television and radio broadcasts.
http://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/WO-AO152_GKTV_A_D_20130612185546.jpg
People gathered at the headquarters of Greek public broadcaster ERT on Wednesday to protest its closure.
Greece's two largest union groups, representing public and private sector workers, called a 24-hour general strike for Thursday. The journalists' unions also declared an open-ended, nationwide news blackout starting Thursday across all media outlets.
Defying government orders, workers at ERT continued streaming programming over the Internet throughout the day—special reports related to its shutdown rather than regular shows, however.
Private television stations across the country suspended news broadcasts Wednesday in a show of solidarity.
In the northern city of Thessaloniki, riot police late in the afternoon forced ERT employees to abandon the local premises and many people expected a similar show of force outside the ERT headquarters in an upscale suburb of Athens, where about 1,000 people were gathered peacefully Wednesday night.
Prime Minister Antonis Samaras defended the shutdown and stressed that the closure would be temporary.
"Today, we must address the wrongs of decades," he said at a public ceremony in Athens. "We decided to temporarily close what existed until now and create a new public television in its place."
Party officials from the Socialist Pasok and the Democratic Left—the two junior partners in the governing coalition—held an emergency meeting after which they called on the conservative-led government to reopen ERT.
"We all want an immediate, radical restructuring of ERT but a restructuring that will be approved by Parliament and while ERT is kept in operation," Pasok leader Evangelos Venizelos said.
But they indicated that they will continue to support the government, led by Mr. Samaras's center-right New Democracy party. A rebellion could risk an early election.
"No Greek wants to upset the country's course," he said.
New Democracy's decision to "impose a form of fait accompli against its junior partners is clearly risky, but there are potential rewards domestically if it is able to carry it off," Alex White, an analyst at J.P. Morgan Chase, JPM +1.67% wrote in a note to clients.
http://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/OB-XU916_gktv06_D_20130612041143.jpg
Employees of the Greek state broadcaster ERT keep reporting live early morning at the television station's headquarters in Athens.
"The next few days will provide an important indication of whether Greece is slowly working itself loose of past political constraints, or will be dragged back," he said.
Greece's conservative-led coalition government said it would lay off the company's 2,700 employees—with compensation—as part of cost cuts demanded by international creditors. Some of those workers will likely be rehired when ERT reopens sometime this summer.
Known mainly for its lengthy news broadcasts, documentaries and low-budget entertainment shows, ERT is also unlikely to be missed by the wider public, which in recent years has increasingly tuned in to the popular soap operas and more sensational news reports offered by Greece's half-dozen private TV channels.
ERT's one-time monopoly vanished when Greece liberalized its media sector in the 1980s. Its three channels today have a combined viewership of about half of that of an average commercial station.
Years of mismanagement and political patronage at ERT have created what many Greeks saw as a wasteful government public-relations machine. And despite seeing their incomes slashed and taxes raised, Greeks still had to continue financing ERT through a monthly fee levied on their electricity bills, fueling resentment.
Ironically, ERT's online programming is now attracting more viewers than ever before, while support messages were the top trend on Facebook FB -1.05% and Twitter in Greece Wednesday.