A cross-section of Greek newspaper. Flickr/Hindrik Sijens. Some rights reserved.Any explanation of the modern-day Greek tragedy is incomplete without mention of the country's news media. The fourth power is in dire straits, having seen a 50-place-drop in the annual World Press Freedom Index. It is now in 99th place, with only Bulgaria lower among EU members.
The current ranking was attributed to excessive police violence against journalists, the shutting down of national broadcaster ERT, as well as the decrease in spending due to the economic crisis. In reality, the news media's decline was more gradual, but wasn't noticed from the start.
The entrepreneurial deficit
Similar to most western countries, Greece's major news outlets are owned by some of the richest and most powerful individuals. The vast difference in information quality can largely be attributed to the ties between press and state. "The press in this country is not in the 'information market' but in the ‘political influence market’", says Paschos Mandravelis, a leading journalist with national daily Kathimerini.
