In a few words, the Greek government has shut down
the national broadcaster, the equivalent of the BBC, CBC
and so on.
They have said that it wastes money, but Greeks are
charged, on their electric bills, well over a hundred
euros a year for this, so it should not necessarily be
government money that they're "wasting".
The gov says they need to cut 15 000 government jobs
by next year. I think if they waited, smoking employees
living in Athens would die at that yearly rate anyway.
It is true that the gov has difficulty firing employees
because most of them were installed due to favours
to one or another politician.
But when they shut the national broadcaster just to
cut 2900 jobs, temporarily, they're crying out for help.
Their desperate. Either that or they're simply suicidal.
How do you cut the "voice of the people" in a nation
like that, and not expect the streets to be filled with
protesters.
The channels are still going.
http://topontiki.gr/article/54289/Sugkentroseis-allilegguis-gia-tous-ergazomenous-tis-ERT
checkit: from Boing boing
1
European Broadcasting Union steps in to keep the Greek national broadcaster on the air after police shut it down Cory Doctorow at 5:09 pm Wed, Jun 12, 2013 Yesterday, the Greek government forcibly shut down the state broadcaster, ERT, sending in the police to drag journalists away from their microphones. The government claimed that the shutdown was the result of inescapable austerity measures. In response, the European Broadcasting Union -- an umbrella group representing public broadcasters across Europe -- has set up a makeshift mobile studio where ERT broadcasters can continue to work and stay on air. This is being fed around Europe on an EBU satellite as part of its European news exchange operation and can be picked up by commercial stations in Greece but not the general public. A spokesman for the EBU, which is headquartered in Geneva, said a "high-level meeting with a conference call" with the director general of ERT would take place later on Wednesday to decide on next steps. Roger Mosey, the BBC's editorial director, who is on the EBU board told the Guardian: "We're watching events in Greece with great concern. When countries are in difficulty, there's an even bigger need for public service broadcasting and for independent, impartial news coverage. I hope that's restored in Greece as soon as possible." The EBU spokesman said ERT staff in contact with the organisation have told them the power has not yet been cut by the government, but email servers have been taken down. They are now contacting the EBU through smartphones, using Facebook and personal email accounts. "This is unprecedented, stations have closed and re-opened for a number of reasons, but never with such abruptness," said a spokesman for the EBU. ERT shutdown: European Broadcasting Union sets up makeshift studio [Lisa O'Carroll/The Guardian]
