Workshop on “Greek media policy” (Athens, 3 March 2011)
The Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP) is organising a workshop to discuss the evolution of Greek media policy and its principal features and characteristics. The workshop will also look at the major shortcomings of national media policy and the principal challenges that it presently faces. The workshop will take place on 3 March 2011 at the Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy, Athens, Greece. Evangelia Psychogiopoulou, the scientist in charge of the Greek team of the MEDIADEM project will present the Greek background information report and will lead the discussion with researchers and journalists.
The Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP) is organising a workshop to discuss the evolution of Greek media policy and its principal features and characteristics. The workshop will also look at the major shortcomings of national media policy and the principal challenges that it presently faces. The workshop will take place on 3 March 2011 at the Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy, and will lead the discussion with researchers and journalists.
Brief description of the legal entity
The School of Communication and Media (SKAMBA) was established in February 2008 in Bratislava. The School’s primary area of focus is mass media communication, was established in February 2008 in Bratislava. The School’s primary area of focus is mass media communication, with emphasis on political communication. The School places high priority in international cooperation, by Evangelia Psychogiopoulou, the scientist in charge of the Greek MEDIADEM research team.
Evangelia Psychogiopoulou discussed the proliferation of state and non-state actors (i.e. ministries, independent regulatory authorities and professional unions) that are involved in national media policy making and implementation and addressed the complexities and shortcomings of the national institutional set-up. Attention was also drawn to the importance that the European institutions have gained in the development of media regulation. The workshop then proceeded with a presentation of the regulatory framework for the media, focusing on the constitutional provisions as well as structural and content regulation for different types of media (print, broadcast and new media). The clientelistic relationships between the political system and the media, coupled with the complexity of the rules enacted were identified as the principal reasons behind the failure of the Greek state to implement a coherent media policy. Consideration was also afforded to recent regulatory developments, such as the transposition of the Audiovisual Media Services Directive into the Greek legal order and the new media law that is currently being prepared by the government. According to government’s announcements, this law will introduce rules for the much awaited passage to digital terrestrial broadcasting and measures to help media companies deal with the economic crisis, including less stringent media ownership rules.
In the discussion that followed participants reflected upon the principal characteristics of the national regulatory framework and exchanged ideas and opinions about the state of Greek media policy and the challenges it faces both in an online and offline environment. Throughout discussion participants expressed their concerns about the limited attention that is afforded to the monitoring and enforcement of domestic legislation and the potential impact of the economic crisis on the media, their freedom and independence.
More information about the MEDIADEM project are available here: http://www.mediadem.eliamep.gr
