Authors: Stylianos Papathanassopoulos, Achilleas Karadimitriou, Christos Kostopoulos, Ioanna Archontaki

Greece – (F10) Misinformation and digital platforms (alias social media)

Regular internal meetings to discuss potential misinformation. There is no common approach applying to all the Greek media regarding the issue of misinformation. The process of careful crosschecking is the typical action of Greek journalists in order to deal with misinformation. Most media organisations do not have fact-checking departments, nor have they established official collaboration with external fact-checking organisations.

Greece – (F9) Gender equality in media content

There are no specific rules on gender equality in reporting, and each journalist decides whether or not it is respected in reporting. In leading news media organisations, a culture of safeguarding gender equality in their content is lacking. This is reflected in the lack of rules regarding gender balance or parity in reporting, a phenomenon stemming from the lack of awareness that gender sensitivity in reporting is crucial in order to make media reflect upon the plurality of society’s voices.

Greece – (F8) Rules and practices on internal gender equality

Inequalities exist and remain. The organisations slowly move towards eliminating them. The Greek media do not acknowledge the existence of gender issues; therefore, there are no rules applied to address them. According to male journalists, all news employees enjoy the same treatment irrespective of gender. However, women journalists’ accounts reflect images of income inequalities based on gender, as well as difficulties in climbing the ladder of rankings within a media organisation.

Greece – (F7) Procedures on news selection and news processing

Internal debate on news production is practiced more than once every day and is part of journalistic routines. Leading news media follows informal rules and procedures, consisting of meetings between the editors-in-chief, when selecting news topics. The primary factor in this selection seemed to be the political stance of the organisation. In managing news derived from social media, certain processes of verification were in place, however, nearly all media outlets lacked a fact-checking department.

Greece – (F6) Company rules against external influence 2020

Newsrooms depend on a few major advertisers or sponsors. Leading media companies in Greece – either for reasons of political or ideological standpoints, or due to journalistic integrity and professionalisation – have the potential to resist outside pressures. However, there have been cases where media houses have experienced boycott or pressures because of their reporting. Most journalists are unaware of the main sources of advertising income, with the very small Greek advertising market having shrunk during and after the economic crisis, leading to dependence on fewer advertising sponsors.

Greece – (F5) Company rules against internal influence on newsroom / editorial staff

Management and sales departments meet newsroom staff regularly. In Greek media organisations, although newsrooms, management, and sales departments are separated, internal manipulation is still exerted through unspoken pressures that lead to self-censorship by journalists. It implies a subconscious adoption of the editorial stance preferred by the ownership. Pressures from the advertising department are far less considerable, with most journalists being unaware of the main advertising sponsors in most cases.

Greece – (F4) Internal rules for practice of newsroom democracy

Journalists are heard and participate in decision-making, but do not have the power to make decisions. In Greek newsrooms, internal democratic practices are applied in rudimentary ways, with journalists merely having the opportunity to be heard, at best, and at worst, being deprived of any engagement with the decision-making processes. The appointment of editors-in-chief and other managerial positions are decisions left to the discretion of a media organisation’s managers and owners. Moreover, Greek journalists’ voices have no tangible impact on how news topics are ultimately framed.

Greece – (F3) Diversity of news sources

There is a limited variety of formats across media, and few formats are available. Research, as well as findings from interviews conducted with journalists and editors-in-chief on the issue of sources used by leading news media in Greece, revealed a uniform use of sources, albeit with some room for further investigation by the journalists. Moreover, the findings revealed differences among media outlets on how dependent they are on source material and the level of investigation they engage in.

Greece – (F2) Patterns of news media use (consumption of news)

A considerable majority of the population is reached by news media, with some gaps between the young and old. Although there is an abundance of choices, media consumption in Greece remains low compared with the rest of Europe, and uneven within the population. Greek media mostly reach the elites, while significant minority segments of the population experience deep inequalities of representation and access to the media.

Greece – (F1) Geographic distribution of news media availability

In the Greek media market, news media are widely available all over the country, with supply often superseding existing demand. It is a media landscape characterised by high level of public access. Newspapers are mostly located in Athens, being national in scope; however, some regions still prefer, either as a first or a secondary choice, the local press. There are also both regional and local radio stations, with the most influential radio stations located in Athens and Thessaloniki. Television is available through terrestrial, satellite, or digital (broadband) transmission. Most of the media content, albeit not in its entirety, is offered free of charge.