In the Greek media market, investigative and watchdog journalism is part of the self-conception of leading news media houses. However, journalists rarely have resources to exercise it or, to be more precise, on the grounds of reduced financial resources they can avail it less than they wish for.
The watchdog function of journalists against the abuse of power and corruption is perceived on its own as a vital and integral part of the journalistic mission, which does not need to be framed by a special code of conduct other than the one characterising conventional journalism practices. As an editor-in-chief of a television channel aptly put it, “Investigative journalism does not deviate from classical journalism […], it lies within the classical mission of journalists”. However, he revealed that the media organisation’s future aim was “to compile an internal code of ethics so as to further advance the classical rules of Journalists’ Union”.
The mission statements of the media organisations mostly incorporated very conventional rules of journalistic ethics, as defined by the JUADN. This is a professional association of daily newspapers and broadcasting journalists based in Athens. It represents the most important Greek journalists’ association, with over 3,000 members, and thus, its Code of Professional Ethics and Social Responsibility directed at its members has been integrated – even informally – as an important reference guide to the mission and role of all journalists and media outlets based in Athens.
The obvious presence and informal acceptance of these rules is evident in a newspaper editor-in-chief’s testimony:
In our job contracts there is no reference to it [investigative journalism and its rules]. However, there is the general code of ethics of Journalists’ Union governing journalistic functions, which refers to all these relevant duties. In theory, the media a priori accepts it. Whether the rules are followed reverently, whether they are followed little or at all is another matter. Nevertheless, they are predominantly accepted [by journalists].
In sum, the selection process of news topics worthy of in-depth investigation is based on strict criteria. These, for the most part, include those that top the preference list of editors-in-chief or news directors within television newsrooms and those researchable by journalists in a relatively short period of time. This is because news bulletins cannot sustain the absence of an experienced reporter for a long time, as a chief editor of a private television channel pointed out.
