Greece suspends state broadcaster ERT to save money

[steve2470]

Source: BBC News

The Greek government has shut down the public broadcaster ERT, calling it a "haven of waste".

Viewers watching the news on the main TV channel saw the screens go to black late on Tuesday evening.

All employees have been suspended pending a re-organisation. Thousands of people held a protest against the decision outside ERT headquarters.

It is the latest move in rafts of spending cuts and tax rises aimed at leading the country out of recession.

Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-22861577

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Video at link

[shenmue]

1. We used to get their news on a station here

I hate austerity.

[quadrature]

2. The revolution will not be televised . nt

nt

[alp227]

3. Back in the mid 90s Newt Gingrich's wet dream was to defund PBS and NPR.

Gingrich Foresees a World Without Public Broadcasting (New York Times 12/17/94)

Speaking on his weekly television program on the National Empowerment Network last week, Mr. Gingrich took aim at another layer of what he considers the liberal media. The Georgia Republican said he planned to "zero out," or eliminate financing for, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which finances public television and radio stations around the country and provides seed money to start programs like "Sesame Street."

"One of the things we're going to do this year, I hope, is to zero out the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which has been eating taxpayers' money," Mr. Gingrich said on Dec. 6 on the conservative cable channel. He also said that the nearly $300 million the corporation gets in Federal money amounted to having the public pay taxes "involuntarily" for what he called biased television.

And wow, nearly 20 years later Greece (sorta) decides to imitate Gingrich style politics! Yet another way austerity sucks: no nonprofit informational media anymore!

[Eugene]

4. Greek PM faces coalition revolt over state TV shutdown

Source: Reuters

Greek PM faces coalition revolt over state TV shutdown

By Lefteris Papadimas and Renee Maltezou
ATHENS | Wed Jun 12, 2013 1:02pm EDT

(Reuters) - Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras faced a political revolt on Wednesday from his ruling coalition partners after the government abruptly switched the state broadcaster off the air in the middle of the night.

Screens went black on state broadcaster ERT, cutting newscasters off mid-sentence only hours after the decision was announced, in what the government said was a temporary measure to staunch a waste of taxpayers' money.

Unions called a 24-hour nationwide general strike in protest, and journalists across all media called an indefinite strike. Some newspapers were shut and private TV stations broadcast reruns of soap operas and sitcoms instead of the news.

Samaras's centre-left coalition partners said they were furious at the decision to shut the broadcaster and had not been consulted. Coalition party leaders were meeting as night fell, with the suggestion left hovering in the air that they could force Samaras into a confidence vote which could bring him down.

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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/06/12/us-greece-tv-idUSBRE95A0ZN20130612