Only arrogance and stupidity could have closed down Greece’s state broadcaster
Greece’s politicians have initiated a sort of coup after pulling the plug on state broadcaster ERT – something that will surely be remembered as one of the most spectacular public relations disasters of recent times. And after warnings the BBC could suffer a similar fate, should we be worried? In the obvious sense, there is no danger, says By Raymond Snoddy – but there have always been pressures and they could be about to get worse.
Just when you think you’ve seen it all – along comes the Greek Government.
If a democracy has ever closed down its public service broadcaster permanently with less than 24 hours notice before, the name of that country does not come easily to mind.
Greece has its troubles and according to the terms of its EU bailout thousands of civil servants are scheduled to lose their jobs on a regular basis by timetable.
It is still by any standards a remarkable mixture of arrogance and stupidity to close down the national broadcaster, apparently as part of this sorry process. What sort of democracy is it where such a thing could happen without debate or warning and suddenly the screens go blank as transmitters are switched off one by one?
Whatever the scale of the problem you can be sure that closing down ERT, however inefficient it may or may not be, is not part of any solution.
Of course there are other commercial broadcasters and Greece has around 100 channels in total so there will be no shortage of moving pictures. But in future there may be a shortage of programmes dealing with serious issues – and Greece has plenty of those.
What is now at stake has been well set out by Greek-Australian political economist Yanis Varoufakis, who was banned from appearing on ERT because of his views on Greek debt restructuring and his belief that the country had been effectively bankrupt in 2009.
Despite being banned by ERT under pressure from Greek ministers, he still wrote “our public media are the only chance we have of news, current affairs and cultural programmes that run through audiences as a civilising force.”
He also suggested that in current circumstances the BBC and ABC Australia had better watch out.
Greek politicians have indeed pulled off a sort of coup, but the coup is one of the most spectacular public relations disasters of recent times, which will make Greece a laughing stock in the world.
The top executives at the European Broadcasting Union have already written to the Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras urging him to use all his powers to reverse the bizarre decision.
The three ERT nationwide television stations plus satellite channels and 17 radio stations, funded by a monthly charge on electricity bills, are now expected to be silent for three months while a smaller – presumably much smaller – successor is created in the shape the Government desires. Amid demonstrations against the closure, ERT is, however, continuing to broadcast, at least for now, via the internet.
Surely though, Yanis Varoufakis is wrong about the BBC? Imagine David Cameron suddenly announcing that the BBC is to close at 10pm this evening. Forget that. Don’t imagine it, just in case.
He wouldn’t even think about it in nightmares, would he?
Curiously, broadcasters in Greece’s neighbour, and sometime antagonist, Turkey, have also come under scrutiny this week because of their coverage, or more precisely lack of coverage at the outset, of the protests in Istanbul’s Taksim Square.
So far as is known the Turkish Government has no plans to close down the Turkish national broadcaster TRT but the Turkish media has the reputation of being one of the least free in Europe. There are more than 30 journalists in jail, internet sites are routinely closed down and many media organisations are seen to be under the thrall of the government because of their wider business interests in the economy.
Famously CNN Turk, a franchise operation, showed a film about penguins while protesters were being attacked by police.
According to Reporters Without Borders, Turkey ranks 154 in the world just after Mexico and before Swaziland in terms of press freedom. Greece comes out a little better in 84th behind Bhutan and Togo.
Is there any really any threat to the BBC or indeed commercial broadcasters in the UK, which manages only 29th in the press freedom index?
In the obvious sense, of course not, but there have always been pressures and they could be about to get worse.
The last licence fee settlement may have been derided for the horse-trading and the loss of 2,000 jobs involved. It was probably the best available in the political circumstances and it could have been much worse.
The Chancellor George Osborne was reluctant to sign the deal off but did so because of the pressing need to get an agreement on public spending. He would have liked a full Treasury inquiry into the efficiency of the BBC with the prospect of a Corporation that would be as much as 30 per cent smaller.
A recent Royal Television Society event featuring the former chairman of the Independent Television Commission Sir George Russell spelled out tensions from the past.
His predecessor, Lord Thomson – running what was then the IBA – was, according to Sir George, “politically discredited” because he had the courage to turn down formal complaints against the Thames Television documentary Death on the Rock. Government doors were closed and the IBA was replaced.
In a MacTaggert lecture in Edinburgh in 2000, Greg Dyke warned that ITV was threatening its own independence by always wanting something from government and being beholden. There will be those arguing next time round once again for a much smaller BBC, though perhaps not on a Greek scale.
At least we can be sure that James Murdoch’s views on the subject will not be taken too seriously.
George Osborne is, however, unlikely to have changed his mind and could do serious damage on the issue before the next general election in 2015.
Somehow the supporters of the principle of a strong and properly funded BBC will have to make the effort to argue the case – despite the litany of cock-ups and mismanagement that have emanated from the Corporation in recent months.
Whether it is in Greece, Turkey or the UK, the principle of broadcasting in the public interest – and at a scale to make a difference in the marketplace – has got to be defended, however challenging the task. And this applies not only to opponents such as inept Greek or Turkish politicians but also to George Osborne, Chancellor of the Exchequer.