Dear Mrs. Ioanna Lazarou.
Whatever anyone says about your achievement, commanding a Greek-speaking radio station, a printed and an electronic newspaper, a publishing house, an advertising agency, etc., in times like these, will certainly do you an injustice. You should feel proud of your journalistic "children" for a number of reasons that I will list right away.
1. First of all, according to official data from the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC), there are currently 15.667 licensed radio stations (AM/FM) operating across the country. It should be noted that all of these stations also broadcast their programs on the internet (simulcasting). Which means that you have to compete with thousands of your colleagues, since you are all essentially addressing the same audience. Also, there is no officially recorded number for online radio stations, either because they do not require a state broadcasting license (i.e. a specific frequency) to operate, or because anyone can create a radio station, as long as they have a computer and pay the copyright required for the music. If we add to all this the large platforms, such as iHeartRadio and TuneIn, which host thousands of digital stations, offering access to countless content options, then you realize what a great feat you have accomplished in these five years (quantitative competition).
- However, in addition to the quantitative factor, you also have to contend with the qualitative factor and I would dare to say, mainly with this one. Let me explain. The tens of thousands of radio stations that I mentioned above are essentially private businesses, if not commercial, which, to be honest, aim – like any private business – to increase their profits. In simple Greek, the vast majority of them are supported, if not fed, exclusively by sponsors and donors. So far so good. But the problem starts from here on. In the sense that, in order to achieve their viability, they tend to function as mouthpieces for a politician or businessman, a political party, a “closed” faction, a trade union. Therefore, they even go so far as to sacrifice objective and impartial information, as long as it serves the interests of the person/those who finance them. Thus, on the altar of easy speculation, they falsify the truth without any guilt, publish a series of libelous articles, deceive their audience with fictions, broadcast news of obscene content, as long as they attract the largest possible "piece" of the advertising "pie" to their side, etc., etc. You, however, and this is a great blessing, do not operate based on this sure "recipe" for success, but you walk "with the cross in your hand" with whatever this may entail for your pocket, for the repayment of the current operating expenses of your journalistic group, for your obligations to third parties, for the relationship you build with your "loyal" audience, and so on.
- As a radio station, you reject propaganda. You do not distort the truth, you do not falsify it, you do not fabricate facts, you do not “brainwash” your audience, you do not give them the same and unchanging “chewed food” nor do you “feed” them with ready-made preparations. And this seems like an oxymoron to the vast majority of listeners or readers who approach you, because propaganda, not today, but since the establishment of the radio, is its own, that is, its constitutive element. I recall that in 1895 the Italian Guglielmo Marconi transmitted radio signals over a short distance with the first wireless telegraphy system that he had invented and built himself, while eleven years later (1906), the American Reginald Fessenden made the world's first radio transmission of voice and music (violin with excerpts from the Gospel), on Christmas Eve. So, well before the radio was born, just eight, nine years later (1914-1915), during the years of the "Great War" (World War I), the Germans, as the intelligent people that they are, realized that radios could play a very important role in influencing the attitude and consciousness of civilians, as much and perhaps even greater than that played by weapons on the war front. Thus, not only were they cut off from their normal news contacts with the rest of Europe, but they instead organized a radio service, the "Overseas Service", to convey German views on what was happening to the outside world, as, of course, it served them. Of course, similar tactics were adopted in the course of the war by the rest of Europe, as was the USA. Of course, I will not talk about the Ministry of Propaganda under Hitler before and during World War II, as well as the role of Goebbels, etc., because these are well known, not only for what they caused then, but also for where they have led to today (digitalization - perfection of propaganda and its use by democratic regimes and not only by totalitarian - authoritarian ones).
4. In my humble opinion, you are a beneficial traffic light, a guiding Lighthouse of information, protecting "seafaring" citizens from the reefs of misinformation (fake and false news) and underinformation. In the information society, where there are no border barriers, in transitional societies, such as today's, where ideological currents fight each other until... mutual neutralization, you hold your ground high, show that you have a deep awareness of your duty, serve at the altar of truth (since you promote and incite dialogue), offer impartial and objective information, educate (many texts, many programs are surrounded by a moral cloak), entertain (you frequently publish poems, prose, satirical texts), promote issues of Hellenism, study social problems, promote social demands, control actions and attribute responsibilities (you leave no one unscathed, from the most unknown foreign fighter to the President of the Republic), you suggest solutions to problems of either general or specific interest, you promote the pious desires and anxieties of our nation (urge for its reconstitution, regrouping and rallying, etc.), you respect democratic processes (I emphasize again that you serve the dialogue with vigor and frankness), you transfer ideas and concerns from one continent to another, you contribute to reconciliation and interaction between Greeks everywhere, etc.
5. You are notable because you do not simply give a platform for expression to every citizen, but a "free platform", since you do not censor your interlocutors, you do not silence them, you do not insult them, you do not edit their words. On the contrary, you serve polyphony and pluralism and, above all, you are an uncommitted and unattached ideological station. And you do it very rightly, since you have the conditions for this: In addition to the parchments we mentioned, you are staffed by a select journalistic team - both editors-in-chief and ordinary editors - by many volunteer columnists, while you also have excellent technical means in your possession, so that you can support so many diverse activities. The fact that you have, as I mentioned above, a publishing house, a radio - "web" station, an electronic and printed newspaper, proves that you are a self-sufficient, self-sustaining medium, which is not subject to state favors or other assistance.
6. However, among your "pros" is also the proof from the contrary, as we say, evidence. In particular, as a communication channel, as an information channel that you are, you do not shout (although you could easily do so), you do not burst into fits of anger, you do not complain, you do not whine, you do not lament to attract attention, nor do you suffer from "the condemnation syndrome", but you do not turn a blind eye either. At the same time, you do not spread contradictory, controversial and, moreover, unfounded rumors, you do not fabricate scenarios, you do not set up improvised scenes, you do not sell nationalism or hypocritical interest, you do not cultivate intolerance. - you do not play detectives, nor do you have the knowledge and skills of special experts, to make the necessary expert opinions. All of these are great honors for you.
- To understand the reasons why so many people praise you, consider the following: how disappointingly low the level of modern Greek – and not only – media is. Think about how many radio and television stations, how many publishing groups and how many newspapers in Greece are flying the flag of the struggles, putting forward their own benefit (if not obscenely earning it) and silencing the truth… How many journalists of recognized value no longer serve rhetorical expediencies and do not obscure the real facts… Private interests of all kinds and origins and dark purposes become the guidelines that determine their course and tactics. Many dark circles have been created, many unfathomable cliques of expediency, while the commitment to duty and, in this case, to the code of journalistic ethics, remains a blank slate. Very often they are scandal-mongering, they impose personalities, groups, values and ideologies, they erode morals, they inflame passions, they sow discord, they provoke fanaticism and conflicts, they shake moral norms, they censor, they become sources of social unrest and anomalies, they filter everyday life around them with distorting mirrors, they demagogue dangerously, they judge (they substitute justice or they slander it or they reduce the prestige of the pre-investigation authorities), they unleash libels and indictments against everyone, they operate like factions, they are imbued with a guild spirit, they give a recital of political, ideological, partisan immorality, they chase easy impressionability, they demoralize or terrorize citizens, they reduce indications to evidence, etc., etc., but thus directly affecting the interests of the whole of society and operating as Trojan horses for Democracy itself. However, you are by no means saying that they operate as a genuine and unadulterated Fourth Estate. On the contrary, they act as plunderers of the temples of free press, since they serve purely and only para-journalism. Your station, Mrs. Ioanna, is far removed from this whole sick scene and, for this reason, fulfills its mission in full and justifies its existence. It fights in the forefront of everyday life, in the vanguard of information, and never in the rear. A diligent observer will certainly notice, whether he looks at the websites or the columns of the printed newspaper, or listens to your radio broadcasts, that they are flattered by the talent of many prominent personalities, each one praising his own fields.
And one last thing as an epilogue. If you ever feel that there are people who belittle or demean you, I would advise you not to forget that this happens with every type of intellectual production. Therefore, journalism cannot be the exception to the rule, so let's not expect that through our work everyone will be satisfied.
Christos Skiadaresis
