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"According to the BBC, the Greek government has announced that it will shut down the radio and TV services of the state broadcaster ERT. A government spokesman said transmissions would cease early on Wednesday. All employees, numbering at least 2,500, will be suspended until the company reopens "as soon as possible." Unions voiced strong opposition to the move. An engineer at the broadcaster's multimedia department who gave his name as Yannis said: «The government announced that channels will shut down at midnight - after that the screens will go black. According to the government, from tonight I will be unemployed. It is a complete shock. In four hours' time I will not have a job». (http://www.avaaz.org/en/petition/Stop_the_shutdown_of_Public_Television_in_Greece/)"ERT's TV and radio services went off air overnight, but had been broadcasting over the internet. "This is a blow to democracy," said ERT newsreader Antonis Alafogiorgos at the end of the main TV station's final broadcast. The EBU, the body representing all of Europe's public service broadcasters, has set up a satellite news gathering operation in the carpark outside ERT's offices, enabling journalists to set up a makeshift TV service using equipment that has yet to be confiscated". (http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2013/jun/12/ert-shutdown-european-broadcasting-union-makeshift-studio-greece, 12 June 2013 13.03 BST)"The BBC's director general, Tony Hall, has called on the Greek government to reopen the state broadcaster immediately condemning its sudden closure as "undemocratic and unprofessional". In a petition to the Greek prime minister, Antonis Samaras, the directors general of 50 European TV and radio broadcasters including the BBC urged him to see sense pointing out that "public service media and their independence from government lie at the heart of democratic societies". The other signatories included the heads of German, French, Swiss, Danish, Spanish and Italian TV". (http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2013/jun/13/ert-shutdown-bbc-government-reopen, 13 June 2013 18.49 BST)"Dear all, I guess you will hear/already heard many things regarding ERT from different sources and perspectives. However this is an issue with two levels of analysis in my opinion. One is that of corruption and problematic organizations and yes indeed it was a problematic organization. Too many people were working in the organization, many of them were not hired following transparent procedures etc. So yes the reconstruction of such public organizations is necessary. However the second level of analysis is of most importance for me. And this has to do with the methods used in supposed Democratic times. The way that the prime minister decided to shut down the public video and radio broadcaster, they shut it down without following the democratic procedures and the police was all around for protesters not to intervene, is a problem as such. These strategies bring to mind memories from past times. What can follow next in the name of transparency? This is the discourse that is used by the government. We need to reconstruct the public sector. Yes we all agree on that.. but using what means? Sorry for the long email.. they are just some thoughts coming to my mind watching the news (via the internet) and not living there any more so I might not have the whole picture. Best, P." (13-06-2013 19:53)"Dear All, Public media belong to the public, are part of the country's public assets and historically constitute a symbol for Greece's struggles to democracy and independence. It is a matter of principle to defend public media, knowing fully well their ills but also their function and contribution to sober debate as much as possible. No one and nothing else care place them in fulfilling their universal access and coverage mission. The media workers, although not all of the same status, privileges and so on, represent whether we like it or not again the rich human resource that is being de-skilled and undermined. Its structural state-of-the -art technologies and other resources were obtained with public funds. It's intellectual capital one of the few elements that can truly be common property. The decision was arbitrary and based on a series of attempts to control free speech and critique which was maintained also specifically because of the power vacuum in government. [...] Regards, K." (13-06-2013 19:54)