Keeping You Informed

If you a regular visitor to Greece, you are probably all too aware, that there is a sea of media awaiting to engulf you, whether at the kiosk, the FM dial or TV.

Although the newspapers serve a purpose, on the main they are quite sensationalist and all have obvious political allegiances which they brazenly serve. On the plus side, no one could accuse them of a hidden agenda.

The majority of commercial television channels are no less committed to unbound hyperbole as most news items are depicted as a scandal and the narrative is asphexiated by overtly dramatic music and looping VT.

However finding sources that are impervious to sweeping hype, wasn't particularly hard especially as the two newspapers we have links to; The Athens News and Kathimerini are the only ones published in English. The Athens News is only published in English and we feel offers a refreshing view through the eyes of a smitten outsider accidentally but deeply entangled.

The Kathimerini English Edition is a translation of the Greek edition and is distributed with the International Herald Tribune at the news stands, although its tone is relatively dry it is the only Greek newspaper to be considered as independent.

ERT is the public broadcaster and in TV terms, their schedules offer what would be considered a cultured mixture, consisting of the finer Greek and European serials and films. ERT is Greece's equivalent of the BBC.

An abridged description from their websites can be found below.

The Athens News - Founded by Yannis Horn in 1952, is Greece's only English-language newspaper. In 1993, the Athens News was redesigned and revamped when it was acquired by the Lambrakis Foundation, a non-profit research centre specialising in education. Having been the first Greek newspaper to be published on the internet in the 1990s, in 2001 after 49 years as a daily, the Athens News was published as a weekly newspaper every Friday. Their website content is updated weekly on Thursdays. The Athens News has regular sections covering every aspect of Greek news -be it politics, social issues, business, arts & entertainment and sports- as well as international news. Features include analysis of domestic and foreign affairs by leading academics and experts, humour columns and reader contributions. Foreign news sources include Reuters, the Associated Press, the New York Times Service and the Washington Post-Los Angeles Times Service. Usual readership of the Athens News includes Greece's English speaking and foreign community. The Athens News is also considered essential reading by Greek politicians and businessmen as well as Greeks abroad.

Kathimerini English Edition - launched on March 9th, 1998. Is printed and distributed in hard copy format with the International Herald Tribune in Athens. The International Herald Tribune, teamed up with Kathimerini, considered to be Greece’s leading morning newspaper, in order to provide an edition of local Greek and S E Europe news in English in addition to its international perspective on world news and finance, culture and sports. The English Edition of Kathimerini is published Monday through Saturday.

ERT S A - (Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation) is a public company whose mission, as set by Greek Law, is to provide radio and television services that contribute towards informing, educating and entertaining Greeks in Greece, as well as overseas. ERT S.A. has been assigned with the task of providing radio and television services for the public interest, thus differentiating it from the rest of the radio and television bodies.Its obligations amongst others include: A special programme to other continents via satellite, which aims to provide radio and television services to the Greeks of the Diaspora and objectively presenting the views of all the political parties.