MEGATRENDS AND MEDIA

MEDIA AND MARKETING GAMES OF THE OLIGARCHS
dictionary of foreign words explains oligarchy as a form of government
where the state power is in hands of a small group of people. 2 According
to many, in Greece there is the government of minority also at present.
While the New York Times paid attention in autumn 2014 to the arrival
of Central European and Eastern European oligarchs into the sector of
mass media, the German Spiegel and NDR paid attention in March 2015
to the aims of the leader of Syriza Alexis Ciprasos to ight against the
impact of Greek oligarchs on the economy. They have a strong inluence
in the country due to the power over the banks, estate agencies and
Greek media. There is a term in Greek „diaploki“ to call the relationship
between the political system and the most powerful families, it can be
translated as „secret agreement“. The term was established in early
1990s when there appeared irst private TV stations in Greece. At that
time, politicians began to provide licences also for private individuals,
which were used right by rich businessmen, often with attachment to
the state orders. 3 „Greece has the biggest density of media in Europe: more
than 80 newspapers and 50 TV stations“. 4 Nearly 90% of Greeks receive
news on TV. It is strange, as Christides adds that mass media in Greece
are one of a few institutions which enjoy even less trust than political
parties. Many mass media provide only losses to their owners. However,
oligarchs do not seem to be bothered. For example, the TV station Mega
lost in the irst half of the year 2014 approximately 6.500.000 Euros;
the publishing house Pegasus even 11 million Euros in the same period.
Besides, majority of media companies have debts in millions. The study of
the European Commission shows that Greek oligarchs do not fund their
mass media in order to inform the public but in order to be able to put
pressure on the government and that way to inluence domestic politics
in compliance with their commercial interests. This view, according to
the documents published on Wikileaks, is alleged to be shared by the
Embassy of the USA in Athens. „Greek media business is controlled by
2 Slovenské slovníky. [online]. [2015-04-04]. Available at: .
3 CHRISTIDES, G.: Griechische Oligarchen: Meine Zeitung, meine Bauirma,
mein Land. [online]. [2015-04-04]. Available at: .
4 LANGE, W.: Griechenland: Tsipras und die Medien-Oligarchen. [online].
[2015-04-04]. Available at: .
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