Greek TV walk out over sackings
October 31, 2012
By Chris Forrester
ERT’s screens went dark for two hours October 30th as staff staged a strike protesting the removal of two high-profile presenters from the public-backed network who had criticised a government minister.
The pair, Marilena Katsimi and Kostas Arvanitis were fired from their daily chat-show ‘Morning Information’ after having discussed a UK press report alleging that Greek police had deliberately tortured anti-fascist demonstrators during the recent financial unrest. Their show is aired on ERT’s NET-TV network.
The Guardian newspaper had reported that 15 demonstrators had been allegedly tortured by Greek police.
The discussion which followed was described as ‘informal’ and part of the normal ebb and flow of discussion which is a core part of the chat show.
Reportedly, ERT’s director general Aimilios Laitsos swiftly sacked the pair within an hour of the telecast.
More strikes are promised by ERT’s news and current affairs teams.