Greece on Reporters without Borders

Greece is ranked 35 on Reporters Without Borders World Press Freedom Index 2009. The list consists of 175 countries, America ranking number 22, Denmark number 1 and in the last spot Eritrea number 175.

On Freedom House's Map of Press Freedom 2009, Greece is highlighted as FREE, one of 70 countries that are marked free out of 195.

Greece on Reporters without Borders

Press Freedom Index

Media Control in Greece

The Greek Constitution guarantees the Freedom of Expression for print media, but television, radio and film in Greece are regulated by the National Council for Radio and Television, or NCRTV. There are 87 newspapers in circulation, four public radio channels, around 150 satellite radio channels, and 2 digital television providers (NOVA, which runs the private channels, and ERT which runs the public). The two most dominant news agencies in the country are Athens News Agency and Macedonian. Concentration of ownership is near impossible in Greece because they practice a "two out of three" rule, in which one company cannot have ownership in more than two different mediums.

As seen in one of my previous posts, internet usage in Greece is very low, especially compared to usage in other EU countries. Though Greece's media does not have a large presence globally through the internet or other sources, the country is slowly trying to expand. In 1999, NOVA brought private television channels to Greece via satellite exposing Greece to global cultures, also, almost all of their newspaper's have a corresponding website. A goal for the country is to eventual expand their media into the Balkans and then to Eastern Europe.

Media Landscape