The state must not distort the media market

On Monday steel magnate Theodoros Angelopoulos closed down the daily newspaper Eleftheros Typos, which has been publishing since 1983, as well as the radio station City 99,5, because they were operating in the red. The move marks the first Greek media casualties of the economic crisis. The pro-government daily I Kathimerini writes that the state must not distort the media market: "As long as governments ... lack a transparent media policy it is imossible for media that want to be economically independent to survive. Accomodation loans from state banks, the distribution of the state's advertising to its own clientele and the non-application of market norms and regulations have created an unhealthy business climate. ... If the state does not stop subsidising parasitic media and if no realistic agreement is reached between publishers and employees, Eleftheros Typos will not be the last paper to close its doors."

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