Deutsche Welle is planning to abandon the Greek-speaking radio service, despite initial assurances from the German government for preserving it. "The final decisions of the DW authorites will be taken during the current year, 2011," he replied the representative of the Director of Deutsche Welle (DW) Eric Beterman. In March the Broadcasting Council of Deutsche Welle will meet again and they will get a final decision on the station's programming in the 2010-2013 period, part of which is, among others, the suspension of the Greek-speaking radio show.
It is the second time since 1999 that the Greek-speaking show is likely to fall victim to cuts in Deutsche Welle, having had a history of 47 years and having been associated with the anti-dictatorial struggle in the memories of the Greek people.
According to the representative of the DW "the total offering is currently under consideration, in light of the "tight financial budget". The draft "Strategic Plan" was discussed at the joint meeting of the Broadcasting Council and the Board of Deutsche Welle Friday 21.01.2011. The main orientation of the station is adapting to new media data and shifting to multimedia.
In this context, Deutsche Welle, according to the spokesperson, "will maintain its presence in Greece and in will increase the supply through the Internet and video-on demand, through multimedia". However, the design, not contradicted by the spokesman, provides for the suspension of the 30-minute-long radio program, played by the DW.
Government's spokesman in Berlin Stephen Zaimpert, when asked whether it is appropriate to the context of the current crisis in the euro area to remove the Greek-speaking broadcast of Deutsche Welle, has pledged Wednesday 19/1/1911 that "the Greek-speaking service of DW won't stop». Mr. Zaimpert had stressed that "cultural and political relations of Germany and Greece should remain close and friendly."
From this commitment, Zaimpert reneged on Monday 24.1.1910 stating that the DW will continue to offer in Greek, but its exact form will be decided by DW itself. The approval for future programming in the DW has been given by the Cabinet at its meeting of 19.01.2011. Note that, unlike other public channels in Germany funded by license fees - the Deutsche Welle is funded solely by the central government's budget and emits only outside Germany.
The station's spokesman said, "DW is fully aware of the importance of Greek language service, indicated by the large number of local relaying radio stations. He also noted that "DW is proud of the fact that the current President of the Republic Karolos Papoulias, during the difficult years of military dictatorship, was working for our Greek radio service," while "DW listeners from that era are now the most important personalities in the public life in Greece". However, a practical relevance of those assurances do not exist in the threatened abolition of the daily broadcast, which forms the backbone of DW's offer to the Greek audience.
Source: altermedia.gr
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