One of the unique radio stations of the Greek radio spectrum will also be victim of the Troikan requirement for "mergers of public organizations" and generalized fanaticism against the public sector. While ERT3 generally "got away" as a result of pressure by local "stakeholders", the second service of Macedonia Radio Station, cultural radio of Thessaloniki 9.58fm, along with the short-wave service, were to fall victims of an unfortunate merger. The merger remains unjustified and blurred, with no feasibility study on the benefits and without a any strategic vision of the overall profile of the (resulting) ERT3 radio.
Few gains from the merger
It has already been written that the gains from the merger will be minimal. In fact, it's almost nothing, particularly if Minister's unclear promise concerning the staff is met: that almost all employees will move to other positions within the ERT. The facilities of 9.58fm on Angelaki str are really small and liquidating them would provide very little money to ERT3, while the transmitter on Chortiatis Mt. has been shared with another 5 public broadcasters of the city since several years, therefore switching it off (if it is not going to be used for relaying the new merged radio) will yield little savings. Besides, news programs are transmitted with no cost anyway, since they are relays of 102fm. Finally, neither the (almost abandoned) web presence or the streaming service cost anything, since they are remotely run by ERT-Online in Athens.
The unjustrly shed shortwave service
The shortwave service of the Macedonia Radio is an even more blatant example of the futility of the merger: the station has been merged with 102fm since quite a few years now. It broadcasts only a few hours per day and most of them have a joint program with 102fm. It has no separate studio facilities either. Since ten years, it doesn't have its own transmitter, and "borrows" for a few hours per day a transmitter of Voice of Greece, near Athens, just in order to keep immigrants and workers abroad, originating from Northern Greece, in contact with their families and their countrymen in villages of Macedonia and Thrace. The service may not be so familiar to the residents of Thessaloniki, but the "shortwaves of ERT3" have had for years their own loyal radio community, tuned every night "on the northern airwaves" in order to listen to telephone calls from lorry drivers on the highways of Europe, sailors in the Mediterranean, cooks in Germany and dozens of other immigrants. An audience which will be certainly not easily reached with multimedia and the internet.
As for 9.58fm, many start referring to the fact that it has been broadcasting for 20 years, and that it started with the help of famous artists and politicians Melina Mercouri and Thanos Mikroutsikos. Others emphasize the approval by the Thessalonian politician, current finance minister and deputy prime minister, Evangelos Venizelos for its original functioning. In our humble opinion the past is of minor importance, when considering its daily involvement in city life. At present, this radio has succeeded to be supporting all kinds of artistic events in the city, staying by authors and artists in music, theater, literature and the fine arts. It is the living proof that the cultural life of a city is worth and able to move at a different frequency than news concerning politics (both literally and metaphorically speaking).
"Reform" cannot mean ceasing operation
The above make probably pretty clear that the public radio of Thessaloniki as been a well-balanced radio operator with good economies of scale and efficient use of logistic facilities, providing three radios in one package. Of course it didn't lack many of the mistakes of the entire public sector and the vagaries of the local government from time to time. But hopefully it has been clear that a financial reform does not imply ceasing operations, and there are reasonable grounds for believing that such a step will lead to exactly opposite results: expensive set-up of a new administrative structure, disruption and reduction of the efficiency of the staff, who will be asked to work on other services, lack of identity of the final product and loss of listeners.
The announcements of the governments are still fresh, lack many details, so we know little about what will happen and how it is going to be. A panel of international experts will be asked to give their opinion for the exact implementation of the proposed changes and any future amendment. Perhaps it's enough for the Thessalonians to wish the changes will still include some kind of future for 9.58fm and the shortwave. They may also have to do more ...
