The degradation of Greek Radio is going on, having shortwave radio "Voice of Greece" as a victim. This includes 39 shortwave antenna masts hosted in Avlis, which the government plans to sell as scrap metal. The shortwave service started 75 years ago and it is still transmitting in 5 frequencies that cover the globe with shows in Greek for expatriates and foreign language news. The facilities are currently controlled by redundant ERT employes and broadcast the guerilla service of the Greek National Radio ERA. Eighteen months ago, shortwave facilities in Thessaloniki were dismantled.
According to a statement by ERT employees, on Monday morning "in the shortwave broadcasting center of Avlis, a representative of a company that sells metal showed up and started taking photos of the site. After we, ERT people, asked him, we got informed that he had been mandated by the Ministry of Finance to give an offer for the dismantling of 39 masts and purchasing the metal as scrap." The name of company and the registration plate of the car are available.
The union body of ERT notes that this is an area of 1160 acres, featuring 39 metal masts, with a height between 30 and 70 meters each, that function as the shortwave aerials that transmit the "Voice of Greece", the ERA-pénte, across the world.
"Greek shortwave started operating in 1938 and later was also used sent information to the Greek soldiers fighting Fascists in Albania. The only ones who dared to turn it off were the Nazis during the occupation. Since the liberation, it never stopped to link the country with Greek seafarers and the Diaspora. The Voice of Greece broadcasts information, entertainment, culture and tradition from Greece with programs in 12 languages, all over the globe".
It is true that big broadcasters in Europe have decided to stop broadcasting via shortwave, because of cuts and because alternatives tuning possibilities are provided due to the development of technology. On the other hand, in the case of Greece. there are still generations of Greek immigrants abroad and seamen who are still affiliated with shortwave, whereas area around Greece the are still countries with low technological development. Also, it is outragious that the decision to remove an entire radio service was taken by the liquidator of the Ministry of Finance: there is no study about ceasing shortwave by any official body, although the promise was that the future of Greek broadcasting will be decided after an analysis performed by the administrative Board of the new official broadcaster .
Comments
Selling off the jewels
Yeah -- this is the smart thing to do -- sell off the crown jewels for the scrap metal value of their settings, and throw the jewels away because the 'cost too much'. <sarcasm mode off>
There are lots of ways to save money for the taxpayers, and some of them even involve cutting back on state run broadcasters, but throwing the baby out with the bathwater is generally a bad idea. If the idea behind the broadcaster was sound to beging with (as the Greece foreign service was) then eliminating it leaves a hole that won't easily or quickly be filled. I hope this doesn't happen, but I don't hold out much hope that it will turn out well from this point.
Shortwave operate still
Just to update the readers of this article, that the shortwave is still in operation by the employees sacked after ERT closed. So far, there has been no further effort of anybody to dismantle the shortwave antennas of Greece, but one must be cautious in these times.