In the labyrinth of Greek media capture

The Greek media scene is in big trouble, and has been for a long time, yet it receives far less attention than Hungary or Poland.

Just as all happy families are alike but each unhappy family is miserable in its own way, the Tolstoyesque take on free speech is that every healthy media environment works similarly (and is likely found in a Northern European country) while every repressive, authoritarian, capture ridden country is screwing up their information space in their own unique ways.

In this spirit, today we are beginning to explore media capture in Greece, a country that consistently ranks among the lowest in global media studies yet receives far less attention than Hungary or Poland.

In 2016, Greece ranked last out of 26 countries, with only 20% of people saying they trust the media. In 2017, it was last again, this time among 36 countries, with a trust rate of just 23%. In 2023, Greece was still near the bottom, with only 19% media trust, 6% below Hungary. In 2024, they both reached an equal trust level of 23%.

According to a 2022 survey of Greek journalists, the situation looks even bleaker:

• Half of Greek jo…