'Public Service Broadcasting in the Era of Austerity', London, 11 July 2013

摘要

In early June 2013 the Greek government decided to close down the public service broadcaster ERT and make its employees redundant as part of the latest public spending cuts imposed to meet the terms of the country's bailout deal. The rationale behind this unprecedented move was that ERT was overstaffed and inefficient. In July 2013, City University London, hosted a conference, giving special attention to the situation in Greece and the closure of ERT. The conference critically discussed the closure of ERT and explored the implications for democracy and freedom of speech. Combining academic perspectives with those of industry practitioners, policy-makers, legal experts, and journalists, the event offered delegates the opportunity to discuss the role of public service broadcasting (PSB) in Greece and beyond. The conference consisted of two sessions. Whereas the morning session focused mainly on the Greek broadcasting landscape and the developments at ERT, the afternoon session opened up the debate about PSB and considered a wide range of issues related to PSB.