Employees of Greece’s state TV and Radio Corporation have seized the headquarters in Athens following government plans to suspend it under pressure from austerity cuts. Soon to be laid-off ERT (Hellenic Radio and Television) employees took over the state network’s headquarters on Tuesday night. Witnesses said dozens of journalists and employees were flown to protests at the building in Athens, according to Der Spiegel. Employees have also called for a general media blackout in protest, reports Reuters. “From this time the ERT has passed to the control of workers, not management,” said former technical director of the company, Nick Michalitsis, speaking to the assembled workers on Radiomegaro. Riot police have been dispatched to deal with protesters, according to local channel Avgi. There has been a further outcry from both trade unions and junior coalition partners. ERT was described as a “haven of waste” by Government spokesman Simos Kedikoglou, who made the announcement. "There are no tolerances for "sacred cows" that remain intact when cuts are being applied everywhere," he said in a statement. Both TV and radio channels will go dead between midnight and early Wednesday morning, causing their 2,500 employees to be jobless until it reopens. The official cutoff had initially been declared as midnight. However, journalists continued to broadcast following a signal to stop. Source: rt/news/austerity-greece-state-media-542/ LIVE rtve.es/alacarta/videos/programa/canal-24-horas/1689055/ euronews/news/streaming-live/ -Nathan
Posted on: Wed, 12 Jun 2013 19:59:42 +0000
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