The Foreign Press Association in Greece (FPA) and the Athens office of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) organized a public discussion on media in Greece.

During the event named ”Media in Greece: Watchdog or Lapdog?”, panelists discussed the state of press freedom, the financial distress of media, their tight grip on state power and private business interests and gave specific recommendation on how to improve the situation in the country.

Among others, they suggested total transparency in media ownership, as well as in media advertising funds, the abolition of the monopoly in press distribution, the abolition of the law on fake news. Companies engaging in SLAPPs should be barred from dealing with the state, while bar associations and large law firms should provide pro-bono services to investigative journalists. They also suggested the introduction of an adequate legal framework for the protection of whistleblowers and easier access to data and public information.