Pappas

A day after the Council of State upheld appeals lodged by six TV channels against a government auction of broadcasting permits, State Minister Nikos Pappas said Greece's left-led administration would not yield to pressure coming from "vested interests."

With 16 votes in favour, and 9 against the extended Plenary session of the Council of State (CoS) has accepted the appeals submitted against the procedures that lead to the issuing of the recent TV licenses. The ruling focused on the the three stages that included the:
1. The basis of the appeals
2. Vested interest, and
3. Admissibility

Television technicians on Monday staged a demonstration outside the headquarters of leftist SYRIZA, protesting the outcome of a recent auction of TV licenses which will lead several channels to close.

The protesters spread a banner reading "Black has no shades of grey," a play on words referring to the "blackout" brought about by the closure of TV channels as police stood by.

State Minister Nikos Pappas has come under attack from the opposition after submitting and then withdrawing draft legislation late on Friday that would have forced TV channels which did not gain a license during the recent auction to close within five days of a ministerial decision on the matter.

The Greek government was forced to hurriedly withdraw a series of amendments the Minister of State, Nikos Pappas attempted to pass through parliament late Friday, regarding the media landscape, after coming under heavy criticism from opposition parties and the press.

House Speaker Nikos Voutsis (photo) was expected to unveil a new proposal for the appointment of a board to the National Council for Radio and Television (ESR), government sources said on Thursday. The proposal could be presented next Wednesday or Thursday, sources added.

SKAI TV and Alter Ego, the company established by shipowner Evangelos Marinakis paid to the General Secretariat of Information on Friday the first installment of their full bid totaling 14,533,333 euros and 24,633,333 euros respectively.
The two companies also submitted relevant documents.

The government faced a deepening political crisis on Tuesday as Parliament's ethics committee was expected to summon State Minister Nikos Pappas and the four winners of a recent auction of television licenses and a senior cabinet member expressed serious concerns about one of the victors, the son of a construction magnate with leftist links who is under investigation for tax evasion.

The IDs of two Greek journalists were checked by US authorities in New York on Sunday after the two men were allegedly discovered following a Greek delegation led by State Minister Nikos Pappas. The Greek officials were in New York to prepare a visit by PM Alexis Tsipras in view of a United Nation Summit for Refugees and Migrants.

An episode occurred between the Minister of State Nikos Pappas and two journalists who work for TV channels Alpha and Star in New York. Mr Pappas is there for the 71st United Nations General Assembly that starts on Monday. At 2 o’clock in the night American policemen arrested the two reporters outside the Westing Grand Central Hotel .