To Vima

By Vasilis Labropoulos

Yesterday was our birthday. On 6 February, 1992, exactly 100 years ago, the newspaper then called Elefthero Vima first hit the stands.

Those of us who have experienced the generalised crisis in the Greek media, including the Lambrakis Press (DOL), during the last decade of deep recession know first hand the intensity and depth of the efforts of then rising political forces, especially the current government, to co-opt the media.

There can be no doubt that Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and SYRIZA have always had a fervent desire to control the media.

From the start they attempted by any means possible to make as many media outlets as they could, especially those aligned with the centre-left, their own personal propaganda machines

The newspaper you are holding in your hands was first published in February, 1922, a few months prior to the Asia Minor Catastrophe, by a narrow circle of intellectuals supporting statesman Eleftherios Venizelos with a view to contributing to the rebirth of the nation and the post-war reconstruction of the country.

To Potami leader Stavros Theodorakis has responded to criticism from conservative opposition leader who said his centrist party, founded in 2014, no longer serves a meaningful purpose.

A proclamation posted Thursday on a Greek anarchist website claimed responsibility for an attack on the building that housed the bankrupt Lambrakis Media Group (DOL) in the Athens neighborhood of Ilissia last week and encouraged sit-in protests, or occupations, at public buildings and symbols of the "establishment."

The final issue of the Ta Nea daily newspaper of the Lambrakis Media Group (DOL) was published on Thursday, while the weekly To Vima, which belongs to the same group, will not be published on Sunday. According to reports, all staff at DOL will be fired on Friday, and an undisclosed number is expected to be rehired by its new owner, shipping magnate Vangelis Marinakis.

Overturning an earlier ruling, Court of First Instance President Vassiliki Basta on Monday approved a request by employees at the Lambrakis Media Group (DOL) to allow one of the news organization's bank accounts to remain active so that the work at Ta Nea daily and it's sister paper, weekly To Vima, can continue and the staff can be paid.

If the worst predictions prove true, the media landscape in Greece will change drastically as of today.