Greece to re-open state broadcaster, ERT

logo-ert-open-bw-color-2Many thanks to SWLing Post reader, Ayar (HB9EVW), who shares this news via Reuters:

(Reuters) – Greece’s parliament passed a bill on Wednesday to reopen the state broadcaster abruptly unplugged nearly two years ago, in a symbolic move to heal what Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has called a “great wound” of the country’s bailout programme.

Re-opening The Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT) has been a priority for his leftist Syriza party, which fiercely protested the way television screens went black at midnight on June 11, 2013, after the then conservative-led government decided to shutter the 75-year-old institution.

[…]ERT’s shock closure, with newscasters cut off in mid-sentence, was one of the most drastic measures to help meet the terms of the country’s 240 billion-euro international bailout.

It sparked a wave of protests and the withdrawal of a partner from the coalition government at the time, igniting what many view as the beginning of Syriza’s rise to power.

For weeks, journalists broadcast a bootleg news channel over the Internet, defying management orders to leave the shuttered broadcaster’s headquarters. Hundreds rallied outside the building in daily protests, as musicians from ERT’s national symphony orchestra performed, some in tears. The government has said it plans to rehire the musicians.

I actually recorded the moment the Voice of Greece went off the air on shortwave, only to return (as basically a pirate radio station) only a few hours later. Click here to listen to the recording.

Click here to read the full Reuters article above.

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3 thoughts on “Greece to re-open state broadcaster, ERT

  1. Carlo Tenga SWL I82088/NA

    The actual site of broadcast in short wave is locate at city AVLIS or AVLIDA near ATHENS (G. C. 38N23-023E36). ERT use a shortwave transmetter on 170 KW.
    In Italy the reception of this signal is clear and strong. The emission are irregulars and anuncement identification in ERTOPEN. The actual trasmission are talk-news and greek music from channel ERT3 (station of Makedonia). The probable schedulein in near future is:

    0000-1500 UTC, Europe/North America, 9420 kHz, ERA Athens
    1500-2400 UTC, Europe/North America, 9415 kHz, ERA Athens
    1100-0450 UTC, Europe/Central America, 9935 kHz, ERA Athens
    0500-1050 UTC, Central & South Africa, 11645 kHz, ERA Athens
    0000-0550 UTC, Russia/Japan, 15630 kHz, ERA Athens
    0600-1850 UTC, Europe/Central America, 15630 kHz, ERA Athens
    1900-2350 UTC, Middle East – Australia, 15650 kHz, ERA Athens

    The actual broadcast frequency (irregural) is: 9350 9400 kHz.

    Bye

    Reply
  2. Jonathan Marks

    Hope they will use the opportunity to make ERT an efficient and effective public broadcaster. A few years ago ERT was hopelessly bogged down in politics and bureaucracy – one of the least efficient broadcasters on the continent. And Voice of Greece has always been a token service – presumably created because airtime became available as result of US government facilities in Rhodes and Kavalla broadcasting VOA. Programmes in English were a news bulletin and some music. Why would they want to restore that?

    Reply

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