Deutsche Welle continues Greek service despite austerity measures – on a reduced scale

For them it is the end of a long, strenuous battle: Dimitra Kyranoudi heads the Greek department of Deutsche Welle in Berlin and Bonn. "After almost nine months of uncertainty, we can finally breathe a sigh of relief and continue our work. Despite all the problems, our colleagues at DW Greek never gave up," she says.

It was only in February that Deutsche Welle announced the end of its Greek service for cost-cutting reasons. The journalists report daily for a Greek audience on TV, radio, on the website and on social media. Greek was the only one of the 32 languages ​​broadcast in that should be completely eliminated.

"Voice of freedom" during the dictatorship

Now the U-turn: As Deutsche Welle confirmed, the Broadcasting Council decided to continue the Greek-language offering, but in a reduced form from next year.

"This may not be a big issue for a German audience, but here in Greece it's a big deal because Deutsche Welle is associated with a lot of historical memory and a lot of emotions here," explains Reinold Meinardus, research associate at the Athens think tank Eliamep. From 1993 to 1996 he headed the Greek editorial team of Deutsche Welle - then still in Cologne.

Even today, Deutsche Welle in Greece is something like a myth, a legend. And to this day the service is an important pillar of German-Greek relations, comparable to the Goethe Institute or German schools, says Meinardus.

Campaign for the Greek DW program

Like many other Germans, but especially Greeks, he also campaigned to save the editorial team. He speaks of a German-Greek civil society campaign that publicly put pressure on the federal government.

"And last but not least, according to Greek media reports, even the Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis - you have to imagine that, we are talking about a savings volume of 600,000 euros a year - called the Chancellor twice and presented himself there," said Meinardus.

Karl Jüsten, Chairman of the Broadcasting Council of Deutsche Welle, reports in an interview with ARD about feedback from broad sections of the Greek population, from culture, politics and the media. This also impressed the broadcasting council.

"The people in Greece were obviously moved by the fact that there is an important voice from Germany for democracy and human rights, that it is a voice that explains European politics, and above all that explains why we in Germany make this or that decision politically, culturally and economically," says Jüsten.

Still, financial cuts

At the same time, he emphasizes that Deutsche Welle must continue to save money. As the broadcaster reports, around 400,000 euros are earmarked for the Greece editorial team annually in the future. This year there were 700,000. Unlike ARD or ZDF, Deutsche Welle is not financed by the broadcasting fee, but by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and Media.

For editorial director Dimitra Kyranoudi, even a partial success is a success. She speaks of a historic day after many sleepless nights. And about how politicians from Greece, Cyprus and Germany, journalists' associations, the church and other organizations stood up for them.