Dateline: Nov 19

Next week Dateline will investigate the closure of Greek Broadcaster ERT, which shut its doors in Athens in June.

In June, after more than seventy years of operation, the Greek government permanently closed its public broadcaster, ERT; three TV channels, over twenty radio stations, two orchestras, a choir and 2,600 employees.

Following the closure, outraged staffers began squatting in the building, locking authorities out, and continuing to broadcast online.

Then last Thursday, following five months of squatting by ex-employees, the riot police eventually stormed the ERT premises, using tear gas to evict those inside.

The controversy behind the shutdown remains, with the government claiming the closure was a result of cost-cutting measures, even though the service was being directly funded by households. Less than a month after the shutdown, the government set up an interim TV station called DT, hiring former ERT journalists and technicians.

Dateline’s Amos Roberts was in Athens in the dramatic days leading up to the eviction to investigate the downfall of ERT, spending time with those on both sides of the broadcasting divide.

Greece’s Deputy Minister for Public Broadcasting, Pantelis Kapsis is also questioned about the impact of ERT’s termination on the Greek diaspora, including Australia.

The closure of the national broadcaster is a symbol of the damage caused by the ongoing Greek economic crisis and raises the question of what is next for Greece.

Also on Dateline, Aaron Thomas follows the revival behind the bankrupt city of Detroit.

Tuesday, 19 November at 9.30pm on SBS ONE.