Prelims

Half Title Page

The Emerald Handbook of Digital Media in Greece

Series Title Page

Digital Activism and Society: Politics, Economy and Culture in Network Communication

The Digital Activism and Society: Politics, Economy and Culture in Network Communication series focuses on the political use of digital everyday-networked media by corporations, governments, international organizations (Digital Politics), as well as civil society actors, NGOs, activists, social movements and dissidents (Digital Activism) attempting to recruit, organise and fund their operations, through information communication technologies.

The series publishes books on theories and empirical case studies of digital politics and activism in the specific context of communication networks. Topics covered by the series include, but are not limited to:

• the different theoretical and analytical approaches of political communication in digital networks;

• studies of socio-political media movements and activism (and ‘hacktivism’);

• transformations of older topics such as inequality, gender, class, power, identity and group belonging;

• strengths and vulnerabilities of social networks.

Series Editor

Dr Athina Karatzogianni

About the Series Editor

Dr Athina Karatzogianni is an Associate Professor at the University of Leicester, UK. Her research focuses on the intersections between digital media theory and political economy, in order to study the use of digital technologies by new sociopolitical formations.

Published Books in this Series:

Digital Materialism: Origins, Philosophies, Prospects by Baruch Gottlieb

Nirbhaya, New Media and Digital Gender Activism by Adrija Dey

Digital Life on Instagram: New Social Communication of Photography by Elisa Serafinelli

Internet Oligopoly: The Corporate Takeover of Our Digital World by Nikos Smyrnaios

Digital Activism and Cyberconflicts in Nigeria: Occupy Nigeria, Boko Haram and MEND by Shola A. Olabode

Platform Economics: Rhetoric and Reality in the “Sharing Economy” by Cristiano Codagnone

Communication as Gesture: Media(tion), Meaning, & Movement by Michael Schandorf

Journalism and Austerity: Digitization and Crisis during the Greek Memoranda by Christos Kostopoulos

Forthcoming Titles:

Chinese Social Media: Face, Sociality, and Civility by Shuhan Chen and Peter Lunt

Posthumanism in Digital Culture: Cyborgs, Gods and Fandom by Callum McMillan

Protest Technologies and Media Revolutions: The Longue Durée edited by Athina Karatzogianni, Michael Schandorf and Ioanna Ferra

Title Page

The Emerald Handbook of Digital Media in Greece: Journalism and Political Communication in Times of Crisis

Edited by

Anastasia Veneti

Bournemouth University, UK

Athina Karatzogianni

University of Leicester, UK

United Kingdom – North America – Japan – India – Malaysia – China

Copyright Page

Emerald Publishing Limited

Howard House, Wagon Lane, Bingley BD16 1WA, UK

First edition 2020

Copyright © 2020 Emerald Publishing Limited

Cover photography © Elias Tsaussakis

Reprints and permissions service

Contact: permissions@emeraldinsight.com

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without either the prior written permission of the publisher or a licence permitting restricted copying issued in the UK by The Copyright Licensing Agency and in the USA by The Copyright Clearance Center. Any opinions expressed in the chapters are those of the authors. Whilst Emerald makes every effort to ensure the quality and accuracy of its content, Emerald makes no representation implied or otherwise, as to the chapters' suitability and application and disclaims any warranties, express or implied, to their use.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN: 978-1-83982-401-2 (Print)

ISBN: 978-1-83982-400-5 (Online)

ISBN: 978-1-83982-402-9 (Epub)

List of Tables

List of Figures

Endorsements

A comprehensive, well-organised volume, which eloquently weaves the dynamic interplay of digital media and journalism, political communication within the Greek crisis context. The Handbook offers stimulating discussion and contributes prolific research, along with diverse, engaging examples to the understanding of technological, economic, political and social drives at the crossroads.

Pantelis Vatikiotis, Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences

This is an important book for understanding the impact of digital media on the transformation of Greece's political and social landscape over the past decade. Wide-ranging, thought-provoking and lucidly argued, it provides us with valuable insights into the use of new media technologies and their implications for the political process in times of crisis.

Prof. Dimitris Papadimitriou, Professor of Political Science, University of Manchester

A very welcome and much needed collection and synthesis of the current state of digital media, journalism and politics in Greece. While it is often thought that Greek digital journalism and digital politics lags behind those of other European countries, chapters here reveal a vibrant and diverse digital landscape, constituted as a terrain of political, economic, technological and social struggle. It is a pleasure to read contributions from a new generation of media and journalism researchers alongside those of well-known scholars. This volume is a must read for anyone interested in digital media in Greece and beyond, as it establishes the state of the art in digital media research in protracted crisis and sets the agenda for the future.

Eugenia Siapera, Professor of Information and Communication Studies, School of Information and Communication Studies, University College Dublin

About the Contributors

Dimitris Boucas is Lecturer at the School of Media and Communication, the University of Westminster. His research interests include digital technology policy, critical Internet studies, media policy and alternative journalism. He recently worked on the EU-funded project netCommons, which examines community networks as complementary or alternative to the standard Internet. Dimitris has published on information society theory and media policy and has taught at various universities, including the LSE, City University of London, the University of Paris (Dauphine) and the University of Piraeus, Greece.

Anastasia Deligiaouri is currently a Marie Curie Experienced Research Fellow (MSCA-IF) at the Institute of Future Media and Journalism at the School of Communications in Dublin City University, Ireland, where she works on a project funded by Horizon2020 on e-rulemaking, deliberation and democracy in the EU. She holds a PhD in Political Science, and she has previously served as an Assistant Professor. She has participated in five research projects. She has published on issues of political communication, democratic theory and political discourse. In 2010, she has been a Visiting Research Fellow at the Centre for the Study of Democracy at the University of Westminster in London, UK, studying models of democracy. She serves as a reviewer at a number of journals, and she is an Associate Editor at the International Journal of E-Politics. She has published in several journals, edited volumes and conference proceedings.

Theofanis Exadaktylos is Reader in European Politics at the University of Surrey, UK. He holds a PhD in Politics from the University of Exeter, an MSc in European Political Economy: Integration from the LSE and a BA in Economics and International Relations from Tufts University. His research agendas include Europeanisation, public policy reforms and implementation, the politics of crisis, attitudes towards Europe in an age of austerity and the link between populism and public emotional economy, with specific focus on Greek politics. He is the co-editor of the Journal of Common Market Studies Annual Review. He has been a consultant with the World Bank in Greece during the financial crisis. His work has appeared in major presses (Oxford University Press, Routledge, Palgrave Macmillan) and in key international journals, such as Journal of Common Market Studies, Journal of European Integration, Policy & Politics, Policy Studies Journal, International Journal of Communication, European Journal of Politics & Gender, among others.

Ioanna Ferra is an Assistant Professor at the National Research University Higher School of Economics, Greece. Her interest focuses on digital media, social movements and collective actions, especially as these developed in the global recession context. She has a keen interest in working with digital research methods and exploring new data mining techniques and software for Semantic and Social Network analysis.

Charis Gerosideris is an Assistant Professor in Security Studies at the King Fahd Security College in Saudi Arabia. He holds a PhD in International Relations and Politics, Keele University, focused on Climate Change and Security in Greece. His research interest lies in the intersection of environmental security, energy security and green movements.

Iliana Giannouli is a Journalist and holds a PhD degree from the Department of Communication and Media Studies (NKUA). Her research interests include international news, international journalistic culture and EU journalism. As a journalist in the health industry herself, she is also interested in medical journalism and the challenges of health reporters.

Dimitrios Giomelakis received his PhD in journalism from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. Currently, he is a post-doctoral researcher of Media Informatics Lab in the School of Journalism & Mass Communications at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece. He is a graduate of the School of Journalism & Mass Communications. In 2010, he received his Master in Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) for audio-visual production and education from the Polytechnic School of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. Among his research interests are news and journalism studies, online journalism, media technology, digital media use, SEO, Web Analytics, Web 2.0 and social media. His work has been published in several scientific journals, edited volumes and conference proceedings.

Petros Ioannidis is a Political Analyst and the founder of aboutpeople, a polls company in Athens, Greece. He studied politics and communication at the University of Lancaster and City University, London. He is the author of 2009, The Last Elections of Metapolitefsis, Athens Voice Books, and co-editor of 2019, The First Elections after the Memorandum, Papazisis Publications. He has published a series of articles in various Greek media outlets.

Petros Iosifidis is Professor of Media Policy at City, University of London (https://www.city.ac.uk/people/academics/petros-iosifidis). He is author of several books including Global Media and Communication Policy (2013), The Public Sphere and Mediated Social Networks (2016, with M. Wheeler) and Global Media and National Policies (2016, with T. Flew and J. Steemers). He has contributed numerous book chapters and has published extensively in peer-review journals. He has served as an ESRC Peer Review College reviewer, as Principal Editor of the Journal of Digital Media & Policy (https://www.intellectbooks.com/journal-of-digital-media-policy) and Co-Editor of the Book Series Palgrave Global Media Policy & Business (http://link.springer.com/bookseries/14699). He is Vice-Chair of IAMCR Global Media Policy group and has been advisor to the Greek Government on media/communications issues.

Naya Kalfeli is a Postdoctoral Researcher at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece, currently working on an ESF (European Social Fund)-funded project on the effects of media representations of immigration and the refugee crisis on intergroup relationships between Greeks and immigrants. She holds a PhD in Journalism (School of Journalism and Mass Communications of Aristotle University), an MA in International and European Studies (Panteion University) and a BA in Journalism and Mass Communications (Aristotle University). Her research interests include media representations of diversity, with a particular interest in immigration and asylum issues, media effects, peace journalism, conflict and crisis reporting and media literacy.

Anastasia Kani is a Communication and Digital Media Specialist at the Municipality of Paionia, Greece. She is currently a master's student in Public Discourse and Digital Media at the University of Western Macedonia. She has a Bachelor's degree in Digital Media and Communications from the Technological Education Institute of Western Macedonia. Her research interests focus on political communication, e-campaigning and e-government.

Achilleas Karadimitriou is Adjunct Lecturer/Research Fellow, Department of Communication and Media Studies, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece. He is a Journalist at the Centre for European Constitutional Law (Athens) and editor-in-chief on digital platform www.syntagmawatch.gr.

Evi Karathanasopoulou is a Senior Lecturer in Audio Production at Bournemouth University, UK. She works across theory and practice in the field of Audio Media. She studied classical music in Athens, Greece, before moving to the United Kingdom where she gained a first class (Hons) BA in Media Production: TV & Radio from the University of Sunderland and an MA in Radio from Goldsmiths College. She gained her PhD at the University of Sunderland, researching radio as an intimate medium, while also teaching across undergraduate and postgraduate media courses there. Her doctoral work sets out a typology of radiophonic intimacies. Her latest theory output is an interdisciplinary article on the concept of atmosphere in radio and architecture. Her latest practice output is Air Free, an audio installation artwork created as part of an international collaboration with the Goethe-Institut.

Athina Karatzogianni is an Associate Professor in Media and Communication at the University of Leicester, UK, and Principal Investigator for the H2020 DigiGen ‘The Impact of Technological Transformations on the Digital Generation’, leading work on ICT and the transformation of civic participation (2019–2022). Her research portfolio, on the impact of digitisation on conflict, economics and security, reflects a commitment to research that is rigorous and innovative, with applied practice that is relevant and internationally influential. She has an extensive record of publications and citations in disciplinary, field-specific and cross-disciplinary research outlets, and has demonstrated sustained success in securing research income from Research Councils UK and the European Commission. Her most recent book is (2018) Platform Economics: Rhetoric and Reality the “Sharing Economy”. Athina can be contacted at athina.k@gmail.com and her publications can be found open access download in pre-publication form here: https://works.bepress.com/athina_karatzogianni/.

Gerasimos Karoulas is Adjunct Lecturer in the Department of Political Science at the University of Crete in Greece. He had also taught at the Department of Sociology of the University of the Aegean, as well as at the National Centre for Public Administration and Local Government. He holds a PhD in political sociology and political analysis from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. He had participated, as a speaker in several conferences, and still participates in international networks for the research of political representation and political elites. His main research interests are focused on the areas of political representation and elites, political systems and institutions, political parties, political behaviour and political communication. He has published several articles in scientific journals, edited volumes and conference proceedings. He had worked as scientific associate in several research institutions and organisations. He is member of the administrative board of the Hellenic Political Science Association.

Panos Koliastasis holds a PhD in Politics from Queen Mary University of London (QMUL). In his thesis, under the supervision of Prof. Raymond Kuhn, he studied the political communication strategies applied by Greek prime ministers, from a permanent campaign perspective. Currently, he works as a Postdoctoral Researcher in Political Communication at the University of Athens examining the communicative mechanisms behind the promotion of innovative policies in local government. In parallel, he acts as a Teaching Fellow in Politics at Hellenic Open University. He has published in Greek and international journals as well as collective volumes. His research interests include political communication, voting behaviour, comparative politics and local politics.

Christos Kostopoulos is currently a lecturer at Curtin University, Malaysia, and holds a PhD in Media and Communication from the University of Leicester. His research in the journalistic coverage and framing of the Greek Memoranda will be published by Emerald as a monograph under the title Journalism and Austerity: Digitization and Crisis during the Greek Memoranda (2010–2015) in 2020.

Savvas Makridis is Adjunct Lecturer of Hellenic Open University. He holds a BA in ‘Philosophy-Pedagogy & Psychology’ from the University of Athens, a BA in ‘Public Administration’, an MSc in ‘Organizational Behaviour’ and a PhD in ‘Public Administration’ from Panteion University.

Theodora A. Maniou is a faculty member at the University of Cyprus (Program of Journalism, Department of Social and Political Sciences). She holds a PhD and a BA in Journalism (School of Journalism & MC, Aristotle University, Greece) and an MA in Communication's Policy Studies (City, University of London, UK).

Yiannis Mylonas is Assistant Professor of cultural studies and media sociology at the School of Media at the National Research University Higher School of Economics in Moscow. His latest publications include ‘Trolling as Transgression: Culture Wars and Subversive Affirmations against Neoliberal Austerity’ (International Journal of Cultural Studies, co-authored with Panos Kompatsiaris) and the monograph ‘The “Greek Crisis” in Europe: Race, Class and Politics’ (Brill, 2019). He is currently co-editing a volume on the sociology of creativity (Springer).

Dimitrios M. Papadakis holds a Bachelor's Double Major in Classics and Fine Arts from Mt. Allison University, and a Master's in Business Organizational Management from Crandall University. As the former Director of International Partnerships, Admissions and Recruitment at McKenzie College, his experience in instruction and administration combines research interests in organisation, communication, media, marketing and strategy, and includes city branding through a sociological lens.

Lambrini Papadopoulou teaches at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (School of Journalism and Mass Communications, Greece) and is also a print media journalist. She holds a PhD in Journalism and Media Business Models from the Department of Communication, Media & Culture at Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences (Greece).

Vasiliki Papageorgiou is Social Anthropologist and Adjunct Lecturer of Agricultural University of Αthens. She holds a BA in ‘History and Ethnology’ from the Demokriteion University and an MA in ‘Social Anthropology’ from the University of Aegean. She also holds a PhD, in ‘Social Anthropology’ from the University of Aegean.

Stylianos Papathanassopoulos is Professor in Media Organisation and Policy at the Faculty of Communication and Media Studies at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. He has written extensively on media developments in Europe and Greece. His research interests are on European communications and new media policies as well as political communication. His books: (with Ralph Negrine) European Media (Cambridge: Polity Press, 2011); Media Perspectives for the 21st Century (New York: Routledge, 2011); European Television in the Digital Age; Issues, Dynamics and Realties (Cambridge: Polity Press, 2002).

Korinna Patelis is a 25-year Internet Veteran with a PhD on Political Economy of Internet Communications from Goldsmiths College embarked upon when the web was still in its infancy. Academic, activist and policy maker, she has worked in a wide range of industries and cultures in both sides of the Atlantic, taught and published widely in Internet Studies on undergraduate and postgraduate levels, as well as in the media. Her research is on critical political economy, technocapitalism, commercial A.I., technopia and software as a cultural text, navigating a wide range of issues in an interdisciplinary fashion including free market messianism, digital and science policy, epistemology and NLP, digital determinism, oligopoly algorithms, financialisation and self-regulation. In 2011, as an Assistant Professor of Ethics, Deontology and Policy at the Internet Studies Department at the CUT she initiated the Unlike Us Network in collaboration with Geert Lovink and the Institute of Network Cultures. Her consultancy curated the Syriza 2015 digital campaign strategy. She was a special advisor on digital policy at MinDigital, where she created the Institute for Technology Politics and the Future, an institute researching the future of automation, skills work and utopia in neoliberal Greece.

Stamatis Poulakidakos is Laboratory Teaching Staff at the Department of Communication and Media Studies of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA). He holds a BA and a PhD degree from the Department of Communication and Media Studies (NKUA) and an MA degree in New Media, Information and Society (Research Track) from the London School of Economics (LSE). He has worked as Lecturer at Bournemouth University. He is specialised in media monitoring, propaganda and quantitative content analysis. He has taken part in many research projects and in various Greek and international conferences. He has authored the book Propaganda and Public Discourse. The presentation of the MoU by the Greek Media (Athens: DaVinci Books) and co-edited Media Events: A Critical Contemporary Approach (London: Palgrave Macmillan). In addition, he has published several papers on political communication, propaganda, social media and the public sphere, political advertisements, social movements and other media-related issues.

Theodora Saridou is a PhD student in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. She received her BSc in Law and her MSc in Journalism and New Media, both from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. Her doctorate research focuses on changing conditions in online media due to audience participation in the news production process. Her academic interests include participatory journalism, user-generated content, churnalism and online news production. She has professional experience as a journalist, while part of her research results has been published in leading academic journals and presented in conferences.

Nikos Smyrnaios is an Associate Professor in digital media at the University of Toulouse. His research includes the political economy of online media, digital journalism and the political use of social media. He has published Internet Oligopoly: The Corporate Takeover of Our Digital World (Emerald Publishing Limited, 2018).

Paschalia (Lia) Spyridou is Assistant Professor at the School of Communication and Media Studies at Cyprus University of Technology. She holds an MA in Communication from the University of Westminster and received her PhD in Journalism and New Media from the Aristotle University. Her research work lies in the field of digital journalism studies. Her research interests include participatory journalism, algorithmic news and personalisation, digital news production, and alternative media. She has published in Journalism, Journalism Studies, Digital Journalism, European Journal of Communication, International Communication Gazette, and Journal of European Public Policy, among others.

Amalia Triantafillidou is an Assistant Professor of Communication and Public Relations in the Department of Communication and Digital Media at the University of Western Macedonia. She holds a PhD in Marketing from Athens University of Economics and Business. Her research interests focus on public relations, e-campaigning, e-government and crisis communication management. She has published in referred journals such as Computers in Human Behavior, Public Relations Review, International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, Journal of Consumer Behaviour, International Journal of Retail and Distribution Management, Journal of Hospitality Marketing and Management, etc.

Andreas Veglis is Professor of media technology, and head of the Media Informatics Lab at the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. He has served as an editor, member of scientific board and reviewer in various academic journals. Prof. Veglis has more than 150 peer-reviewed papers on media technology and journalism. Specifically, he is the author or co-author of 12 books, he has published 76 papers on scientific journals and he has presented 125 papers in international and national conferences. Prof. Veglis has been involved in 30 national and international research projects. His research interests include information technology in journalism, new media, drone journalism, data journalism, big data, social media, open data and fake news verification.

Anastasia Veneti is Principal Academic in the Faculty of Media and Communication at Bournemouth University (UK) and Program Leader of the MA International Political Communication. Her research lies in the intersection of media and politics, including political communication, digital political campaigning, media framing, protests and social movements, visual communication and photojournalism. Her work has been published in various edited volumes and academic journals. She is the author of Political Advertising and Citizens' Perceptions (Nisos, 2009 in Greek) and co-editor (with D. Jackson and D. Lilleker) of Visual Political Communication (Palgrave, 2019).

Eylem Yanardağoğlu is an associate professor and head of the New Media department at Kadir Has University in Istanbul. She received her PhD at City, University of London, Sociology department, in 2008 where she studied the relationship between Europeanisation, citizenship and media in Turkey. She taught courses on Introduction to New Media, New Media Theories, Social Media, Sociology of News, International Communication, Alternative Media at various undergraduate levels. Having published extensively on the state of Turkish media and journalism, she continues to research on issues of citizenship, digital transformation of news consumption and production. Her research interests also include production and distribution of Turkish TV series.

Prodromos Yannas is Professor of International Relations and Communication-Publicity in the Department of Business Administration at the University of West Attica. He holds a BA in Economics from the College of Wooster (1981), an MA in Political Science from Miami University (1982) and a PhD in International Relations from the American University (1989). He has taught in the United States at the American University and Mount Vernon College (1989–1991) and in Greece at the Athens University of Economics and Business (1992–1995), the Hellenic Naval War College (1993–1998), the Technological Education Institute (TEI) of Western Macedonia (1998–2013), the Piraeus University of Applied Sciences (2013–2018) and the University of West Attica (2018–present). The research interests of Professor Yannas span three areas: International Relations, Public Relations and Communication. His publications have appeared in refereed journals, books chapters and international conference proceedings. He is member of the editorial board of the International Journal of Electronic Government Research.

Stamatia (Matina) Zestanaki has been a researcher, lecturer and teacher of Media Sociology at City, University of London since 2010. She holds a PhD in Media Sociology from City, University of London, an MA in Political Communication and New Technologies and a BA in Communications and Mass Media, from the National Kapodistrian University of Athens. Her research is looking at the nexus of new media ecologies, political communication and civic/protest mobilization within deep mediatization with an emphasis in qualitative and reflexive mixed methods. Before living and working as an academic in the UK she had worked as a journalist in Greece for the best part of a decade, mainly in publishing and television, covering both social, political, educational and medical issues. She has also been the editor of a specialized bimonthly publication. In 2005 she worked for an EU documentary production as an investigative journalist, interviewer and co-script writer. She is a member of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and her work combines freelance journalistic projects, activism and academic research and teaching with a critical viewpoint.

Dedication

To Petros

To Sebastian

Acknowledgements

We would like to acknowledge all those who assisted us in completing this project. We first wish to thank the editorial team at Emerald Publishing, in particular Jen McCall, Carys Morley, Katy Mathers and Harriet Notman for their constant guidance and help in the preparation of the manuscript. Second, we would like to extend our thanks to all of the contributing authors for their hard work and their dedication to this endeavour. Finally, we are grateful to Elias Tsaoussakis for kindly offering the copyright permission of his photo to be used for the cover of this book.