Greece: Final Information Network
by Allen Bryan
Ekathemerini
Author: The International New York Times
Type: Traditional News
It is accessed at http://www.ekathimerini.com/.
The source is updated on a daily basis.
Description: This source is the English version of the site, originally published in Greece. The original version is in Greek, however, this one is completely in English. This site offers a variety of topics in which to find certain information such as News, Business, Life, Sports, Community, and so much more. The main perspective of this site is from Greece and its citizens, but it also gives an international point of view when discussing issues occurring outside of Greece. The strengths of this source are that there are many topics one could look through and it does not solely focus on one type of news. It also does a good job of discussing the subject matter, and the layout of the site is easy to follow. The main weakness is that many of the articles are hand translated into English. While it is awesome that people are employed to translate rather than bots or programs, there is still the issue of some things getting lost in translation, or just human error. This source is valuable as it is one of Greece’s top news sites, so it is always up to date, relevant, and a good place to find news from the perspective of the country.
To Vima
Author: To Vima
Type: Traditional
It is accessed at http://www.tovima.gr/en
The source is updated on weekdays/business days.
Description: This site is the English version of the original, Greek, one published in Greece. This specific site is translated into English, but it is originally all in Greek. This source focuses solely on political articles, with a few other kinds of variety sprinkled in; but the majority is on political issues. There are two main perspectives on this site. The first one is of Greek citizens, politicians, etc. and the next one is of the country of Greece as a whole and where it stands in relation to other countries. The latter can be seen when the article is about issues pertaining to a different country and what effect it can have on Greece. The strengths of this source are that there are many, up to date, and relevant stories, and also that this is a good site to find international stories that have effects on Greece. The weakness is that for many of the articles it seems as if they were translated by way of bots, or by individuals that are less than proficient in English. Because of this, many articles seem hard to follow, information may be wrong or skewed, and one must take what they read with a grain of salt. While the reliability certainly is a factor, the source is still valuable for the type of content seen, and also as a way of seeing how important it is for this source to have an English version to broaden their audience; which can explain some of the questionable methods used to go about this.
Greek Reporter
Author: Greek Reporter
Type: New Media
It is accessed at http://greece.greekreporter.com/tag/greece-news/
It is updated on a daily basis.
Description: This is an independent news site found in Greece. It is entirely in English with the option to view the news in Greek under the “Greek News” tab at the top of the page. This site offers a variety of news such as Greece, USA, Hollywood, World, and so much more. The perspective of the site comes from the independent Greek journalists that run the site. They try to put themselves in the shoes of whoever they are writing about, but ultimately it is their perspective. The strengths of this source are that the information is timely, relevant, up to date, fairly unbiased, reliable, and the site is easy to navigate. Possible weaknesses could be personal biases creeping in, although it doesn’t occur often, and also since the site is independent they may lack the resources and funds to dive deeper into some stories for more accurate information. This source is valuable in that it is written almost entirely in English for English readers, so no information can get lost in translation, also the independent side of things allow for the showing of different perspectives than a government-run news organization.
YiaHara
Author: Yiahara
Type: Social Media
It is accessed here https://yiahara.com/
It is updated on a daily basis but requires a membership (free to sign up) to view.
Description: This is a social media site found within Greece. There are various different languages depending on what you decide you want to look at, and what chatrooms you decide to join. There are all types of information to find on this site from Greek News, Sports, Religion, Upcoming Events, to Recipes (and so, so much more). The main perspective comes from the users themselves, which can have a variety of backgrounds. The information itself comes from what people are saying about these topics, so you are able to dig a litter deeper into a subject than you would with a simple Google search. This is one of the strengths as you have the ability to gather more first-person perspectives than you would by searching for these topics on Google. The main weakness is that to access this information, you need to have signed up and registered. This was a fairly quick and easy process but it still may be a bit of a turn off for those trying to find quick information. The source is valuable for its crowdsourced aspect. This aspect is the heart of the site and it allows for a variety of perspectives to be heard about a topic which results in some pretty great discussions.
The World Bank
Author: The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD); The International Development Association (IDA); The International Finance Corporation (IFC); The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA); and The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID).
Type: Data
It is accessed at https://data.worldbank.org/country/greece
It is updated as new information becomes available, typically on a monthly basis.
Description: This is a global data source with no true origin as they have stations all over the world gathering and reporting on data. The site is in English. The type of information that can be found is statistical data information pertaining to the GDP, GDP per capita, Population, Life Expectancy, and so much more per country. There is no real perspective as the information given is quantitative more than qualitative. While numbers can show biases, this organization strives to show unbiased, factual data with little to no analysis involved to decrease bias. The perspective is global by nature in that because one can find information about almost every country, there are a variety of perspectives. These perspectives are the underlying statistical perspectives, that is, and not that of personal ones as seen in the news sources. The strengths are that it gives a variety of statistical data on any country you may want to know about, and then this information can be compared and contrasted to other countries allowing for differences to be clearly seen. The downfall, like to any data source, is that numbers can only tell you so much, and typically lack the ‘why’ the numbers are the way they are. This is a highly valuable source as it allows the audience to see a quantitative take on a country and see the physical hard numbers that have been gathered for years. This is a change of pace to the typical qualitative kind of information seen in news sources.
ERT1
Author: ERT
Type: Visual
It is accessed at http://webtv.ert.gr/ert1/
It is updated on a daily basis.
Description: This is a television network within Greece. The site is entirely in Greek but if you use Google to translate the page it becomes navigable. The type of information here is visual and auditory as you can watch local Greek news stations talk about the news. The perspective is from the Greek citizen, news anchor, and the writers of the news being talked about. The strength is that it is good to see how visual news is run and works in a foreign country so comparisons can be made with how news works here. One weakness is the fact that the site and news are in Greek. Google can help translate the page but not the spoken news, so understanding what is being said is a challenge. The site is valuable in that it serves more as a comparison to the news here than what one actually gets out of viewing the news unless you know Greek.
Dimokratiki
Author: Dimokratiki
Type: Traditional
It is accessed at http://www.dimokratiki.gr/.
It is updated on a daily basis.
Description: This is an independent Greek news site from within Greece. Because of this, the news is entirely in Greek. The site offers a variety of information including News, Sports, Interviews, and more. The main perspectives come from the independent journalists who write the article, but they also try to put themselves in the shoes of whoever they are writing for the best they can. Strengths of the site include, but are not limited to, the easy layout of the site, the up to date news articles, the independently run operations resulting in less propaganda by the government, and more. The main weakness is the reliability of Google to translate the page as it is entirely in Greek. This may result in some information being lost in translation and so what is being read may need to be taken with a grain of salt. This is an important source as, since it is written in Greek and by Greeks, it gives us a better understanding of how these journalists think and operate. They are also able to sift through breaking information much faster and because of this new articles are able to be written faster.
Macedonia
Author: Macedonia
Type: New Media
It is accessed at http://makthes.gr/
It is updated on a regular basis, few times a week.
Description: This is a news source within the northern part of Greece. It is entirely in Greek. It offers a variety of information such as News, Business, Sports, etc. The main perspective is that of the people of northern Greece, most closely associated with the people of Macedonia, which Greece still claims as its own (Similar to a China/Taiwan situation). The strengths of this source come from its user-friendly layout, the variety of topics including international (to them) articles on countries such as the US, and the perspective of a different kind of Greek citizen. The main weakness is the reliance on Google to translate the page and articles to become readable to English speaking readers. This may result in some things getting lost in translation which can cause misunderstandings of what the author intended, and some confusions when mistranslations occur. This is a valuable source as it gives the reader a different point of view within Greece than is typically seen.
Author: Facebook
Type: Social Media
It is accessed at www.facebook.com
It is updated on a daily basis. Requires membership to see all information, but some can be seen without.
Description: This site originates in the US and because so it is entirely in English. The site offers a variety of information depending on what you want to look for. Using the search bar at the top one can find information pertaining to just about anything. Similar to YiaHara, the information comes from the people themselves. There are pages created by individuals that others can then follow and contribute to discussions. Because of this, the perspectives are from everyone who decides to join in the discussion and research. The strength is that because of the number of different voices, more primary information can be learned and obtained. It also allows for interaction between these people that is not possible through the traditional news. The weaknesses are that if you want access to the entirety of the information, an account is needed although this isn’t too bad as most people have a Facebook account, and also that any information read should be taken with a grain of salt as they are from people themselves who have biases. This is a valuable source for looking up information in Greece as many Greek citizens, those who have internet access that is, have a Facebook account and use it on an often basis. This is a good place to be able to have a discussion with these individuals and if you have an account then there is the ability to private message them for further information.
Eurostat
Author: European Union Office in Luxembourg
Type: Data
It is accessed at http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/main/home
It is updated whenever new information becomes available, typically on a monthly basis. The news section is updated daily.
Description: Like with The World Bank there is no one true origin to this site; it operates out of Luxembourg but the information pertains to all of Europe. The site is in English. There are all sorts of statistical information that can be found here such as Population, GDP, Internet Usage and Access, and so, so much more. The nifty thing about this site is it allows for the users to download the Excel spreadsheet of the data which includes every country within the EU and allows for comparisons to be made easily. Another strength is that it is easily accessible and easy to navigate but also, the site has a small news feature as well which allows for the reader to view the data and then make connections to what is talked about in the articles. There aren’t really many weaknesses as it is a quantitative source for the most part that incorporates a qualitative aspect. One weakness may be that it is heavily Eurocentric and tends to look more inwards than outwards. This is another valuable source for looking up information about Greece because it immediately compares the data to other countries in the EU. It is also valuable because the data goes beyond simply the economic and basic facts such as GDP and Population to talk about interesting aspects of society such as Internet Usage, Access, and Places where it is accessed (and much more).
Stasinos.TV
Author: Stasinos.TV
Type: Visual
It is accessed at http://www.stasinos.tv/News/News.aspx.
It is updated daily.
Description: This is an online Greek visual news site. It is entirely in Greek. Unlike ERT, this site offers a link to various different news outlets around the world to give the viewer a chance to see all kinds of global news. Within the site, it also offers the viewers selective ‘stations’ to view depending on what they want to see such as stations for English news, Greek news, News in Cyprus, Sports news, and more. The main perspective is that of the people in Greece but the ability to change stations to other news outlets around the world grants the ability to view a variety of perspectives. The strengths include that ability and freedom to switch around and view news from all over the world, the easy to use site, and the dark background which is pleasing to the eyes, and much more. The main weakness of this site is that it is entirely in Greek. As done before, Google translate has had to come to the rescue to allow for the navigation of the site. Unlike with news articles Google translate doesn’t take much away from the context as the bulk of the information comes from the videos playing from the various stations. This is a highly valuable source at is not only offers a vast collection of Greek news stations of which to view, but also offers the ability to branch outwards to other news stations giving the viewer a large number of perspectives to analyze.
Naftemporki
Author: P. Athanasiadis & Co
Type: Traditional
It is accessed at http://www.naftemporiki.gr/
It is updated on a daily basis.
Description: This is a traditional news site found within Greece. It is entirely in Greek. There are various types of information that can be found on this site such as Policy, World, and Sports news but the biggest kind of information this site offers is news on the Economy and Markets in Greece. The main perspective for this site is of the Greek people but is more primarily focused on Greek businessmen as this will be one of the first sites they go to each morning to check on the market. One of the biggest strengths of this site is that right at the top there is a real-time display of the markets in Greece which is nifty to see how businesses are doing at this very moment. A few more strengths are the variety of sources, the user-friendly interface, a focus on international news, and so much more. The main weakness that is seen in many of these sources is the need for Google translate to auto-translate the page, thus making it accessible for English speakers. This also has a weakness as some information in the articles may be lost in translation or misconstrued by a poor translation. This is a valuable source as it gives the reader a better, real-time understanding of the economy and markets within Greece, but also allows the reader to drift into other categories if they so desire. The ability to view these market changes in real-time allows for a quick insight into how the economy is fairing.
iKypros
Author: iKypros
Type: New Media
It is accessed at http://ikypros.com/
It is updated on a daily basis.
Description: This is a new media news source from within Cyprus, a Greek island. The site is entirely in Greek. This site offers different information about the people of Cyprus including but not limited to Our Life, Civilization, and Views. Because this is a site about Cyprus and the various people and aspects of the island the main perspectives are the same. The main strength of this source is that it gives the viewer a different perspective of the Greek citizen. Similarly to the ‘Macedonia’ site which gives the view of the northern Greek Citizen, this site gives the views of the citizens of Cyprus, an island located south-east of Greece and is far closer to Turkey. The site is also fairly easy to follow but the main strength has to be this different perspective. The main weaknesses are that Google translate must be activated to navigate the site with ease, and also the fact that this site has this one perspective means it is limited in perspectives. This limitation has its upsides in that it allows the reader to solely see what is going on there and the reaction of the people within Cyprus but is also negative at the same time as it only shows one side of the story at times. Regardless of this downside, this is still a valuable source as if it is used in comparison to mainland Greek news sites, it can be a very important tool in showing the differences in the stories being told and how this perspective can play a role.