Greek daily Eleftheros Typos shut down just before noon today and said a heartfelt thank you to its readers after 26 years.

Stakeholders voted unanimously in a June 19 meeting to cease operations of Eleftheros Typos and e-tipos.com due to continued losses and poor industry outlook, ending an attempt to modernize public debate and revive the newspaper’s former glory achieved by founders Aris and Lilian Boudouris. For shipping magnate Theodoris Angelopoulos and former Athens 2004 President Gianna Angelopoulou-Daskalaki, it also marked the power couple’s exit from the media business.

Various Greek news sources reported that between 300-450 journalists and administrative support staff lost their jobs.

Though it had been losing readership to left-leaning competitors, the once popular newspaper of the eighties retained its influence and had a historically significant name that Angelopoulos felt was worth saving in 2006 and could be used as a vehicle to diversify news. Eleftheros Typos means Free Press in English. However, the next year, a much-needed makeover more than doubled debts to €34 million.

The Journalists Union of Athens Daily Newspapers called a 24-hour strike of print, digital and broadcast media starting today at 17:00 local Greek time to protest the closure of ET and highlight issues of transparency, redundancy and unpaid workers in the media industry.

My connection

Less than five months after starting livingingreece.gr, which was then called An American in Athens, Marios Rozakos was kind enough to include this website/blog in an article called “Kαθρέφτης της πόλης το Διαδίκτυο – Η Αθήνα με τα μάτια Ελλήνων και ξένων bloggers” or “Reflections of a city on the Internet — Athens through the eyes of Greek and foreign bloggers.” See, “American in Athens in Eleftheros Typos”

It was the first time the Greek media took notice of this website and did not plagiarize me, and I am humbled and grateful there have been others since. But you never forget your first.

The sudden death of Free Press is somehow symbolic of the times we live in, and I can’t help but wonder if its demise is an indication of what’s ahead in Greece’s uncertain future.

Related posts

“Greek media, now with less racism”
“The government must stop media favoritism” — Kathimerini
“Eleftheros Typos wins Best Designed European Newspaper Award” — Editors Weblog

Follow former employees of Eleftheros Typos

Eleftheros Typos Blog — ergazomenoieleftherostipos.blogspot.com
Eleftheros Typos Ex-Employees Twitter feed — twitter.com/ergazomenoi_ET

Sources

Eleftheros Typos Online — e-tipos.com (now offline)
“Κλείνει ο Ελεύθερος Τύπος” — Ta Nea
“Κλείνουν Ελεύθερος Τύπος και City 99,5” — Eleftherotypia
“Ιστορικό του «Ελεύθερου Τύπου»” (removed) — Kathimerini
“Εικοσιτετράωρη απεργία στα ΜΜΕ για το «λουκέτο» σε Ελεύθερο Τύπο και City” — Eleftherotypia