ELECTIONS IN GREECE: THE NEWSPAPERS DILEMA

I am in Greece.

This Sunday evening I was visiting some of the municipal election stations in downtown Athens, and I saw the TV crews ready to broadcast at 7 PM the first exit polls.

Then I went to the newsroom of one of the main papers.

Sitting with the political editor and the art director I watched the first TV news about the results.

The paper has more than 30 pages ready to present and analyse these local elections.

Well, it is not going to be easy.

TV is dominating the coverage: polls, commentators, political experts, pollsters, politicians, winners amd losers, instant analysis, data, charts, animated graphics, interviews... including the editor of this newspapers that has TV cameras in his office ready to broadcast his insights.

What the Greek newspapers are going to do tomorrow?

Almost nothing new or more interesting than what we have watched in the last hours of the evening and the first of a long night for many politicians... and journalists.

This is, once more, the great dilema.

Newspaper become unable to play the old news role as their deadlines are against the news.

But also you can not offer too much more quantity or quality analysis than the broadcasting media.

And I did not mention news web sites that still in Greece are not as powerful as in other European countries...

I will tell you tomorrow about the media winners.

Newspapers are going to have a rough time, for sure.

In Greece and everywhere.