The Impact of Social Media on Press Freedom in Greece: Benefits, Challenges and Limitations

• Main Author: Katerina SERAFEIM
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Etudes Scientifiques Spécialisées Appliquées aux Communications Humaines, Economiques, Sociales et Symboliques 2012-01-01
• Series: Essachess
• Subjects: social media; press freedom; mass media; user-generated content; Greek media landscape
• Online Access: http://www.essachess.com/index.php/jcs/article/view/157/142

The purpose of the essay is to put light on the expansion of social media in news broadcasting in Greece, highlighting their impact on press freedom and freedom of expression. Taken for granted that the media in Greece (television, radio and print press) have created, except from their “traditional version”, social media profiles (facebook profile, twitter etc.) in order to disseminate the news, the essay investigates the interconnection between the aforementioned use of social media and press freedom. In addition, special focus is given to the challenges that appear from the emergence of social media as news platforms and to the debate that has occurred “for” and “against” this new role of them. Moreover, the essay puts light to some crucial questions that arise:Do social media in Greece, as news platforms, extend freedom of expression and how do they accomplish that? Does the fact that social media empower journalists to provide journalism in more ways than one through tweets, postings, and video and photo uploads, enhance journalists’ freedom of expression and, in a wider sense, the freedom of the press? Has the invasion of social media in the news flow and coverage changed the media landscape in Greece?