The recent incident of the resignation of journalist Dinos Finikaridis from the RIK show From Day to Day, following the decision not to intervene in the show by EDEK MP Kostis Efstathiou, was at the centre of the debate of the Parliament's Internal Affairs Committee. Where is it wrong to ask for intervention in the RIK, the MP asked, while the journalist quoting the facts said that it is a common practice to have an intervention by a public figure and then ask for the reaction of the other side, as was the case in this case. He answered why he returned to the show, while on the part of the RIK, the Chairman of the Board stressed that the freedom of the press and the independence of journalists are non-negotiable.
Mr. Efstathiou, speaking inside the Committee, questioned how bad it was that he wanted to intervene in the RIK. He asked, he said, News and Current Affairs Director Yannis Nikolaou to make the intervention, who asked him to put his request in writing to be evaluated, and for that he called Dinos Finikaridis who told him that he would host him.
As Kostis Efstathiou said, he called RIK at the appointed time and because something had happened with the telephone lines the connection was interrupted. Then, he was contacted by the producer of the show telling him that he would not do the intervention after all and they would then explain to him why. He added that he did not think it was anything serious and that it could possibly have happened due to lack of time or because of some breaking news and more important news.
Efstathiou said it was not something he felt he should open his mouth and say something. Here before the committee, he said, this is the first time he has spoken about the incident. I do not understand, he noted, where it is wrong for me to call and ask to speak to RIK. Commenting on reports that he has been invited and screened most of the time by the other MPs of the EPP, he said as if some people think that for the next 8 months I should not be invited again to a RIK show so that the others can "level" him, then let them not call him again.
Dinos Finikaridis,[/B] speaking before the Commission, presented the facts as he experienced them. He said he had a tip the day before the incident that Kostis Efstathiou would like to intervene on the EDEK issue and added that he, knowing that the MP was in Strasbourg, contacted him, leaving an audio message if he wanted to intervene on his show. The next day, at the morning meeting, he informed the editor-in-chief of this development, saying that he would also contact the EPP if he wanted Mr. Sizopoulos to intervene, and informed him that he would also ask for a comment from Mr. Mirianthous, who would be a guest on a panel of the show.
He said that at 11:20 a.m. he spoke with Mr. Efstathiou and agreed to make an intervention at 12:45 and immediately afterwards called Maria Panagiotou informing her of Efstathiou's intervention and asking her if she would like Mr. At 11:55, as Mr. Finikaridis said, Yannis Nikolaou called the production team and in a strong tone said that if Mr. Efstathiou wants to intervene to submit this demand in writing. Then, he said, he asked the production team to convey to Mr. Nikolaou that he had already asked Mr. Sizopoulos to intervene, that if Mr. Efstathiou does not appear on From Day to Day, Mr. Efstathiou will appear in another show, that his intervention is of great journalistic interest with what happened in the EDEK and, finally, that it is a shame not to make an intervention of Mr. Efstathiou since there was already an understanding and agreement on this.
He said that Mr. Nikolaou insisted on his position that Mr. Efstathiou should not intervene and then Mr. Finikaridis himself asked to be told that if the EDEK MP is cut, he will resign from the show. Mr. Nikolaou's response was that Mr. Finikaridis should put his resignation in writing. Eventually, Mr. Efstathiou was informed that he would not intervene and at around 13:10 the EDEK informed him that Mr. Sizopoulos would not like to speak on the show. Upon exiting the show, Mr. Finikaridis said, he submitted his resignation in writing.
The RIK journalist asked what the problem was if Mr. Efstathiou went out and made an intervention in his show and if Mr. Sizopoulos responded to it, noting that this is a common practice that is followed.
Dinos Fininikaridis then answered why he returned to the show, saying that there were many discussions with the Director General and the Chairman of the Board of Directors of RIK and after receiving a letter from the Director General, he decided to return. The letter stated that his presence on the show was deemed necessary, that the events that led to his resignation would be avoided in the future and that there was full support for his journalistic work and freedom of expression.
RIK's News and Current Affairs Director John Nicolaou in his own recitation of the events at the Commission meeting, first said that he deliberately chose to refrain from any public statement during the whole period in which various things were said and written, most of which contained either half truth or lies. He said he did not want to talk about the event so as not to add fuel to the fire and fuel a public debate that was and should have remained an intra-agency issue.
Then Mr. Nicolaou recounted the events starting with the phone call he received on Thursday 28 April at 13:45 from Mr Efstathiou, asking him to go on the show for statements, to which he replied that "anyone who calls and asks does not go on TV". At the same time, he urged him to issue a statement and send it in writing to RIK and if it was deemed that he should be given a platform, he would either make a statement or the statement would be broadcast.
The next day, Mr. Nikolaou, when he found that Mr. Efstathiou was included in the show for an interview, he called the producer asking for an explanation, receiving the reply that an intervention had just been arranged through a telephone conversation between Mr. Efstathiou and Mr. Finikaridis. Then, Mr. Nikolaou told the producer that the MP should not go on the show, explaining what had preceded it.
Mr. Nikolaou then referred to the events that followed the resignation letter and the answer he had given to Mr. Finikaridis, saying, among other things, that after a telephone conversation he considered that the incident and the tension had been defused.
The Chairman of the Board of Directors of RIK Michael Michael said that there is no complaint from a journalist of the institution that there is no freedom of expression at RIK, as all journalists are free to invite whoever they want to their shows without any interference.
He said that no intervention was made about the incident for Mr. Efstathiou and that the whole incident was due to a miscommunication created in the News Department. He said that the EPP MP was called on the show too many times and there was no reason for RIK to "cut him off" on that particular day.
In statements after the session, he said that the freedom of the press and the independence of journalists are non-negotiable.
He also announced that structural changes were being promoted at RIK and already, he said, legal advisers had been instructed to prepare proposals for changes in RIK's legislation and regulations, especially in the field of information, so that the public broadcaster would be in line with the current standards of society and the state.
RIK's Director General Thanasis Tsokos within the Commission said that the institution is audited by the Radio and Television Authority and the management after studying the Authority's report has not found anything negative for the operation of RIK. On the contrary, Mr. Tsokos said, the Authority finds and declares that RIK is fully performing its duty.
He noted that there was no intention to cut Kostis Efstathiou and attributed the incident to poor inter-agency communication. He said that there was an effort and understanding with Dinos Finikaridis and for this reason the journalist was reinstated to his duties.
The Chairman of the Internal Affairs Committee Aristos Damianou, in a statement after the meeting, said that despite the fact that the discussion has not been completed, some safe conclusions can be drawn. First, he said that journalistic ethics and the freedom of the journalist must be respected Also, it should be noted that the self-evident right of a public figure, an elected MP to take a stand on issues of public interest was obstructed by an internal procedure at RIK.
He stressed that both inside and outside Parliament, efforts will continue so that the obvious political interference in the RIK and elsewhere - and we have no illusions because it has always existed - will be reduced and at the same time the problems will be reduced.
In her intervention within the Committee, the President of the Committee on Journalistic Ethics, Elli Kotzamanis said that there is a question of freedom of expression not of the medium but of the journalist, as the right of the journalist to control and choose who to invite and how to control his/her broadcast is in question. He added that the phenomenon of interference is worrying and noted that in a report by Reporters Without Borders on freedom of expression, Cyprus has slipped from 25th to 64th place.
The President of the Cyprus Union of Journalists George Fragos in his intervention to the Commission said that it is true that freedom of expression in Cyprus has been eroded and there is indeed a downward trend. Regarding the incident, Fragos said that the Union from the first moment it was informed stood by the side of the journalist,[/B] who clearly defended with his stance the journalistic ethics and his dignity and for this stance he congratulated him.
Meanwhile, in a memorandum to the Commission, the ISOTHITA Guild states that the relationship between supervisors and employees must be governed by the appropriate mutual respect, an essential element, for the performance of the journalistic function, noting that the mission of Public Television is and must be to be impartial and to present the truth, even if sometimes certain issues may conflict with the personal code of beliefs of each of its officials.
Source: CNA
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