"Television has brought crime back home, where it belongs," Alfred Hitchcock. As one of the most gruesome and tragic cases of the deaths of three children takes place, the scandal-hungry television audience enjoys an update of many dimensions. From the purely police and judicial information, the result of journalistic work and research, but also the predictions of the café owners, the testimonies of companions of the persons involved in the case since their teenage years, statements of neighbours who "saw the light and got in". A maelstrom of information, both useful and useless, surrounding three children who, it seems, died in a gruesome manner indicative of a criminal act.
Indeed, such is the familiarity with the chilling information in this case that many journalists and ordinary citizens refer to the persons involved in it by calling them by their names. The information about Manos Daskalakis and Roula Pispirigou accompany the coffee, concern everyone, lead to conclusions, and constitute a brilliant field of action for the whole of television broadcasting. Shows with a purely entertaining character have recently neglected the hair pulling of the socialites, limited the appearances of influencers and abandoned the action of the reality arena in order to join the carousel of revelations. The ratings part is sweet. And the case sells. At least for a while longer, until the next story is found.
It is unprecedented that the parents of the three children and many members of their close family circle are watching shows, intervening to deny or confirm information and giving interviews every three and a half hours. What Pispirigou ate, how much she smoked, what the cup said, what song Daskalakis was nominated for a talent show with, what she wore to court, what furniture the landlady had. A complete keyhole repertoire and even scattered throughout the shows and available to anyone interested, who now enjoys his freddo listening to details of some people's lives and forgetting the lives that have been lost.
All this has turned television upside down. In a year where 15% is considered a great achievement and 25% a record, four shows are pulling the ratings chariot and looking invincible. "Light at the Tunnel" with Angeliki Nikolouli, "Live news" with Nikos Evangelatos, "Truths with Zina" with Zina Koutselini and "T Live" with Tatiana Stefanidou. All with very high ratings, all with many exclusive reports, all with collaborators who play an important role and all with presenters who are journalists who do not investigate but are themselves heads of investigations and coordinators of the TV air.
These are the old guard of journalists, people who are in their second and third decade of television careers, people who have had huge successes, who have been talked about for many reasons, who have paused and come back.
Every tunnel has a light at the end
The transfer of Angeliki Nikolouli from ALPHA to MEGA was a very important event that led the channel to absolute vindication. Here we are talking about a journalist who has solved major cases, kidnappings, disappearances, murders. The most important of them still stand as major successes. Like when in 1997 the 44-year-old businessman George Nicolaides and his 31-year-old partner Soula Kalathaki disappeared. At the request of the Kalathaki family, the show investigates the case and leads to a major revelation, as a double kidnapping and murder by the businessman's friend and associate Takis Krampi, who was a member of a gang that acted against businessmen, extracting large sums of money.
One year later, 27-year-old Tania Haritopoulou disappears from Polihni in Thessaloniki. Her companion Spyros Kavvadias turns to "Light in the tunnel" and some mistakes he makes lead to the solution of the riddle. The 3-year-old child describes the murder of his mother and in the process it becomes known that his former partner was also murdered. He did not confess. One of the most talked about cases was that of 20-year-old Kiki from Veroia. Her friend Danos Mouratidis, no matter how much he tries to convince her of his concern, is betrayed by contradictions while the revelation of details from the girl's personal notes reveal the drama she lived through. The body was found as well as the culprit, who was none other than her partner.
The 23-year-old Kostis Polyzos, the child whose death shocked the nation, disappeared in 2011 in Siatista Kozani. A few months later, his body was found in his stepfather's field. Unfortunately, the outcome of this case was even more tragic because the murder was committed by his family and for financial reasons. His lifeless body was never found and it was one of the top cases of vicious bullying and TV hysteria for many months. The reason for the disappearance of 11-year-old Alex in Veroia in 2006. But what the authorities failed to do, Nikolouli and her team managed to do, leading to the solution of the horrible riddle. Five minors confessed to the fatal injury of little Alex, only to recant afterwards. The children took him to an uninhabited house and left him helpless to die.
Two days later they put the dead child in a cart, covered him up and carried him to the Barbuda River where he was dumped, with the result that his body was never found and his martyred mother was unable to bury her child. There are many more cases. And of course there will be more. And every time the "Greek Miss Marple" is led to the solution of the mystery, red prevails. Whether as a stylistic detail or as a basic accessory. And even though she denies it herself saying "I wear the comfortable red jacket and dark jeans. When I'm investigating mysterious cases like tonight's, I prefer the colour red, although I haven't investigated why for so many years."
Old caravans reloaded
We are not now introduced to Nikos Evangelatos. "Live news" on MEGA marked yet another television return, among the many he has made on many channels either as a news anchor or through journalistic shows. He is much talked about and with a firm focus on social reporting.
The Patras affair is butter on his bread and that is why he achieves record ratings for his last two years at MEGA, with percentages exceeding 30%, becoming a reference point in the afternoon zone and even an object of debate and satire for his graphics, which in some cases went beyond the limit.
Similarly, Zina Koutselini on STAR, whose "Truths with Zina" is not the first time she has conquered her viewing zone with record ratings. Koutselini has for years turned her attention to social reporting and with a very strong journalistic team which, in addition to journalists, includes police analysts, lawyers and mental health experts, she deals exclusively with social issues. Its audience reaches 30%, which exceeds in quarters.
Very important is the contribution of Thanasis Katerinopoulos, who has been working steadily with the station. Finally, Tatiana Stefanidou, who since the beginning of her cooperation with ALPHA has rarely achieved double-digit ratings, is flirting with 20% and is now considered one of the channel's most successful signings. Years in the shows, Tatiana fortunately abandoned the dark or rather the yellow shade of the midday zone with gossip and topics we all want to forget and turned her attention to reporting. The recipe in this case too is not significantly different. A good team of journalists, total control of development and investigations by the head of the show and a fast pace.
Presumably, next season, another trend that will begin to dominate the post-summer of television will be journalist-presenters leading social programmes. Those who don't have one, played and lost.
Source: protothema.gr
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