The timely and objective information of the Greek people is a cornerstone of our democratic regime.
Moderator
George Evgenidis, Journalist
Experts
Dimitris Reppas, former Government Spokesman, PASOK
Theodoros Roussopoulos, former Government Spokesman, New Democracy
#Politics #Society #Leadership #Howto
A penetrating look behind the scenes of the production of political speech and political messages towards society. The timely and objective information of the Greek people is a cornerstone of our democratic regime. "Morning coffee" is emerging as a crucial institution, especially in times of political, social and economic events of great importance.
Who participates in the selection of messages towards the people?
What are the criteria for selecting messages?
How important is the verbiage of the message? Are there any particular specifications?
Are there any “forbidden” or “necessary” words?
What formal qualifications but also what characteristics/skills should the government spokesperson have?
What has been the most difficult political message you were asked to manage and how did you deal with it?
George Evgenidis graduated from the German School of Athens. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Political Science from the Free University of Berlin and a Master's degree in Communication and New Media from the Free University of Brussels.
He has been working since 2013 as a political editor for news websites and newspapers. Since the summer of 2019 he has been working at SKAI channel.
Dimitris Reppas was born in 1952 in Leonidio, Arcadia. He graduated from the School of Dentistry of the University of Athens, and he was one of the founding members of the Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) in 1974. From the early 1990s he was one of the leaders of the so-called "captain team" of PASOK, which in 1996 helped Costas Simitis to prevail in the succession of Andreas Papandreou. He was elected Member of Parliament for Arcadia with PASOK in the elections of 1981, June 1989, November 1989, 1993, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2007, 2009 and 2012. He served as Minister of Press and Mass Media and as Government Spokesman from January 1996 to October 2001. He also served as Minister of Labour and Social Security (2001-2004), Minister of Infrastructure,Transport and Networks (2009-2011) and Minister of Administrative Reform and Electronic Governance (2011-2012).
Theodoros Roussopoulos was born on September 13, 1963 in Kyparissia, Messinia.
From 1981 to 2000 he worked as a journalist (Eleftherotypia, Nea Mesimvrini, Kathimerini) and was one of the founders of the first non-state radio station in the country (Athens 9,84) and the first private television station (Mega) as well as editor-in-chief of political reporting, director and presenter of news programs and shows.
In August 2000, at the invitation of Kostas Karamanlis, he became a Government Spokesman of the ruling New Democracy party, in charge of the communication policy. In March 2004 he became Minister of State in charge of media affairs and until October 2008 he was holding his position as a government spokesman. The new legal framework for the media and licensing, the digital age, the National Audiovisual Archive and the codification of press laws were proposed by him. Since 2009 he has been lecturing on European Institutions after the crisis at Pepperdine University of California and since 2015 he has been a professor of communication at the European University of Cyprus. He also holds a PhD in History from the University of Edinburgh on the national identity of the Greeks of Venice in the 17th century.
