Deutsche Welle History, 1973: Owls to Athens

Der Spiegel, February 12, 1973, “Personal Data” column

Walter Steigner (60), “Deutsche Welle” director, didn’t let a fellow partisan have his say. In an interview with Deutsche Welle staffer Vassili Mavridis, SPD member of parliament Dieter Schinzel had argued against a trip by foreign minister [Walter Scheel] to Athens (“a visit would be seen as support for the junta”), and tendered his interviewer a tape with a 90-seconds commentary by oppositional former [Greek] minister Georgios Mavros (“A visit by the German foreign minister would be seen as a blow at the Greek democrats —“). The social democratic [Deutsche Welle] director however considered it “politically questionable when a member of parliament accepts a tape and expects us to broadcast it”, and therefore banned the broadcast – Schinzel’s scolding [in his actual interview with Mavridis], too. The parlamentarian believes that the Deutsche Welle Greek broadcasts’ “information content” is dwindling anyway, in favor of Greek folklore: “Folk music – that’s what they can listen to in Athen’s broadcasts just as well”.

“Music contest between Apollo and Marsyas”, Voice of Greece QSL card, 1985.

____________

Related

» Greek Military Junta 1967 – 1974, Wikipedia, acc. 20130111

» Related tag: Deutsche Welle
____________

Tags: democracy, Deutsche Welle, diplomacy, Europe, Germany, Greece, history, human rights, international, media, propaganda, shortwave radio