A Student Perspective: Maritime Press in Greece

Nowadays, it goes without saying that the media influences not only the policy of the maritime industry but the whole world’s in general. This is the reason why the role of news is so important. In Greece maritime industry is one of the most important industries and although the country’s economy is in crisis, the specific industry shows an upward trend. Thus, maritime news is essential for the maritime industry in Greece.

Greece is the top ship owning country in the world, consequently, business owners as well their employees want to be informed constantly. Whoever is interested gets updated by newspapers, magazines and the internet. “Naftemporiki” is the most well known newspaper in Greece that has news of general interest but specializes in news concerning the maritime industry. Also, in Greece a lot of magazines are being released regarding the maritime industry and the most recognized is “Efoplistis”. The precise magazine is dealing with maritime news all over the world and often has articles about success stories of Greek ship owners. This is very useful for young people who are new in business because they can follow the example of these stories and maybe have a success story of their own.

Nowadays, most people want to learn their news from the internet because it has easy access but, more important, the news is released 24/7. Thus, people can stay up to date more easily. Moreover, magazines and newspapers have realized this situation and they upload their news on their sites like “Nafetmporiki” in http://www.naftemporiki.gr/ and “Efoplistis” in http://www.efoplistis.gr/index.php . In this way they try to approach the new generation; these days, people are getting more and more familiar with the internet and they use it more than newspapers and magazines. The online daily newspapers are getting more frequent and they are used more than the others. The benefit of this is that people who live abroad or travel abroad can see the news in a easier way. It is commonly known that news concerning maritime news of world is fascinating for the whole world since Greece is one of the most important shipping countries in the world. Some of the most well-known online news papers are “Hellenic Shipping News” http://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/ , http://www.ship.gr/ and “Greek Shipping News” http://www.greekshippingnews.gr/.

Moreover, Greece is a very lucky country since it has so many positive models in the field of the maritime industry. Consequently, young people entering this industry will have many examples and media can forward them. Since the media is expressing the public opinion, they also influence the policy of the maritime industry not only in Greece but also globally. Taking everything into consideration, I believe that since maritime press is so important people working in the maritime industry should be more active and if they see some mistakes in the articles they should contact the editors to make the proper corrections. Maritime news of Greece is fascinating for the whole world since Greece is one of the most important maritime countries in the world.

Michaela Sympoura, MA International Maritime Policy Student