Lia-Paschalia Spyridou

No one would disagree on the importance of press freedom and freedom of expression. But it is utterly naïve to disconnect press freedom from the notion of media power. According to a survey published in April 2016 in Greece, nearly one out of every two respondents (47%) agrees with the statement that “we have democracy on paper but not in practice”. 45% of the respondents claim that “participation in the elections is meaningless because at the end the foreigners decide”.

The article investigates evolutionary trends in online news presentation and delivery in the light of convergence dynamics. The case study of Greece is an example of how convergence ideas are ‘normalised’ in the actual content due to countering forces exercised by the dominant professional culture and organisational models in the news business.