By Marianna Tziantzi

Alpha Channel’s Wednesday evening news bulletin featured a wild clash between outspoken journalist Nikos Kakaounakis and Deputy Labor Minister Gerasimos Giakoumatos on the woes of jobless citizens.

The messy argument was disappointing after the well-made report that preceded it featuring unemployed citizens talking about their plight.

But the bitter reality of these people’s lives is much more difficult to stomach than the political commentary and the shifting of blame from one government to the other.

“We have no future, no prospects,” a former employee of the Astera Hotel in Vouliagmeni told the TV cameras. Others expressed their regrets at having brought children into the world.

It seems evident that unemployment will be “the fashion” in news bulletins this fall.

Meanwhile, oblivious to such concerns, gossip shows continue to milk their stock subjects of betrayal and perversity in relationships. Alter offers around five hours of such “entertainment” daily while ANT1, Star and Alpha follow with about two hours each. If we count the “soft” gossip of morning chat shows, we are being bombarded with around 16 hours of this drivel daily.

The airtime dedicated to news coverage is almost negligible in comparison.