Mediablog: When journalism gets buried by the algorithm

Chrysanthos

First comes the scoop… and then ethics, maybe later?

The race to be “first” has once again trampled every boundary. A story involving minors, and all the consequences for their families, was treated like the trailer for a new reality show that simply had to air at any cost. Details were spread with the fervor of breaking national emergency news. Some sites stopped just short of going live. And thank goodness they didn’t scream the children’s names or air the shocking video.

No one paused to consider that we are talking about children. And clearly troubled ones at that. Of course, the more troubled, the juicier, the more “clickable.” Welcome to the carnival of clickbait.

There is not a shred of awareness that flashy headlines and breathless reports are written over the lives of children who may bear the stigma for years. Instead of reflection and restraint, the mantra was the same old “let’s get it first.” As if this were a movie trailer and not a case demanding absolute discretion.

And if that weren’t enough: in their rush, some even sent the “story” to Greece so it could make the front pages there too. The humiliation became international. Because even in the motherland, journalism ethics are not exactly thriving. Other outlets copied the headlines, amplifying the sexual and familial angles, throwing the children into the merciless click-bait battlefield.

Minors? Families? Lifelong stigma? None of it mattered. For most news sites, only the “hot” video mattered, and the faster the better.

The scramble for clicks was so frantic that journalistic ethics were buried beneath the algorithm. The self-evident truth, that these are children, was thrown out the window. And once again, the Press Ethics Committee had to step in and wag its finger. Reminding us, again, of the basics that should be instinctive for anyone with a keyboard who calls themselves a journalist.

And the otherwise vocal Union of Cyprus Journalists; why the silence? Didn’t they notice this latest outrage? Or is the board still on holiday?

New TV season: When déjà vu becomes prime time

Cyprus’s new television season looks like a second-hand market: a few new shows, some slightly old, and some so ancient they should come with an archaeological bulletin. Cypriot channels have long had the golden formula: take a program from Athens, slap on your logo, and voilà,  “new” programming!

Almost every season, Cypriot TV turns into an outlet store for Greek productions, many of them used goods.

While streaming platforms in Greece chase innovation, in Cyprus “new” is defined differently: whatever MEGA, SKAI, ANT1, or ALPHA re-air becomes a “premiere” here. It’s as if they’re saying: “Missed The Voice the first time? Don’t worry, we’ve got you. Now with Cypriot ads!” And this applies not just to The Voice but to nearly every Greek production, sometimes years after its original run.

Again, it’s a bit like a family dinner: Greece cooks, Cyprus warms it up. Often with so much pride you wonder if they realize it’s just reheated moussaka. Yes, new productions arrive, but they’re so few and buried beneath the imports that they vanish in the schedule. It’s like ordering fast food but still putting one homemade dish on the table.

Between reality shows, series we’ve seen two or three times, and Greek formats that score big ratings at home but just fill gaps here, the Cypriot viewer feels trapped in a TV time capsule. Native productions? Few, discreet, hidden among the Greek glut like a tiny walnut treat in an all-inclusive buffet.

So the new season launches with plenty of “new” that smells very old. In other words: welcome to the season where déjà vu is prime time.

The riddle of Yiannis
It’s now official: journalist and Head of News Yiannis Nikolaou has left CyBC. He announced it on social media, where he received many supportive messages. After 36 years at the broadcaster, he wrote, he leaves “holding only the positives, which were more and more important.”

But in a post from July 20 about his early retirement, he left a riddle that still hangs unanswered:

“I hope my departure will shake some people into looking at the News Department with the respect it deserves, and giving it the tools to provide what it must to society and the homeland. Let this be my ultimate contribution.”

And then he left, without clarifying who needed shaking or what exactly must change for CyBC, heavily funded as it is, to fulfill its mission to society and the nation.

Let’s hope he finds the strength someday to truly shake those who must make the decisions. Decisions that perhaps weren’t made while he himself held responsibility at CyBC.

What the ratings say
To Navagio (The Shipwreck), aired by ALPHA, remains unshakable at the top. During August 25–31, Nielsen reports it took the first five spots in the TOP 50, and more.

In 5th place: a rerun of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, saving ANT1, which has no new series to show. The Shipwreck also ranks 6th and 11th. Millionaire appears again in 7th, with Greece vs. Italy basketball in 8th (on ALPHA). Millionaire in 9th, and the persistent Land of Olives in 10th, also appearing at 12, 14, 15, and 17. The rest is filled by Millionaire reruns.

Last week, the gap between ALPHA and ANT1 widened to 5%.

The Cyprus–Greece EuroBasket game ranked only 16th, with 20% viewership.

Notably, SIGMA returned to the TOP 50 after a long absence, at 25 with the quiz show Ψ (12% viewership). Time will tell if SIGMA can maintain this. Other appearances: Still Standing at 40, and the movie The Day the Earth Stood Still at 47. SIGMA’s overall viewership remains the lowest among Cyprus’s five major channels.

OMEGA’s TOP 50 entries came from reruns of Wheel of Fortune, which brought six appearances, plus one for the travel show Eikones. OMEGA remains the third most-watched channel.

Channel rankings
Nielsen ratings for August 25–31:

TelREST: 42.4% (steadily first as everything Cypriots watch outside traditional channels)

ALPHA: 14.7%

ANT1: 10%

OMEGA: 8.4%

CyBC1: 7.2%

Other CY: 7.8%

SIGMA: 5.4%

ERT World: 2.4%

CyBC2: 1.6%

This opinion was translated from its Greek original.