As Insults Fly in the Greek and German Media, Some Wish for Less News

The entire Greek news media is obsessed with Germany. (The German media is fascinated with Greece, too.) This is not surprising, given that Greece is staring at default on its debt and economic disaster, possibly as early as June, unless it can reach a deal with creditors — and Germany is its biggest creditor and the most immovable objector to concessions.

So every blunt utterance from Wolfgang Schäuble, Germany’s finance minister, can dominate the news, as can the typically more opaque remarks from Chancellor Angela Merkel. Even backbench German lawmakers — whose views might be ignored in their own country’s news media — can merit airtime in Greece by tossing a rhetorical grenade about the bailout. How the mutual media fascination might influence the delicate bailout negotiations is its own point of discussion. Some analysts and politicians have sharply criticized the news coverage, even as politicians or their proxies have frequently leaked information from the negotiating room, often with strategic intent.