Madonna΄s party

The revelation that the “San Giacomo” Municipal Choir was taking part in Madonna’s birthday party reportedly resulted in the choir being excluded from the event, at least according to what is being said unofficially. Enimerosi, which has been held responsible for this development, sincerely regrets this.

Even if the choir members had agreed to confidentiality terms, however, there was nothing obliging the newspaper or its website to treat the information as off the record, since no one had asked them to do so. A retrospective demand that confirmed news not be published cannot constitute a rule of journalistic practice. It would amount to self-censorship.

Even more so when the presence of another local cultural association at the same party would seem to indicate that the barriers to publicity were rather less strict. After all, the “priestess of pop’s” movements in Corfu were already known in considerable detail, while the presence of a well-known Greek journalist, with videos and photographs from the event, confirms that this was a secret shared by quite a few people.

In this context, the initial denial of a story that was already known to many, followed almost simultaneously by the “demand” that the relevant post be removed from the Enimerosi website, is puzzling.

It is a disappointing development for us as well. There was clearly no intention whatsoever to expose or diminish the Choir — quite the opposite is evident from the article itself. The report was accurate and up to date, as it was our duty to ensure it was. Because that is precisely what our job is.

Enimerosi only withdraws articles in exceptional circumstances, when they are proven to be substantially inaccurate and insisting on keeping them published ceases to be journalistic integrity and becomes professional obstinacy. That was not the case here.

After all, Enimerosi readers choose it to write. Not to not write.

GIORGOS KATSAITIS