Alterthess is an organised journalistic Social Cooperative Enterprise (SCE) that encompasses journalism research, the writing of articles, and the production of audiovisual material to express diverse viewpoints and provide an alternative to dominant mainstream media outlets.

Its main coverage areas include environment, social rights, refugee issues, and gender violence.

It started operating in 2010, aiming to fill the void of media coverage about the impact of austerity measures in Greece on the life of the lower social classes.

Through its reporting, the team of Alterthess “struggles against nationalism and all kinds of discrimination, as it is also a matter of credible information,” says co-founder Stavroula Poulimeni. Like several other independent Greek media, Alterthess provides visibility for people and movements that cannot find a place in mainstream media.

For the last decade, Alterthess has documented the impact of Hellas Gold, one of the biggest mining companies in Greece, and its operations on the environment and the local community. In 2021, the organisation and its journalist Stavroula Poulimeni were targeted after publishing an article on the conviction of Hellas Gold’s mining executive for environmental damage.

Alterthess is one of the few small independent media in Greece that is not based in Athens, providing critical reporting on local topics in Thessaloniki.

Last updated date: February 2025

Location:
Thessaloniki, Greece
Year the organisation started publishing:
2010
Languages:
English
Greek
Type of coverage:
International
Countries of coverage:
Cyprus
France
Greece
Italy
North Macedonia
United Kingdom
Turkey

Content

Type of content produced by theme:
Entertainment and culture
Education
Law and crime
Environment
Politics
Society and human rights
Gender
Feminism
LGBTIQ+
Ethnic minorities
Religious minorities
DEIA: Diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility
Refugees
Migration
War crimes and transitional justice
Journalism genres:
Essays
Interviews and reporting
Graphic novels and comics
Opinion
Investigative journalism
Narrative journalism
Journalism coverage types and techniques:
Crowdsourcing
Collaborative journalism
Live coverage of events
Tech platforms and other mediums used:
Website
Social media platforms
Twitter
Facebook
Instagram
Podcast
YouTube
Primary tech platform or medium used to publish content:
Website

Audience and reach

Social media audience

Facebook number of followers:
14000
Twitter number of followers:
7940
Instagram number of followers:
846
YouTube number of followers:
1510

Management and team

Founders

Female:
1
Male:
4
Founders:
Iason Bantios, Theofilos Kalaitzidis, Stavroula Poulimeni, Vasilis Stolis, Dimitris Tosidis
Directors:
Stavroula Poulimeni, Theofilos Kalaitzidis, Menelaos Exioglou

Team

Full-time employees:
1
Freelancers or consultants:
1
Volunteers:
5

Business structure and revenue sources

Organisation tax status:
For-profit
All revenue sources reported by media leaders:
Crowdfunding campaigns for fundraising
Grants
Grants from private donor organisations
Advertising
Local advertising sold by own team
Consultancy services
Training services for other clients
Content services for others
Content development for other non-journalistic companies
Content development for NGOs
Audience support / reader revenue
Individual donations
The primary source of revenue reported by media leaders:
Grants
The second most important revenue source reported:
Content development for NGOs

Transparency

Doesn’t publish information about annual revenue
Publishes the names of donors
Has an ethics policy / manual
Publishes an ethics policy / manual
Has a data privacy policy
Publishes a data privacy policy
Doesn’t have a whistleblower policy
Doesn’t have a complaints policy
Has a sexual harassment or institutional violence policy
Doesn’t publish a sexual harassment or institutional violence policy
Is not signed up to a press regulator, trust initiative, or part of a press association
Does not publish up to date information about its team
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