Irene Nikolopoulou is a journalist,
one of the longest - standing presenters of news bulletins and
programmes on Greek television. She made a name for herself from the
exclusive
interviews she held with international personalities and was the main
host of
the two official programmes of the Organizing Committee for the Athens
Olympic
Games in 2004.
CHILDHOOD AND TEENAGE YEARS
She was born and raised in the district of Profitis Ilias in Piraeus; she attended the 47th Elementary
School and later studied at the 1st State High School for Girls, while from the
age of 6 she began to learn French. Showing a particular flair
for the arts, she was involved with singing and the theatre throughout
her time
at High School and into her first years at University.
As her mother, Aikaterini Tagalou, came from Ermioni, she spent her
childhood
summers on this Argolidian peninsula, while she regularly visited
Tropaia and
Langadia Gortynias in Arcadia, both villages of her grandparents on her
father
Leonidas’ side. She fell in love with the cinema from her early years, as she
always accompanied her film-maker father to the outdoor «Cine Alhambra» in
Ambelokipi.
UNIVERSITY STUDIES – EARLY CAREER
She studied Law, Public Law and Political Science at the National and
Kapodistrian University of Athens (1976 – 1981). While also involved in the
theatrical department at the University, she took lessons in elocution,
morphophonology and drama.
She intended to become an interpreter, but her plans were upset so she
sought a new professional direction and perfected her knowledge of the French,
English and Italian languages, studying at Oxford, Nice and Nancy in France and
Luxemburg (Universite de Νancy, Universite des Sciences et des Lettres –
Nice, Oxford University – Bletchington Park College, Institut Universitaire de
Luxembourg). She also received a scholarship from the Ministry of National
Economy to attend the College d’ Europe (Bruges).
In early 1983 she taught French and English at private schools and was hired as
an air traffic controller by the Civil Aviation Authority, a position which she
left 3 months later to take up journalism. An electronic journalist from the start
of her career, in State television (ΕRT2) for 9 years, in private channels for about 15 years (MEGA, STAR,
ALPHA), before returning to ET1 in 2005 and to the satellite channel
ERT
WORLD which addresses
the Greek Diaspora.
PROFESSIONAL CAREER
She worked as a newscaster and presenter, editor and reporter on
European and international issues. She travelled to many parts of the world and
held exclusive interviews with political leaders, famous artists and eminent
people from the arts, letters and sciences.
TELEVISION
Newscaster and presenter (1983 – 1991), editor – overseas
reporter on ΕΤ – 2, newscaster and presenter on Mega Channel (1991-1999),
newscaster and presenter on Star Channel (1999-2003), newscaster on Alpha
(September 2003 – 2005), newscaster on ΕΤ
– 1 (2005 – 2010), presenter of «Greek
Panorama» (2-hour live programme) on ERT – WORLD (2006 - 2010). She
also hosted the programme of the 2004 Athens Olympic Games Organizing
Committee «Olympiada Oli I
Ellada (Olympiad throughout Greece)»
(2002-2004) and the English-speaking programme «Celebrating Cultural
Olympiad» broadcast on Eurosport.
"25 years on air, career flash back"
INFORMATIVE
PROGRAMMES – MISSIONS
She hosted and was the editor in charge on Greek television’s Breakfast TV show on ET2 (1988-1989)
entitled «TA PROINA (In the Mornings)».The show’s theme tune was written by the well-known composer Giorgos
Hatzinasios, and it was the first time that morning news reporting was
combined with a presentation of topics and people from the arts. When she was hired
by Mega Channel shewasaskedtohostnewsandbreakfast shows 3 times (Studio 5 – Froufrou), while the same happened at STAR (Mera me
ti mera – Day by Day).
Through out her career in television she organized special missions overseas to meet personalities such as Benazir Bhutto (Islamabad, twice in
1989 with ET2), the exiled Yasser Arafat (Tunis, Mega 1982), Lech
Walesa (Warsaw, Gdansk, Mega 1994), Corazon Aquino (Manila, 1991)
etc. Breaking news wasalsothereasonforspecialmissions, such as covering the death of Princess
Diana which turned into the biggest television event of all time (London,
1997).
She was also invited to China, then emerging into the western world, by
the country’s official journalists’ union (Peking, Xian, Shanghai, 1997).
Presenter
– chief editor of three special programmes on ΕΡΤ-2 with three famous singers as guests, Charles Aznavour, Shirley
Bassey and Tina Turner. At the same time she was on the panels at
all elections and presented breaking news, such as the fall of communism in
Eastern Europe, Chernobyl, the Gulf War, the collapse of the twin towers, etc.
She
took part in the 15-day television show «O kosmos kai o Typos (the World and
the Press)» (1986), the television charity marathon for children with
thalassemia (1987) as well as in the ERT television marathons for Unicef
(2005-2010) and the children of Palestine.
JOURNALISTIC EDITING IN TELEVISIONSPECIAL DEDICATIONS
Journalistic editorial work in special dedications and documentaries, such as «Simone de Beauvoir – Jean Paul Sartre»,
«Presidential elections
- France»
(1988), «AIDS and Women
– Roundtable»
(1990), «Woman and the Media»
(1991), «Presidential elections
- USA»
(1992), «The Palestinian question» (1993), «In Pakistani Greece» – Documentary
(1996), «World without clouds – Poland» (1997), «Mission to China» (1998), «Documentary
on Greece, EURONEWS» (1999) «Cyprus» (2009), «30 years of European elections»
(2009).
In 2004 she was invited by the European Parliament to host: i) the event «The Olympic Idea in Europe» ii) the conference – television broadcast on «The Expansion of Europe
– New Neighbours» joined by personalities of European repute and
with links to Greece, Rumania, Poland and Turkey, and iii)
the conference – television broadcast on the subject of «Europe, Union of
Peoples and Cultures – The Olympic Games throughout the Ages» joined
by personalities of European repute and with links to Greece, France,
USA, Germany and Australia. These programmeswerebroadcast live over the
Internet and satellites throughout Europe, as
well as by numerous television channels in Greece.
Last but not least, she hosted the programme «GREEK PANORAMA» on ERTWORLD
with guests including distinguished personalities from the world of politics
and the arts, sports and science from Greece and the Greek Diaspora.
OLYMPIC GAMES
– ATHENS
2004
Two years before the start of the Olympic Games she was assigned the editorial work and co-presentation (with Babis Papapanagiotou)
of the Athens 2004 Olympic Games Organizing Committee’s
programme entitled «Olympiada Oli I Ellada (Olympiad throughout
Greece)»
which was broadcast to 70 regional television stations all over the country and to 8
ethnic Greek TV stations in Europe,
Australia and America.
At the same time she hosted the most important events in preparation for the Olympic Games,
such as the unveiling of the Olympic torch and the opening ceremony of the
Olympic Year in Irakleio, Crete, in which 100 thousand people took part
(13-8-2003). Sheworkedasan international media consultantfor the Olympic
Games’ Organizing Committee, and undertook the English-speaking
presentation of
the programme Celebrating Cultural Olympiad broadcast by EUROSPORT.
Finally she was an active participant in events during the Paralympic Games.
FURTHER
TRAINING – SEMINARS ON INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
She
was the top newscaster in English and French, while she received 4 scholarships
from the English, French and American governments and received further training
in international media in a series of seminars in Paris, London and Washington.
In 1989 she received an official invitation from TV5 to the events celebrating
the 200-year anniversary of the French Revolution and 100 years of the Eiffel
Tower.
She
was given the opportunity to do personal training – Stage work experience at the
BBC, ITV, Channel Four, Independent in London, where she observed news
production, editing and reporting at the major TV channels and leading
newspapers in Great Britain. In 1986, during work experience lasting several days
in Paris, she took part in the preparation of news bulletins and broadcasts at TF1,
FR2 and FR3. She also did work
experience at the TV channels Arte, Canal Plus, M6, at the newspaper Le
Monde and at the major radio stations in France. The well-known presenters Patrick
Poivre d’ Arvor, Christine Ochrent, Yves Mourouzi, Bernard Pivot, Claude
Serillon, William Leymergie, Michel Drucker familiarized her with the
production of TV programmes according to the French journalistic «school».
RADIO
She collaborated with «ΕRΑ-2», (February 1995-December
1997) introducing and hosting the music programme «PARIS-ATHENS» featuring French songs.
PRINT JOURNALISM
Newspapers She worked for the newspapers «TOVIMA» (Free reportage) (1984) and «TA
NEA» (Free reportage
– Interviews, in charge of the column «Ta Athinaika Nea (Athenian News)»)
(1985).
Magazines:
Special associate working on
interviews and surveys for «ENA», the magazine with varied content. Editorand director of the magazine «TopWoman» (2008-2009) which targeted women in
business and employment in the Greek market. In her first editorial E.N. wrote:
“TOPWOMAN
targets all women of creative age in Greece or those who are active at an international level. From the young teenager up to the middle-aged lady with high-speedactivity. It talks about women who got to the top and how they got there, as well
as about those who are still on the bottom rung. It speaks of and informs its readers about those women that ‘have the knack’, who stand
out and why, how they made it without losing their femininity. She is not a strict
version of the women in a suit who dreams of resembling a man in power, but
instead of opening up a new cycle, a new era of women who have it all, want it
all, are capable of combining it all without falling short in any role and
above all without going against their most wonderful biological element: the
fair sex that became strong.”
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEWS WITH INTERNATIONAL PERSONALITIES Politicians:
OulofPalme
(1985), Raul Alfonsin,
Francois Mitterrand
(1988), Margaret Thatcher,
Felipe Gonzalez,
Jack Lang, Benazir Bhutto,
Corazon Aquino,
Giovanni Goria,
Gro Harlem Brundtland,
Michel Rocard,
Wilfried Martens,
Edward Heath,
Shimon Peres,
Alain Juppé,
Sir Leon Brittan,
Simone Veil,
Lord Plumb,
Marcelino Oreja,
Yasser Arafat
(1993, 2000), Catherine Lalumière, Lech Walesa,
Jacques Santer,
Lionel Jospin,
Romano Prodi,
Nicole Fontaine,
Valery Giscard D’Estaing, Jacques Chirac, Boutros Boutros - Ghali, Shaukat Aziz (2006), Jacques Rogge (2008), Juan Antonio Samaranch, José Manuel
Barroso, Hans-Gert Pöttering, Michaëlle Jean (2009) and others.
Writers:
Eugène Ionesco, Natali Sarot, Jacques Lacarrière, Michel Tournier, Jorge
Semprún, Ernesto Sabato, Claude Simon, Francoise Sagan and others
Artists
Luciano Pavarotti, Tina Turner, Shirley Bassey, Charles Aznavour, Claudia
Cardinale, Keanu Reeves, Montserrat Caballé, Tom Hanks, Anthony Quinn, Gwyneth
Paltrow, Bruce Willis, Pierre Cardin, Robert De Niro, Ben Affleck, Arnold
Schwarzenegger, Oliver Stone.
INVOLVEMENT IN EUROPEAN AND WOMEN’S ISSUES A full page of her biography is taken up with her involvement in women’s issues and with promoting women into Greek and European Politics.
She
actively participated, as a member and as communications consultant, in
the establishment
of the Select Committee on Women and the Women’s Political Association
with the
aim of lobbying all parties to strengthen female presence in parliament
(Anna
Karamanou (PASOK), Teta Diamantopoulou (Political Spring), Soula
Panaretou
(Coalition), Vilma Sinanoglou (New Democracy) and others.
In
1994 she drew up and submitted a proposal to the European Commission
DG.X and
received the approval of Veronique Houdart – Blazy (Chef du Secteur
Information
Femmes) for the foundation of the European Network of Greek Women
Journalists
(EDED). EDED was established in 1995 with Irene Nikolopoulou as
president and
in May 1995 a press conference was held to announce its foundation
attended by
representatives of all political parties, social agencies and
personalities
from the arts and letters.
Forover 10 years EDED (whose members numbered 200 throughout Greece)
organized innovative informative events – meetings, conferences,
visits by journalists to Brussels and Strasbourg and participate dinnumerous European programmes
(Eurobus,
Equal, etc.) so as to keep Greek women better informed about European
policies, to strengthen their presence in public affairs and familiarize
regional journalists with European issues. It also issued the quarterly
newspaper
«ALetterforYou» for several years,
carried out and drew up the survey «The Profile of
the Greek Woman Journalist” in collaboration with the Audiovisual
Institute (1998),
and participated in the implementation of the subsidized programme
«PROFESSIONAL
INTEGRATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF FEMALE JOURNALISTS» at the centre for
Lifelong
Learning and Vocational Training at the Panteion University (1997).
Asamembershe helpedwith the organization of the conference held
by the World Organization of Authors and Journalists in Athens.
DISTINCTIONS
– AWARDS:
Honorary member of the committee for the
two hundredth anniversary of the French Revolution (1989).
HonorarymemberoftheCommittee «Europe and Freedom» (1991)
In 1990 Irene Nikolopoulou married the architect Myron Toupogiannis and in 1993 they had a daughter, Elena, who is at present
studying business and management at King's College in
London.
A great fan of the cinema and the theatre, she also enjoys dancing, travelling and
cooking. ShecollectsVenetianglassobjects
with engraved silver images. Over recent years she has spent time on social
media and on familiarizing herself with electronic means of communication.