George Tsalakos. A name, a story. Synonymous with the struggle for democracy in Greece during the difficult years of the military junta. A man of active political engagement, a PASOK leader, and a collaborator with Andreas Papandreou, Giannos Kranidiotis, Andreas Christodoulidis, and Pericles Nearchos.

Nevertheless, as he himself stated, “I never sought a political career. I was always captivated by the allure of journalism.”

Read more: From Lysi to the World of Journalism: The Life and Work of Giorgos Tsalakos

That is why history records him first and foremost as a front-line journalist.

On “Exormisi” on ERT. And then back to his homeland. At the magazine “Selides,” with programs on RIK, and subsequently as News Director of the newly launched ANTENNA. And later, “Alithia,” Alpha, and Omega.

A mentor…
Young journalists passed through his hands, learning the core values of journalism as well as modern news presentation techniques. He created his own school of journalism that permanently changed the television landscape in Cyprus.

News stories are now evaluated based on their seriousness and the interest they generate, rather than on the unwritten convention of promoting the President and politicians.

“When you write or carry out your duties, don’t do it as a politician but as a true professional,” he said in an interview.
 
In 2015, he joined our station, bringing his long professional career with him. He took the reins of the news department and, in a short period of time, succeeded in creating a reliable news team.

He selected young people, many of whom were just starting out. He embraced them and mentored them like a father. He stepped down in 2018 to take a break and handed the reins of the news department to one of his first protégés in Cyprus.

He did not, however, take a break. He completes and publishes the first volume of the memoirs of former President of the Republic Spyros Kyprianou, *In the Battle of History as I Lived It (1932–1959).*

Already battling cancer, he happily participates in Alpha TV’s Gala Dinner celebrating the station’s 10th anniversary on April 28. And there, we all had the opportunity to say a big “thank you” to a man who touched the lives and way of thinking of many of us.
 Taken by surprise and
deeply moved, he offered what—as it sadly turned out—would be his final words of advice.
 
The management, executive team, and the entire staff of ALPHA express their deepest sorrow and join the family in their grief as part of their own

See Nikos Prokommenos’s report