Nikolouli and her team have helped clear 32 murder cases in Greece. Credit: Angeliki Nikolouli/Instagram
Every week, hundreds of thousands of Greeks are glued to their TV sets to watch the latest episode of “Fos sto Tounel” (Light in the Tunnel), a show led by investigative journalist Angeliki Nikolouli counting 31 seasons.
Nikolouli, the show’s presenter and editor-in-chief, has a reputation as a serious, hard-hitting journalist with real influence in many of Greece’s largest criminal cases. Her show not only raises awareness of murder cases and disappearances, but also, often uncovers new information that can lead to a perpetrator, or locate a missing person.
Through consistent research and investigation, Nikolouli and her team have helped clear 32 murder cases in Greece and have found approximately 1,870 missing people across 1,015 episodes.
Nikolouli’s methods and motivations
Nikolouli’s success lies in her unique approach to journalism, which she describes in her own words.
“The murders that were solved were presented at the TV show as simple disappearances and nobody paid attention. And yet, they were proven over time to be heinous crimes.”
She explains that understanding a criminal isn’t about one single thing, but a combination of many.
“What makes me understand a criminal is not a single thing, but many together. It’s a combination of events, evidence we find through research, the contradictions, and their attempts to persuade us of something false. Sometimes, they want to act in a manipulative way, and they think they are in control of everything, exerting control over us, and that’s how they get trapped.”
Nikolouli also relies on her intuition and the power of television to expose criminals.
“It is the body language, our intuition, but we do not rely only on these. We research and we let them get exposed. Especially when they get in front of the camera and face-to-face with the lights, that’s where they lose it. Even the most experienced individuals start to blur things and become very confused.”
Her goal is to get inside the minds of the people she interviews.
“Our goal is to know how to approach them, get into their minds, their personalities, talk in their way of talking, and become one with them. It’s not easy. But if we manage to gain their trust, I think it’s achievable. And until now, that’s what I do.”
Despite her success, she’s quick to clarify her team’s role.
“Many say I have solved murders. That’s not the case. We are neither the police nor a judicial authority. We are researchers, reporters, we owe respect to human dignity, the victim, the missing person and their families, and we try to help with our evidence to shed light on complex cases.”
A career built on investigative journalism
“Fos sto Tounel” has been on the air since October 3, 1995, and has moved TV stations four times. The show has received awards from social organizations and holds a prominent position in the Guinness Book of World Records.
Born in Pyrgos, Peloponnese, Nikolouli began her career working for some of Greece’s biggest newspapers and magazines. She started with police reporting at a young age and became the country’s first female police reporter.
She gained national recognition after revealing that Greece’s National Intelligence Service had been illegally wiretapping Greek politicians and other citizens. The scandal brought her to prominence, and she was even called to testify before the Greek Parliament because of her work on the case.
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