In order to guarantee plurality, media organisations implement extra rules. For instance, public service broadcaster ERT has standardised rules safeguarding plurality in the sense that when presenting political news topics, sound bites and visual content of all political leaders appear in a specific order, as dictated by the election results.
A journalist working in public service broadcaster ERT described this procedure adopted by the public service television:
It is compulsory to present the stance of all political parties on a given issue. In some topics, the Orthodox Church is also heard. However, no one interferes with the way a news piece is going to be presented. Generally, everyone has his/her share regarding television time, both political parties and advertisers. But they cannot interfere. It is very important to follow the rules and keep the balances, because with regard to public service television, everybody is being judgmental.
While journalists recognise the mission of plurality as necessary, public service broadcaster ERT has always been considered the mouthpiece of the party in power. On the other hand, commercial media have traditionally cultivated long affiliations and ties to political parties. This combination of factors creates the paradox of the Greek media system, where plurality may theoretically be sought, but a series of interests promote the unquestionable projection of some opinions at the expense of others.
