Media Law & Ethics - Lecture 8, 05/03/14

Reporting elections;

 “The law is the representation of the people”

Why as a journalist is it so important to report elections?

It is our duty and responsibility to raise awareness for the public. Voters get their information from journalists writing and broadcasting about the election. The electoral process runs on journalism as the build-up to the election is hyped up by the press.

The hard truths of reporting on an election;

• Citizens base choices on your reporting
• Accuracy and impartiality even more vital
• Politicians love to shoot the messenger
• Campaign language is often ‘heated'

To keep debate down you throttle the press, this is more common in less economically developed countries where dictation is rife, however in Britain and other more economically developed countries it is the opposite. The subject of elections is becoming more relevant as the European election comments later this year on the 22nd May.

There are certain rules on how to report an election; these rules are in place to differentiate between broadcasters and print journalists. OFCOM and the BBC guidelines are to be adhered to by broadcasters which state that as a broadcaster you cannot be biased, you must be impartial. Newspapers however can be one sided and are free to write partially.

Cases;

Former labour minister and MP for Oldham East Phil Woolas, was found to have breached the representation of the People Act 1983 in the course of the 2010 election. He breached the primary rule as he made false statements about other candidates, implicating that the lib-dem party candidate had ‘wooed’ Islamic extremists. He was ejected from his seat in parliament following this.

Miranda Grell was accused of slandering gay lib-dem candidate Barry Smith calling him a ‘paedophile’ and stating that he ‘had sex with teenage boys’ whilst she was campaigning for the Leyton Ward in Waltham Forest.

Voting;

When the campaigning takes place, the public are encouraged to vote for the party they wish to win, this is done through poll votes, however not all polls are the same. Some are extremely reliable but others are distinctly dodgy, they can be subject to margins of error and elements such as where the poll took place and how big the poll actually is which can affect the overall votes.

Opinion polls;

When the campaigning takes place the opinion polls will begin. You will conduct your own opinion poll however it is important to remember that;

• Not all opinion polls are reliable
• In your report you will have to frame an angle such as ‘you were just getting a sense of what people were thinking/feeling about the election’
• The sample needs to be fair; this includes age, range, position etc.
• Need to be able to give context

Exit polls;

An election exit poll is a poll of voters taken immediately after they have exited the polling stations. Unlike an opinion poll, which asks whom the voters plan to vote for or some other similar formulation, an exit poll asks whom the voter actually voted for. You cannot broadcast the exit poll until the voting for the election has finished.

Coverage;

As a journalist covering the campaigns you will be able to create your complete package report each night by reporting on what the parties have been doing during the day. The time devoted to the major party will need to be the same as the minor parties in order for you to come across as impartial in your report. It is essential to keep an accurate log of party coverage so you know that you have given each party the same amount of time.

Other kinds of reporting could be a discussion show which would consist of a panel of three to four guests to create a debate like report. It is important to question whether the panel will be compliant to what the editorial directors will want. Making up the panel needs to be well constructed and thought out. It needs to be demographically varied so support is shown across all parties in order to get a credible and fair debate.

As a journalist, you will be reporting on the elections and it is important to cover the different aspects, these will include the debates, leaders visiting, campaigns, polls, and profiles of the different campaigners that are situated in the safe seats. You will want to reflect the reality of the election so if you know a particular party isn’t going to do that well you do not have to feel obliged to give them the same amount of coverage time as the other parties, you can just briefly acknowledge them on the report. Due to editorial reasons such as tactical voting you may want to give that party accused more coverage time as it is in the public’s interest.  

Summary;

• Get to know election procedures
•  Learn to judge the differences between election ‘banter’ and ‘false statements’
• Remain impartial.