Question

How fairly do you feel that the media covers the differing political parties and their members? Give examples.

Answer 1

Political parties :

A political party is an organized group of people who exercise their legal right to identify with a set of similar political aims and opinions, and one that seeks to influence public policy by getting its candidates elected to public office. Even though the presentation of candidates and the electoral campaign are the functions that are most visible to the electorate, political parties fulfill many other vital roles in a democratic society. They are also institutionalized mediators between civil society and the duly-elected representatives who decide and implement policy. For example, political party-affiliated legislators who meet with civil society representatives to solicit individual (or organizational) opinion in the public policy formulation process. By this, they enable their members’ and supporters’ demands to be represented in parliament and in government. Key tasks of political parties include the following:

1. Solicit and prioritize needs and policy priorities as identified by members and supporters
2. Familiarize and educate voters and citizens in the functioning of the political and electoral system and in generating general political values
3. Educate and train party members and leadership on an ongoing basis
4. Balance opposing demands and convert them into general policies
5. Activate and mobilize citizens toward political participation while demonstrating how they can transform public opinion into viable policy options
6. Channel public opinion from citizens to government
7. Recruit and train candidates for public office

Role of Media in Elections Campaign :

The media has a role to inform the citizens about the competing political parties and their programmes and candidates, and to contribute to the formation of opinion of the electorate. This may include formal voter education material provided by the electoral management body; alternatively or additionally, the media themselves may produce their own voter education materials.

The overall aim of media coverage during elections campaigns in democracies is fair and objective reporting and information dissemination. This can, for instance, be achieved through measures such as a just allocation of broadcasting time between all the competing parties and candidates, (voluntary) agreements on fair news programmes, reports, and non-news programmes, or debates between party leaders. It is crucial in the first instance to ensure that every party and/or independent candidate has access to the media, in particular radio and / or television, since most voters gain their knowledge about politics via the media. That means that a broadcaster is not entitled to influence the public opinion by different treatment of one or another candidate or party. But still it is often the broadcaster who decides who is gaining access to the debates and discussion programmes.

Media is sometimes manipulated by the governing party (especially if the media is state-owned) to report in their favour. Manipulation can take place during the designing of the programmes, reports and news, discussion programmes, and even non-news programmes, such as pure entertainment shows and movies. Propaganda may be disseminated under the guise of objective public information by the government. The danger of misuse of government power for campaigning purposes can be limited if laws and regulations are in place to regulate the role of the media in the elections campaign.

Laws and Regulations concerning the media in elections campaign may define:

• If parties and candidates are allowed free political advertisement
• How time or space will be allocated to candidates and political parties
• Whether paid political advertising is to be permitted
• If election expenditures that affect advertising campaigns are limited
• Whether time and content of electoral broadcasts is to be restricted
• What duty the media has to carry voter education material (Link to Regulation of Content of Direct Access Material)
• Whether there is to be a right of reply to factual misrepresentation in the media
• If opinion poll findings are to be published.
• What the regulations should be about policies on "hate speech" and defamation.

The public media are thought to have a special duty to publish or broadcast election statements by competing parties. It is generally accepted that the publicly funded media have some obligation to allow parties and candidates to communicate directly with the electorate on an equal basis, whereas the private media have the right to publish or broadcast more often statements of the parties and candidates they prefer.

The media environment The first priority is to identify the principles of the country’s media freedoms and regulations. Coaches must then determine the practical realities of these freedoms and regulations. In some countries there may be wide-ranging protection for media freedoms in the constitution or in legislation but the freedoms are much abused or ignored by authorities or journalists in daily life. Media regulations Among the essential media regulations to examine are: • Constitutional guarantees for a free press: Do they exist in law? Do the courts protect them effectively against government or other interests’ harassment, intimidation, assault? • Media regulation bodies (press councils and radio-television regulators): What powers do they have? Are they independent of government? Are they free of corruption? Do they defend media freedoms? Do they fairly discipline irresponsible media? • Content restrictions: Are there laws which censor what the media can report or offer as opinions? Who imposes these restrictions? Is there an appeal to the courts? Are there laws against hate speech? Is criminal libel used to suppress published criticism of government? • The Internet: Is it widely available? Is it regulated or censored? Is it influential? • Ownership restrictions: Is media ownership determined by government, by law, or by free market competition? • Journalist registration/accreditation: Is there any law defining who can be a journalist? Who administers the law? Is this law used to restrict free expression? • Broadcast media: How is it regulated? Is licensing conducted fairly? Is public or state broadcasting treated differently than private broadcasting? • Are there Access-to-Information laws? Are they effective? Are they blocked by secrecy laws, political interference or bureaucratic obstruction? Media industry Coaches should also examine media structure and practices including: • The number of government-controlled and privately-owned media outlets, both print and broadcasting, and how wide an audience they reach, both urban and rural. • The effectiveness of regulations. Do media outlets respect media laws and civil laws?