THE IMPORTANCE OF THE MEDIA TO ELECTIONS

Transcription

1 THE IMPORTANCE OF THE MEDIA TO ELECTIONS The media are essential to democracy, and a democratic election is impossible without media. A free and fair election is not only about the freedom to vote and the knowledge of how to cast a vote, but also about a participatory process where voters engage in public debate and have adequate information about parties, policies, candidates and the election process itself in order to make informed choices. Furthermore, media acts as a crucial watchdog to democratic elections, safeguarding the transparency of the process. Indeed, a democratic election with no media freedom, or stifled media freedom, would be a contradiction in terms. In 2005 the yearly World Press Freedom Day international conference produced a declaration that stressed independent and pluralistic media are essential for ensuring transparency, accountability and participation as fundamental elements of good governance and human-rights based development. Furthermore, the declaration urges member states to respect the function of the news media as an essential factor in good governance, vital to increasing both transparency and accountability in decision-making processes and to communicating the principles of good governance to society. In order to fulfil their roles, the media need to maintain a high level of professionalism, accuracy and impartiality in their coverage. Regulatory frameworks can help ensure high standards. Laws and regulation should guarantee fundamental freedoms essential to democracy, including freedom of information and expression, as well as participation. Meanwhile, provisions such as requiring government media, funded out of public money, to give fair coverage and equitable access to opposition parties, help ensure appropriate media behaviour during elections. The media have traditionally been understood to refer to the printed press as well as radio and television broadcasters. In recent years however, the definition has become broader, encompassing new media including online journalism, and social media. Citizen journalism is widely gaining traction, including in countries where traditional media is either controlled or strictly regulated. A prime concern of media coverage of elections is the right of voters to full and accurate information, and their rights to participate in debates and dialogue on policy matters and with politicians. Inherent to this task is the entitlement of parties

2 and candidates to use the media as a platform for interaction with the public. Furthermore, the National Independent Electoral Commission (NIEC) or an Electoral Management Body has a need to communicate information to the electorate and to a variety of other groups, including the political parties and candidates. The media themselves have a right to report freely and to scrutinize the whole electoral process. This scrutiny is in itself a vital safeguard against interference or corruption in the management or conduct of the electoral process. The relationship of the NIEC to the media is hence a multifaceted one, including: As communicator: NIEC will invariably want to use the media as a vehicle for communicating its messages to the electorate. As news story: NIEC will be a focus of media interest throughout the election process. The media will be interested in the information that the NIEC can provide, as well as trying to scrutinize the NIEC performance and the efficiency and integrity of the elections. As regulator: the NIEC may in some instances be responsible for developing or implementing regulations governing media behaviour during elections (especially relating to direct access to the media by parties and candidates). It may also be responsible for dealing with complaints against the media. message development are crucial to elections and explains media relations strategy in relation to the electoral cycle. The topic also needs to explores basic techniques and uses of media monitoring during an election campaign, outlining both quantitative and qualitative methodologies and looking at how media monitoring is used by different bodies such as NIEC or observer missions. Media Development explores media professionalism, elections training, and general support and advocacy necessary for the media to become a viable participant in democratic processes. Roles the Media Play in Elections The media play an indispensable role in the proper functioning of a democracy. Discussion of the media's functions within electoral contexts, often focuses on their "watchdog" role: by unfettered scrutiny and discussion of the successes and

3 failures of candidates, governments, and electoral management bodies, the media can inform the public of how effectively they have performed and help to hold them to account. Yet the media also have other roles in enabling full public participation in elections: by educating voters on how to exercise their democratic rights; by reporting on the development of an election campaign; by providing a platform for the political parties and candidates to communicate their message to the electorate; by providing a platform for the public to communicate their concerns, opinions, and needs, to the parties/candidates, the EMB, the government, and to other voters, and to interact on these issues; by allowing the parties and candidates to debate with each other; by reporting results and monitoring vote counting; by scrutinizing the electoral process itself, including electoral management, in order to evaluate the fairness of the process, its efficiency, and its probity; By providing information that, as far as possible, avoids inflammatory language, helping to prevent election-related violence. The media are not the sole source of information for voters, but in a world dominated by mass communications, it is increasingly the media that determine the political agenda, even in less technologically developed countries. A report by the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies put it this way: The media plays a major role in keeping the citizenry abreast of current events and raising awareness of various issues in any society. It also has an extremely significant impact on the public s views and way of thinking. The media is the primary means through which public opinion is shaped and at times manipulated. If this is the media s role then in normal course of events, it becomes even more vital in exceptional periods, one of which is electoral junctures, when the media becomes a primary player. Elections constitute a basic challenge to the media, putting its impartiality and objectivity to the test. The task of the media, especially national media outlets, is not

4 and should not be to function as a mouthpiece for any government body or particular candidate. Its basic role is to enlighten and educate the public and act as a neutral, objective platform for the free debate of all points of view It is for this reason that election observation teams, for example, routinely comment upon media access and coverage of elections as a criterion for judging whether elections are fair. Monitoring the media during election periods has become an increasingly common practice, using a combination of statistical analysis and the techniques of media studies and discourse analysis to measure media s role in an election. The numerous ways in which media ensure democratic electoral processes generally fall into one of the following categories: Media as transparency/watchdog Media as a campaign platform Media as open forum for debate and discussion/public voice Media as public educator Each of these categories is explored in separate sections: Media as a Watchdog In today s politics and society at large, media is essential to the safeguarding transparency of democratic processes. This is often called its watchdog role. Transparency is required on many levels including for access to information; accountability and legitimacy of individuals, institutions and processes themselves; and for rightful participation and public debate. Transparency as required for access to information means that an electorate is provided necessary and comprehensive information so as to make informed choices as well as be able to hold officials and institutions accountable. This includes access to legal and operational proceedings as well as information about officials and institutions. Specific to elections, an EMB for example, is obligated

5 to inform the public on their actions, decisions, and plans. Individuals appointed or elected to an EMB body are public figures who should be working in the interests of the public. As such, information regarding their affiliations, histories, and performance while in office, is to be freely accessed by the public. Media acts as a mechanism for the prevention and investigation of allegations of violations or malpractice. This watchdog role extends from accountability of officials and their actions while in office to entire processes. For example, media presence at voting and counting centres is critical to preventing electoral fraud, given that full measures protecting freedom of speech are guaranteed, and that media are free to act independently and with impartiality. An election cannot be deemed democratic unless the public is fully able to participate and is unhindered in exercising choice. As such, media are vital in ensuring that there is a public, i.e. transparent, platform for debate and participation in the discussion. Candidates are to represent the public. Transparency of an election helps ensures that this indeed is so. Furthermore, transparency of individual processes (such as voting, counting, registering, candidate nomination, campaigning and so forth) further protects and enables public participation in these processes. Media as a Campaign Platform Candidates and Parties have an explicit right to provide the electorate information regarding their attributes, political agendas, and proposed plans. Besides meeting directly with members of the electorate, candidates and parties accomplish this task through campaigns via media. It is paramount to democratic electoral processes therefore, that all candidates and parties are provided equal access to media for this endeavour. Candidates and parties use the mass media for campaigning through sponsored direct access spots, paid political advertising, televised debates, use of social media, and other mechanisms. They also hope the media will voluntarily cover them because of the newsworthiness of their campaign activities. Political parties expend vast human and financial resources on planning and executing mass media campaigns.

6 The media have several roles in realising contestants right to campaign: To create a level playing field is the first role. This entails equal access to state broadcasters and other state resources: Among the most effective, but least analyzed, means of autocratic survival is an uneven playing field. In countries like Botswana, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, Malawi, Mozambique, Senegal, Singapore, Tanzania, and Venezuela, democratic competition is undermined less by electoral fraud or repression than by unequal access to state institutions, resources, and the media. Levelling the campaign playing field is one of the main justifications for regulation of media during elections. For more information, see the section on National-level Law and Regulations on Media and Elections. Another key role of media in campaigning is balanced reporting, ensuring that candidates receive fair coverage. This is one reason why robust media monitoring is so important toward ensuring fair and free elections. Media professionalism and media literacy are also fundamental to this achievement. Media as Open Forum for Debate and Discussion/Public Voice While candidate and party campaigns are of course a form of debate, there are also other voices that are to be heard within public forums. As enshrined in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, all people have the right to express opposing ideas and opinions. The role of media in providing this platform for debate and discussion is therefore vital. Media provide a mechanism for regular citizens to be heard and to therefore influence political agendas and campaign platforms, and sometimes garnering support and influencing fellow voters. Forms can include: Members of the public, lobby groups, experts with different perspectives, and candidates being interviewed by the media for their views on certain policies; Talkback radio and television in which the public air their opinions; Contestants websites, social media networks, and so on, where the public can interact with them directly;

7 News reports on press conferences, protests and other events held by interest groups; Media surveys of public opinion; Citizen journalism; Debates on blogs, Twitter, and social media sites; Letters to the editor. This role as a forum for public debate is a complex one in post-conflict situations, as the line between debate and conflict needs to be carefully managed by professional media, which is not always present. As one report on media in the context of elections and political violence in East Africa states: The media serve as a forum for competing political actors to vie for power and to offer alternatives to the national project. This is both a strength and weakness. It is a strength because it means that the media, and the press in particular, can be a valuable space for reconciliation and dialogue between competing political perspectives. When perspectives are engaged effectively this can help to reduce polarization, and further define and consolidate the state and nation building agenda. But the media s ability to serve as a forum is a weakness for fragile states that may not have the institutions to manage this kind of discussion. Media as Public Educator Media s role as a public educator is in essence a combination of media s three other roles with a few added aspects. For example, media as a mechanism for transparency ensures voters are provided information necessary to fully evaluate the conduct of officials as well as the process at large. Media as a campaign platform ensures the public is educated in political agenda s of all participating parties and candidates equally. Media as open forum for debate and discussion ensures that voters can educate other voters, politicians, and officials.

8 Media also educates through the transmission of voter information. This might be through direct negotiation with NIEC and NGOs for broadcast of educational material. It also happens indirectly. For example, when media report on an electoral event, details such as the location of voting sites, the necessity of voter registration, how the count will be conducted, and so forth, may be provided to the audience. This is one reason why it is very important that NIEC communicates frequently with all media, providing them with the necessary facts and figures to ensure accurate reporting. Media also play an important analytical role, which enhances their ability to play their other roles, as watchdogs, forums for debate, and so on. For example, if media simply re-post or re-broadcast an EMB press release, transmission of information to the electorate may still warrant useful, but lacking in scope and context. Without analysis of the press release in relation to on the ground events, results, or opposing opinions, for example, the information received by the media audience is one-dimensional. In ensuring that the public has the level of informational detail required to make informed choices or action, media utilize various tools of analysis. These include: Opinion polls; Research and scrutiny of policies, records and reports; Investigative journalism; Use of expert input and opinion; Assess community needs and opinions; Measure candidates/parties deliveries against promises.