Opinion no. 285/2004 CDL-EL(2004)005
Engl. only
EUROPEAN COMMISSION FOR
DEMOCRACY THROUGH LAW
(VENICE COMMISSION)
MEDIA MONITORING
DURING
ELECTION
OBSERVATION MISSIONS
Comments
by Mr Owen MASTERS (Expert, United
Kingdom)
Introduction
1.
The content and structure of this report provides an overview of the
main issues in respect of media monitoring and analysis. It has been compiled taking into account the
recommendation of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe
(Recommendation No. R (99) 15 of the Committee of Ministers
to Member States on measures concerning media coverage of election campaigns)
and the experience of media monitoring and analysis, as implemented by ODIHR,
and Council of Europe Election Observation Missions.
2.
There is increasing recognition of the important role of the media in
modern society, especially at elections.
The influence of the media is particularly noticeable on the conduct of
elections, in communications with the public, and often the outcome of an
election. Therefore it is clear that
there is a need to develop tools or mechanisms with which to observe the media,
ensuring that the principle of free and democratic elections has been upheld.
3.
This report will contain information on the problems and choices of
media monitoring, including the quality of the coverage, information gathering,
and analysis including the interpretation of the data. In addition reference
will be made to specific features of the coverage of elections, which may
include the granting of free airtime to political parties and candidates,
dissemination of opinion polls, paid political advertising, days of reflection,
and right of reply.
4.
Possible Guidelines on Media Monitoring during Election Observation
Missions as proposed by OSCE/ODIHR deserve support. However, there is a need to strengthen some
areas in the proposed guidelines. It is
therefore recommended that the following points should be included in any
future guidelines on media monitoring during elections. These points are highlighted
in bold in the next paragraphs.
Protection of Freedom
of Expression
5.
Over the years both the Council of Europe and OSCE
have developed a number of commitments which support Freedom of Expression, and
Freedom of the Media.
These commitments are many, and examples include:
·
Free
media are one of the conditions for pluralistic and democratic societies
·
Freedom
of expression is a basic human right and a central element within a democratic system
·
Independent
and free media are of particular importance in safeguarding human rights and
fundamental freedoms
·
Individuals
and groups should have the right to participatory access to the media
·
There
should be no legal or administrative obstacle to obstruct access to the media
within the electoral process
·
The
promotion of diversity as a primary goal of broadcast regulation, including
equality of opportunity, gender equity, and equal opportunity for all sections
of society to have access to the airwaves
The right to freedom of expression is enshrined
in a number of declarations, treaties and conventions. States that are signatories to these
documents, or members of organisations which produced such declarations, have
the moral duty, and sometimes legal obligation to comply with such provisions. It is necessary to ensure that the behaviour
of governments is regulated in respect of the media, rather than the regulation
of media.
International
Standards
6. Freedom of the media
constitutes a fundamental principle of freedom of expression, which is
protected under Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
The press and the electronic media are required to impart information,
and ideas on matters of public interest.
The media must also ensure that such information and ideas can be
accessed by the public. Media
commissions or any other form of regulatory mechanism, both for print and
electronic media, should be independent from political parties, and have an
arms-length relationship with the government.
Freedom of communication in respect of political discussion, and public
affairs are indispensable to the accountability of political representatives
and officials.
7. The media should develop codes
of conduct and other self regulatory measures, which will set out guidelines of
good practice, for responsible, accurate and fair coverage of electoral
campaigns.
8.
States and governments in order to guarantee freedom of expression in
the media, must refrain from interfering in media functions, and when necessary
impose positive measures to protect the media from attacks or undue pressures.
Media Politics and
Elections
9.
In respect of politics the media are a fundamental element in the
democratic system, providing candidates, and parties with coverage and at the
same time providing an arena for dissemination of information, and public
debate. It has long been recognised that
the media are tools of power and influence.
However, the media has many responsibilities including the covering of
political facts and events in the most objective, impartial, and open way. There is also the responsibility of promoting
a variety of views, opinions, in addition to interpreting news. This will enable the public to better
understand the information they are receiving.
10.
Voters have the right to be informed on political alternatives in order
to make an informed choice. The
behaviour of media coverage on the electorate is a controversial issue. There
are many opinions, but there is no definite answer to the question related to
the power of the media, to influence voters in their choice. The right of voters to make an informed
choice in an election implies that the media should inform them in a
professional and correct manner.
Information should be provided on the platforms, views of the different
candidates, the events of the political campaign, and the electoral process,
including the counting of votes, and election results.
11.
Candidates should have the right of access to the media, to communicate
their platforms and views, and inform the voters of their proposals and matters
of public interest. Alongside such
rights of access to the media and benefits from the coverage of the media, come
responsibilities, not to abuse such rights.
Guidelines for Media
Analysis
12.
There are two main benchmarks for the overall evaluation of media
performance in an election campaign, these are:
·
The compliance with international standards.
That is: Were the fundamental standards upheld, of the right to freedom
of expression of voters, candidates, and was the freedom of the press respected
during the electoral process?
·
The comparison with previous
elections in the same country. In this the question is:
Compared to previous elections, is the freedom of expression and media coverage
improving, or deteriorating?
13.
Within the electoral process, the state and particularly the ruling
government should refrain from interfering in the activities of journalists,
and other media personnel with a view to influencing the elections. Political parties and candidates should also
respect the freedom of expression of the media.
In addition, the fundamental
principle of editorial independence of the media, assumes a special importance
during election periods.
14.
Guidelines to be followed in order to promote a mature media system
include:
·
Diversity
of the media system, which should be supported by the state.
·
To be aware of the significant
differences which exist between the print and electronic media
·
Autonomy
of the media system from political and economic power should be
protected.
·
Journalist’s
right to carry out their functions should be guaranteed by states.
There should be no repression
against journalists (attacks, harassment, or intimidation).
·
Professional
Standards should be maintained through journalistic training in
ensuring that voters and candidates rights
are protected.
·
No
Censorship in any form is acceptable.
Regulation of Media
Coverage during an Election
15.
Obligations and regulations for the public media are necessary, as the
public media is financed with taxpayer’s money, and should be considered a
public resource.
Obligations and consequent regulation to which
private broadcasting media are subjected are more variable, and problematic to
define. During an electoral campaign,
the degree of editorial freedom that should be accorded to private broadcasters
is related to the degree of diversity observed in the media landscape. All of this can best be summarised by:
·
The
public and private media shall
provide equal access, with fair, balanced, and impartial coverage for all
parties and candidates running for election.
·
The
private electronic media must comply with the provisions for electronic
coverage as set by national legislation, and
they must also adhere to journalistic
ethics, and professional standards.
·
Private
print media should be permitted a wider degree of opinion than the public
electronic media. Any regulations on media coverage of elections should not interfere
with the editorial independence of newspapers and magazines or their right to
express any political preference.
Direct Access - (Free or
paid)
16.
Parties and candidates should be provided with direct access to the
public media free of charge. No
registered parties or candidates should be excluded from receiving free airtime
in order to effectively communicate with the public. Whenever
such airtime is granted, this should be done on a fair and non-discriminatory
manner, on the basis of transparent and objective criteria. The allocation
of airtime can be on an equal or proportionate basis. The compliance with provisions regulating the
allocation of free airtime should be monitored by an independent body able to
remedy any violations promptly. The
practice of imposing free airtime on the private electronic media is not
widespread. However, when they do decide
to offer airtime, or they are obliged by law to do so, they must comply with
the same regulations as the public broadcast system.
17. In states where political
parties and candidates are permitted to buy advertising space for electoral
purposes, there is a requirement for some regulatory frameworks to be in place.
The possibility of buying advertising space should be available to all
contending parties and candidates, and on equal conditions and rates of
payment. There may also be a limit for
the amount of paid advertising, which a given party or candidates can
purchase. It is also important that the
public is made aware that the message is a political advertisement.
There are not the same problems for political
advertising in the private print media, although equality of opportunity must
be offered to all parties and candidates, and as with the electronic media,
there should be a limit on the amount of advertising that any one party or
candidate can purchase.
Political Information
Programmes
18. Public and private broadcasters
during an election period have an obligation to provide voters with sufficient
and effective information, and should organise panel discussions and talk shows
in which:
·
Candidates
and parties can present their alternative platforms, and engage in
debate.
·
Journalists,
the public, experts and analysts can ask questions on specific issues.
19.
While the journalists hosting the programme have the duty to be
impartial, non-political guests, such as other journalists, political analysts,
experts and other people, can express
their own personal opinions.
The participation of contestants in these
programmes should not be conditional upon payment of any fees.
Voter Education and
Information
20.
Public broadcasters should undertake voter education and information
during the time they are likely to reach the widest audience. These programmes should provide voters with
clear, unbiased and understandable information on:
·
Voters
lists – How and where to register, how to check the list, and where to
complain.
·
Nature
of the election – Local, parliamentary, presidential, referenda.
·
Information
on the electoral system, and the attribution of votes
·
Voting
procedures: where and how to vote
·
Basic
rights and duties: secrecy of the vote, provisions related to proxy and family
voting
The private electronic media may be required to
transmit voter education programmes by the electoral legislation, or by their
broadcasting licence. They must at all
times ensure unbiased, clear and understandable information.
The private print media although not obliged by
law, should provide voters with accurate information in respect of voting
procedures.
21.
The publishing or broadcasting of opinion polls should provide the
public with the name of organisation or political party who paid for, or
commissioned the poll, the margin of error, and the dates the poll was
conducted. Some countries prohibit the
publication of opinion polls for a certain period before election
day. However, any restriction
forbidding the publication/broadcasting of opinion polls (or voting
intentions), on voting day, or a number of days before the election, should
comply with Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights. Similarly, in respect of exit polls,
consideration could be given to prohibiting the reporting of such polls, until
all polling stations in the country have closed.
22.
A provision in the law prohibiting political campaigning, or the
publication of partisan electoral messages on the day/days preceding voting
could be considered, and be beneficial to the democratic process. In addition, the electoral administration may
specify rules and instructions to journalists, on how to report political facts
during the ‘silence period’.
23.
Rules defining hate speech are clearly stated in international treaties
and conventions. The concept of hate
speech should be related to the effect of the message on the receivers, a
direct incitement to acts of violence which could have credible potential
effects on the public, may be censored.
This is particularly important in post-conflict areas, in order to avoid
new tensions and conflicts in the populations.
24. During the election campaign
any candidate or political party should be entitled to a right of reply under
the law, and must be able to exercise this right during the campaign period.
Media Analysis
25.
The media analysis should be able to produce findings on the level of
autonomy of the media system from the political system, and the level of
diversity among the different media outlets. Any assessment of media behaviour
during an election campaign should consider the media system as a whole. The
basic rights of the three actors should be taken into account when producing an
evaluation of the media during the electoral process:
·
The
voters rights to receive information on political alternatives, and the
electoral process,
·
The
candidates and political parties right to impart information on their platforms
and views.
·
The
media’s freedom to spread information and express their views on issues of
public interest.
26.
The analysis of the media landscape of a country, as well as the
observation of the political environment is necessary. This will enable an assessment to be made of
the relationship between the media, and the political parties during an
election campaign. In assessing the
media landscape of a country it is necessary to consider many factors
including:
·
How
many electronic and print media are operating in the country
·
Variety
of public /state-owned media, either electronic or print
·
Number
of licenses issued by the state at national or local level
·
Number
of pirate stations operating, if any
·
The
geographical coverage of the existing media
·
Hours
of broadcasting, or frequencies of publication for every media outlet
27.
The analysis will need to develop techniques with which to measure the
amount of time and space, a media outlet devotes to political contestants. There will also be a requirement to analise
the quality of the content of coverage, whether it is positive, negative, or
neutral.
Reporting
28.
Following analysis, the information should be included in reports which
are easy to understand, and to read, but based on well grounded verifiable
analysis.
29.
Media monitoring should produce reliable and objective results and
conclusions. It is vital that the
findings of media monitoring are not only credible in themselves, but also that
they are perceived as such. Monitors
should be aware that their activity is the basis for reports, which may affect
not only judgements on the election campaign, but also the credibility of the
monitored media, and the public trust in them.
