Election Resource Notes:
Can the media truly report on the election impartially?
1st Extract:
- Once the Election is finished, the media displays “winners and losers, “ almost manipulating the public into voting for who they want to be in charge.
- Some of the coalition parties may be comparatively small or may have lost votes compared to previous elections. In other words, these may be perceived as election losers despite their subsequent participation in government.
- The election results of parties with polarized views on socio-cultural issues, such as the Greens and radical right parties, tend to be selected for news coverage more often and are also more likely to be portrayed as election winners. (More controversial Parties get more media coverage.)
- We conclude that media bias in post-election coverage creates an uneven playing field in the aftermath of elections. (If one party is winning but deemed as an election loser by the media then it might sway people’s opinions.)
- First, not all political parties are equally likely to be reported upon about election results. In systems with proportional representation, a multitude of political parties compete for relatively few seats, which entails that journalists likely select some parties for inclusion in the news. (Making it biased towards certain parties as others will miss out on the chance of people voting for them.) (The media is a good tool for people to do their research and understand the different parties but if the media only chose a handful to speak about then how can the public have a clear view of who to vote for.)
- Journalists are expected to focus their reporting on those parties whose election results they consider newsworthy, at the expense of others that they may consider less relevant. Second, once selected for reporting, journalists decide how to represent those parties in their news stories. (Surely this is unfair on the unselected parties as they don’t get the same chance to receive votes from the public due to the media not sharing their views.)
- News production is thus guided by the political reality and what is considered important in the political sphere, and ‘media companies are perceived as political or democratic institutions, with some kind of moral, if not legal, obligation to assist in making democracy work’ (Strömbäck, 2008, p. 234).
- If political logic guides news reporting of election results, we would expect journalists to draw on objective measures of the parties’ electoral performance. Election results provide facts about winners and losers and – in theory – the room for interpretation is relatively small. Thus, journalists are motivated to report accurately on the political reality (see McQuail, 1992).
- First, we expect the party winning most votes (i.e., the plurality party) to be more likely declared as an election winner. Winning more votes than all other competitors is arguably one way to define ‘winning’, even if the party falls short of winning an absolute majority in the election, which is not an unlikely outcome in proportional systems.
- It follows that journalists are more likely to (a) select the plurality party for inclusion in their news coverage and (b) represent this party as an electoral winner compared to other parties that received fewer votes. (Surely a journalist’s job is to accurately inform the public about the election so they can come up with a clear decision on who they want to vote for.)
- With more radical positions on economic and socio-cultural issues, these parties tend to carry a higher news value than established mainstream parties. Communication by and about radical parties also induces conflict because they tend to compete explicitly on an anti-elite rhetoric and challenge the political mainstream (Rooduijn & Akkerman, 2017).
- All else being equal, parties with more radical policy platforms are more likely to be (a) selected for inclusion in news coverage and (b) represented as election winners compared to mainstream parties.
- As regards the applicability of media logic, our results suggest that there is a substantial media bias in the reporting: All else being equal, journalists consider parties with radical policy positions on socio-cultural issues more newsworthy compared to those with moderate positions on the same dimension in the aftermath of elections.
2nd Extract from Ofcom:
- In determining the appropriate level of coverage to be given to parties and independent candidates broadcasters must consider evidence of past electoral support and/or current support. Broadcasters must also consider giving appropriate coverage to parties and independent candidates with significant views and perspectives.
- Candidates in UK elections, and representatives of permitted participants in UK referendums, must not act as news presenters, interviewers or presenters of any type of programme during the election period.
3rd Extract:
- All newspapers and magazines regulated by IPSO must follow the Editors’ Code of Practice. The Code is designed to address the potentially competing rights of freedom of expression with rights of individuals. Newspapers and magazines have editorial freedom to publish what they consider to be appropriate, but they must make sure the follow the rules set out in Code.
- No such period exists for newspapers and magazines who are free to report on all aspects of the election. Newspaper coverage is one of the main ways that candidates and parties communicate with potential voters so it is of course in the public interest that they report on the election.
- The Editors’ Code has no stipulations about campaigning. In fact, Clause 1 specifically states that newspapers are free to ‘editorialise and campaign’, but that they must clearly distinguish between comment, conjecture and fact.
- Newspapers and magazines can be a supporter or critic of any party, cause, or person, and this includes their coverage of election-related material – but they must make sure they report accurately under the Code.
- Similarly to campaigning, the Editors’ Code does not cover bias. The position a publication takes is a matter for individual editors, so long as they do not breach the requirement in Clause 1 to take care not to publish inaccurate, misleading or distorted material.
4th Extract on YouTube:
- An election is all about getting a party’s message to the most people.
- What is the relationship between the politicians and the media?
- The Sun newspaper has been important during elections with headlines such as “It’s the sun wot won it” in 1992, “The Sun Backs Blair” in 1997 as the Labour Party and Tony Blair went on to win the election, “Our Only Hope” in support of David Cameron during 2010.
- You must think about the target audience who would be voting for elections still because the older generation who are reading newspapers would be easily manipulated into thinking what they are reading is the correct information or believe in the party to follow up on their words.
General Election Essay:
Can the media truly report an election impartially?
According to a 2021 report by the Media Reform Coalition, 90% of the UK-wide print media is owned and controlled by just three companies. (Majid. A, 2023) The amount of control these companies have right at the top of this industry is very dangerous because it has the potential to trickle down, which may cause a recurring theme for every journalist to follow. If these major corporations have power over the media, then they can’t truly be independent because some people working for these companies may be influenced by government interests. Although investigating elites and exposing abuses of power is expensive and risky work, media organisations are supposed to be willing to invest in it because they are competing with one another to break stories. (Media Reform, 2023)
One limitation journalists face before a pre-election is that they should not publish any material that, in whole or in part, appears to be designed to affect public support for a political party. (Arsovski. D, 2023) In general, a journalist’s role would be not to issue any publicity that seeks to influence voters. The principle behind impartiality means that a journalist cannot be prejudiced towards or against a particular party, implying that they must separate their writing from their personal views.
A news story must never be used to support a candidate or party, and the tone of news stories must be neutral. However, when the media report on the general election once it’s finished and base it on “winners and losers,” it gives the public validation on potentially making the right choice regarding who they voted for. (Gattermann. K, 2021) When trying to answer the question about whether the media can truly report an election impartially, I am leaning towards yes because they are only going to speak about the parties with the most significant views and perspectives. The parties with the most weight will be given coverage during the election period. Broadcasters must consider evidence of past electoral support and/or current support.
If you take the election results of parties with polarising views on socio-cultural issues, such as the Green Party and Reform UK, then they tend to be selected for news coverage more often and are also more likely to be portrayed as election winners. This suggests that because these parties are more controversial, then it will get more people speaking about the election. One argument that goes against my theory would be that the media only choose certain parties to speak about because of how newsworthy they are, then surely that creates an uneven playing field for the parties who do not receive the same amount of coverage.
All newspapers and magazines regulated by IPSO must follow the editor’s code of practice. This code stands for editorial freedom to publish what they consider to be appropriate, but they must make sure to follow the rules set out in the code. Newspaper coverage is one of the main ways that candidates and parties communicate with potential voters, so it is of course in the public interest that they report on the election. Newspapers and magazines can be supporters or critics of any party, cause, or person. The position a publication takes is a matter for individual editors, so long as they do not breach the requirement in clause 1 to take care not to publish inaccurate, misleading, or distorted material. (Ofcom, 2024)
The rules during election day, for example, will change depending on which medium you are reporting through. TV broadcasters cannot show any political speeches or interviews from 7 am to 10 pm. (Grimond. W, 2024) As a result of this, they are only allowed to report on the more matter-of-fact aspects of the day. Newspapers are allowed to publish discussions of policy and political issues during election day because most newspapers will have gone to print the night before, so they will not be printing new information while the polling stations are open. Unlike the other two, social media does not have any specific rules about what can or cannot be published on election day, except for the BBC not publishing any campaigns during that time as they remain a publicly funded organisation.
One most recent example would be that Ofcom has fined GB News £100,000 for breaking impartiality rules during a Rishi Sunak QnA. Ofcom’s decision to impose the fine was due to “a direct attack on free speech and journalism in the United Kingdom.” While the program was ongoing, they received 547 complaints, meaning that Sunak must have breached the rules while reporting on the general election. (Rackman, 2024) Publications such as The Sun, for example, have expressed their desire to back certain parties with the headlines “It’s The Sun wot won it” in 1992 and “The Sun backs Blair” in 1997. During this period, the power of print journalism was far greater than today, as social media was non-existent during the 1990s. If you look forward to the US elections, Fox News has included bias and false reporting in favour of the Republican party while portraying the democratic party in a negative light. One example of this would be the way Fox News words their headlines towards Harris because it is completely different when they write about Trump. (Flood. B, 2024)
In conclusion, the industry is constantly evolving through the power of social media, so as a journalist now, it is vital to keep up to date on the emerging methods of reporting on the news. I think the answer to the question has stayed the same because the big corporations won’t want to lose the power they have on the media until they spread the control out to other companies in the UK and America, for example. Journalists will just have to adapt to what the rules are in terms of making sure they stay impartial when writing an article. Ultimately, people will keep up to date with politics so they can make an informed vote, which helps them plan for their future.
References:
Grimond. W, (4th July 2024), What can the media report on during election day? Available at: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/ofcom-newspapers-bbc-ipso-youtube-b2573719.html
Ofcom, (19th February 2024),Section six: Elections and referendums, Available at:https://www.ofcom.org.uk/tv-radio-and-on-demand/broadcast-standards/section-six-elections-referendums/
Gattermann. K, (24th November 2021), Who won the election? Explaining news coverage of election results in multi-party systems, Available at:https://ejpr.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1475-6765.12498
Boulton, A,(11th June 2024), Roundtable, How does the media affect elections in the UK? Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=foN1IorDAzc
Rackman. A, (31 October 2024), Ofcom fines GB News £100,000 over impartiality, Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c7v3d44zj03o
Local.gov.uk (24 May 2024), A short guide to publicity during the pre-election period, Avaliable at: https://www.local.gov.uk/publications/short-guide-publicity-during-pre-election-period
Flood.B, (25th September 2024), Google search favors Harris over Trump, places articles with ‘leftist bias’ atop GOP nominee’s site: study, Available at: https://www.foxnews.com/media/google-search-favors-harris-over-trump-places-articles-leftist-bias-atop-gop-nominees-site-study
Majid. A, (11th October 2023), Who owns the news? Mail titles, News UK and Reach dominate, report finds, Available at:https://pressgazette.co.uk/media-audience-and-business-data/media_metrics/who-owns-the-news-uk-news-media-owbership-analysed/
Media Reform, (2023), Media ownership and control, Available at:https://www.mediareform.org.uk/key-issues/media-ownership-and-control#intro
Arsovski. D, (2023), Ethical and professional principles of mrt for media coverage of election processes, Available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5a80f062e5274a2e8ab53052/Macedonia_Ethical_and_Professional_12_01_2__doc.pdf
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