CamPAINing

Has anyone ever realized that there are specific guidelines for how to broadcast any political campaign? I sure didn’t know until getting curious how politicians begin their campaigns on the television.

According to this manual explaining all of the terms and conditions to broadcasting a campaign one of the first things is the duty to the public. They are supposed to make sure that the public are informed of any topics related to the election, including information on the parties, candidates and voting process. Yet another guideline is the duty to impartiality. This guideline is clearly blurred, and I’m sure it is an intentional moment of impaired vision.

These guidelines are supposed to keep the airing of elections and campaigns unbiased and non-discriminatory, however they don’t seem to do so.  Do you believe, based on any elections you’ve seen broadcasted, that even one of these guidelines are followed?

Please look at the link below for all of the guidelines. A few of the major ones that caught my eye were:

Guideline 2: Duty of Balance and Impartiality

Publicly owned or funded media have a duty to be balanced and impartial in their election reporting and not to discriminate against any political party or candidate. 

Guideline 8: News Coverage

Publicly owned or funded media should be particularly scrupulous in complying with their obligations of balance and impartiality in their news and current affairs reporting

 

Guideline 12: Opinion Polls and Election Projections

If a broadcaster publishes the results of an opinion poll or election projection, it should strive to report the results fairly.

 

http://www.unesco.org/new/fileadmin/MULTIMEDIA/HQ/CI/CI/pdf/guidelines_for_election_broadcasting_en.pdf