Activity Details (ID# 15163)

Activity Synopsis

The main objectives of the Conference were:

- to discuss the values, standards and principles of news reporting and media coverage of electoral issues in accordance with the Council of Europe standards (Recommendation No. R (99) 15 on measures concerning media coverage of election campaigns);

- to discuss how these principles and standards can be implemented in the daily work of the journalists during the preelectoral time as well as during the time of the official electoral campaign.
 

The organisational preparation of the Conference was very good.

The participants took part in the discussions in a very open and frank manner.

During the Conference the newly appointed President of the Broadcasting Council presented its coverage rules which meet the Council of Europe standards concerning freedom of information and expression and remind broadcasters of the need to ensure fairness, balance and impartiality. The presentation provoked very lively and interesting discussions.

The debate focused on whether the day of reflection would be respected, whether the Council had enough power to enforce its rules if they are flouted, and the difficulties in ensuring a proper separation between reporting legitimate governmental activities during the campaign as opposed to taking party political advantage. The Council of Europe experts stressed the importance of applying normal journalistic criteria during the campaign.

During the course of the conference, the Council of Europe experts also emphasized the importance of reporting opinion polls in a way which provided context and trend as well as the fact that they rarely prove only show how people are likely to vote. Participants were reminded that in most countries people make up their minds over a long period of time and rarely within the campaign period.
 

The general conclusion was that the legal framework concerning media coverage of elections exists, the challenge will be to see how the rules are applied and whether they are followed. It was clear from the discussion that there are areas of doubt in both the public and private sectors. The liveliness of the debate indicated that the participants were well aware of the responsibility to provide balanced, fair and impartial coverage. 

Journalists, representative of political parties, representatives of NGOs, independent candidates 

Mr Manuel LUCBERT, Journalist, Ecole Supérieure de Journalisme de Lille (France)
Mr Stephen WHITTLE, Independent expert, formerly Controller, Editorial Policy, BBC
 

Mr Michel RIVOLIER, Council of Europe resident expert in Skopje
Mr Gjorgji JOVANOVSKI, Council of Europe Information Office, Skopje
Ms Lejla DERVISAGIC, Media Division, DG II