In most countries, in most election campaigns, the staged political event remains an extremely important part of parties’ media strategies.

In many countries, of course, the political rally remains important in itself. It is a way of the candidates speaking directly to the voters. There is still an echo of the hustings, where rival candidates put forward their policies, debated and were questioned. Primarily, however, the political rally or other campaign event serves two purposes:

• To keep the candidates in the public eye.
• To allow them to put across their political positions unchallenged.

The modern political rally may do other things. Celebrity endorsements, for example, are an important element of political campaigning. Political rallies are often used to showcase the support of a well-known singer, actor or television personality.

All these aims require, to some degree, the complicity of the media themselves. Candidates are only in the public eye if the media report the events. Positions are only unchallenged if the media fail to quote alternative views. Celebrity endorsements are most effective if – as they generally do – the media focus on these (and continue to promote the celebrity’s latest song, film or television programme).

This presents journalists and editors with a genuine dilemma. Rallies are big events and are in that sense newsworthy. On the other hand, the content of such rallies is usually highly predictable and the exact opposite of newsworthy. The pack mentality tends to rule – the assumption always being that other media will report and so must we.

However, subjecting the statements of politicians to critical scrutiny is a necessary part of election reporting. Mere stenographic repetition of politicians’ statements is not good journalism. Balance needs to be sought, both through quoting reactions to what politicians say and by ensuring that political events of different parties and candidates are fairly and adequately reported.

What politicians say is an essential and important part of the way in which a campaign event is reported. But it is not the only part. A good report on a political rally or other event is likely to include all these elements too:

• How many people attended the event – the journalist’s estimate, not that of the organizing party, opponents or police?
• What was the reaction of the audience to the speeches, both as a group and individually?
• What was the reaction of other parties or candidates?
• Were there any other significant incident surrounding the event, such as attempts at disruption, heckling of speakers, violence by the audience and so on?