Media strategy planning works much more effectively if media and other relevant stakeholders are involved. Consultation with media may happen naturally through the course of a Media Relations Department’s normal activities (such as at press conferences or through one-on-one meetings), but there are other, perhaps less obvious, stakeholders who should also be considered as valuable contributors:
- Political parties and candidates;
- Non-governmental organizations, especially those responsible for defending media freedom or monitoring media output, or will be directly involved in election administration or support;
- Donors;
- Representatives of voters themselves, such as community organizations.
The EMB media relations process would benefit from a consultation process that takes place prior to the establishment of a media strategy. However, to be most effective, the EMB may want to consider continuing these consultations through the entire process of the electoral cycle.
There are a number of reasons why consultations (both pre-operations and during-operations) can be beneficial:
- To develop media related regulations.
Consultations offer a chance for the EMB to sit down with media and stakeholders to develop media related regulations and codes of conduct. These legal frameworks will work best when all those affected, particularly in this instance the media and political parties, are involved in the planning process.
It is important for both the media and EMB to understand each other’s differing priorities and deadlines.
- To establish open and trusting relationships.
It is impossible to overstate the importance of dedicated time to establishing open and genuine relationships between the EMB and media (and stakeholders) prior to operations. Consultations can help overcome mistrust and establish these relationships, which in turn can be crucial for troubleshooting problems and can paving the way for smooth relationships when press coverage of elections heat up, and the electoral calendar gets busy.
- To become familiarized with the media profiles and personalities.
This is a good opportunity to get to know who you are dealing with, the media organizations who show intent to be involved in election coverage, the personalities and relationships between media organizations.
The media can offer the EMB insightful advice on which techniques work best in which circumstances, and for which media organizations. This includes language use, audience profiles, as well as formats (for example press conferences versus pre-recorded messages, and so forth).
- To assess election-knowledge level of the media.
A consultation will provide the EMB a general picture of the degree to which media and stakeholders are “election literate” (understand the processes and rules). This can influence the EMB’s plan for election reporting training or similar.
- To learn who is doing what.
Consultations will provide participants with an understanding of ‘who is doing what’, such as election reporting training, investigative journalism training, special media programming, and so forth.
- To establish a media monitoring plan.
This is a good opportunity to establish a media monitoring plan as well as to discuss candidate/party access to media, if this is something that is within the mandate of the Media Relations Department.
The number and frequency of consultations is determined by the circumstances at hand. Perhaps the situation is conducive to implementation of a series of all-inclusive consultations, or maybe it is more manageable and appropriate to divide the stakeholders and media into categories, and hold gatherings separately. Similarly, perhaps the series of consultation should be pre-scheduled throughout the electoral process (such as monthly), or maybe it is better to hold them in an ad-hoc manner as issues arise. Certainly a pre-scheduled series would ensure greater participation however, as stakeholders and media are better equipped to plan ahead. Here are two examples of how stakeholder consultations might work in practice. The first demonstrates the benefits of EMB involvement, which the second illustrates the pitfalls of EMB absence from the coordination and consultation process.
As an example consultation process, before the Tanzanian parliamentary elections of 2000, the Media Council[i] convened a meeting of media, journalists, non-governmental groups concerned with media freedom and the National Electoral Commission. This gathering drew up a Code of Conduct for media coverage of the elections. The Media Council and other NGOs then organized a media monitoring project that was aimed at determining how far the media complied with the Code of Conduct. It reported regularly throughout the campaign, before issuing a final report after the elections.
The final report was only released after a further consultation, involving all the same stakeholders, along with political parties and candidates. The monitoring findings were thoroughly debated and the Code of Conduct evaluated, with lessons drawn for future elections.[ii]
