Effective coverage of an election is coverage that is planned. Whether planning entails complex deployment of resources or skilful maximising of scarce ones, election coverage will not work properly without it.

An effective election plan addresses the following questions:

• What resources are available? Is there a special budget for election coverage, or will it have to be met out of the normal editorial budget? What staff are available – is there a budget to hire additional staff or freelancers?

• What is the timetable of the election? When are the crucial phases and to what extent will it be possible to prepare coverage for these phases in advance?

• What are the particular issues in this election and how far will these influence the way in which a particular media outlet organises its coverage?
  

• What innovations in coverage will the media outlet need to make? What will be distinct features of its coverage?

• What are the interests and needs of the media outlet’s audiences and other key stakeholders, vis a vis election coverage?

The answers to these questions will differ enormously depending on whether the media outlet concerned is, say, an international satellite television network or a local newspaper.  Scale of operations will also vary, however planning issues remain essentially the same.

The following checklist highlights issues that editors will need to address before the start of an election campaign (this list is adapted from the International Federation of Journalists’ Election reporting Handbook.[i]

• Key dates of the election process: voter registration, candidate nomination, campaign period, voting day, announcement of results etc.;
• Regulations and laws affecting election coverage during each of these periods.
• Budgets for election coverage and identification of more costly election phases;
• Teams who will cover the election – as well as political staff, other specialised reporters tend to cover particular aspects of the campaign;
• Election coverage management– senior editors who will decide on any sensitive matters that emerge in the course of the campaign;
• Technical and operational arrangements;
• Any additional personnel;
• Resources such as election experts and pundits, who can advise on election matters, training material, or photo and video libraries;
• Reputable companies to run opinion surveys;
• Angles, focuses and priorities that are appropriate to our media outlet and audience;
• Reporting formats, particularly when a media outlet is multi-media;
• Emergency and journalist-safety planning.

As indicated in the checklist, journalists covering an election require different knowledge and tool sets for each of the electoral phases or periods of the election.   Not only will content of coverage differ, there will also be variations in rules and regulations applicable to each period.  Common electoral phases or periods that journalists will need to contend with are:

• Voter registration

• Candidate nomination and pre-campaign

• Campaign

• Voting

• Counting and Results

• Post-election

Each of these phases is explored in greater detail on subsequent pages.