Elections have often been reported in a top-down manner. This means that the media tend to focus on relaying, and perhaps commenting on, manifestoes, pledges, and speeches of parties and candidates. An electorate consumes these messages as relayed by the media and makes its vote choice accordingly. This is not always the case of course, and any top down reporting is increasingly challenged, or offset, through the advantages and diversity of new media, including what is broadcast by established news agencies as well as by citizens themselves (through blogs, Twitter, and other social media sites).
Bottom-up reporting has also been labelled “voters-voice reporting” (coined by the Institute for Media Policy and Civil Society - IMPACS), as well as citizen-oriented journalism. This takes as its focal point concerns of citizens in elections - rather than agendas of politicians or candidates. From this starting point, bottom-up reporting attempts to do two things:
- To inform politicians about what the concerns of voters really are; and
- To inform voters on how effectively politicians are meeting their concerns.
IMPACS argued that, in order to reverse the top down reporting approach, journalists should think like the public, not the politicians. In doing so, journalists seek to discover voters’ preoccupations – which may often be local and ‘un-newsworthy’, as judged by traditional news criteria. IMPACS pointed out that this is usually more challenging work for journalists as it may involve going out and interviewing voters, while simultaneously attending press conferences and political rallies. In addition, bottom up reporting requires substantial background research on the issues.
However, new media has dramatically increased the access of traditional media to the ‘voice’ of the public, and media’s ability to gauge – and engage with – the public and their views. It has also improved traditional media’s ability to promote interaction between candidates and citizens. Perhaps even more significantly, new media has allowed the public to bypass traditional media altogether and create their own forums for discussion, debate, organising, lobbying and so on, on issues they feel are important.[i]
[i] Ross Howard, Media + Elections, An Elections Reporting Handbook, (IMPACS Associate, 2004), 20-22
