The responsibility for promoting professional coverage of elections in the media lies primarily with media organizations themselves. The role of the electoral administration is mainly to create an environment in which this can happen.
However, there are a number of aspects of editorial coverage where there may be specific regulations covering what the media may or may not say and consequently the direct involvement of the regulatory body. These areas include:
Coverage of Opinion Polls
Many countries have explicit regulations governing how opinion polls may be reported - indeed in some cases, notably France, reporting of opinion poll findings is prohibited altogether. However, as France is discovering, total prohibition of opinion poll reporting is no longer a practical proposition. The argument in favour of some form of regulation is that, especially in a new democracy, the public may not be aware of the limitations of opinion polling and be unduly influenced by their findings. On the other hand, developing professional coverage in this area is probably best achieved by disseminating guidelines on how to report opinion polls (see Questions to Ask About Opinion Polling) rather than by prohibiting their misreporting.
Special Information Programming
The one area of coverage where some form of regulation is usually considered necessary is 'special programming' - usually consisting of candidate debates and panel interviews. Some countries with a long history in this area have developed standard formats for this sort of programme without any external regulation. Others, especially newer democracies, have developed detailed rules to ensure that all participants in the debate have fair access.
Government Activities and Campaigning
One way in which election coverage is commonly abused is by manipulation of government functions for campaign purposes. Hence, senior officials standing for re-election contrive to place themselves in the public eye through their official functions. This happens in democracies the world over and is, to a large extent, a matter that should be left to the good professional judgment of the media themselves. However, especially where the public media are accustomed to slavish reporting of government Ministers' every function, it may be necessary to establish guidelines to prevent abuse.
News Blackouts/'Reflection Period'
Many countries operate a statutory or voluntary blackout on election news at some point. Most often this take place once voting has started, to avoid misleading and abusive last-minute campaigning. But sometimes the blackout can extend for some days before the election to create a 'reflection period' when voters can digest all the information they have received during the campaign.
