Media monitoring in Belarus: "Belarusian media coverage of the 2007 local elections"

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MEDIA MONITORING IN BELARUS: “BELARUSIAN MEDIA COVERAGE OF THE 2007 LOCAL ELECTIONS”

APPENDIX 4

Introduction

Summary of findings

Main findings

Media effects

Post elections' coverage

Conclusions

Appendix 2

Appendix 3

Appendix 4

International standards on media coverage of elections

This document was elaborated by the well–known International organization Article 19 having a worldwide experience in freedom of expression issues and media field.

Legal standards

The role of media during elections is governed mainly by two international human rights:

1. The right to free expression

2. The right to political participation

1. The right to freedom of expression is protected in:

— Article 19 of the Universal Declaration for Human Rights (UDHR)¹;

— Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)², (ratified by Belarus on 1973 and legally binding on its government);

— Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) (not ratified by Belarus)³.

¹UN General Assembly Resolution 217A(III), 10 December 1948. The UDHR, as a UN General Assembly resolution, is not directly binding on States. However, parts of it, including Article 19, are widely regarded as having acquired legal force as customary international law since its adoption in 1948.

²UN General Assembly Resolution 2200A(XXI), 16 December 1966, in force 23 March 1976.

³E.T.S. No. 5, adopted 4 November 1950, in force 3 September 1953.

Freedom of expression is seen as one of the most important rights guaranteed under the ECHR. It is fundamental to democracy. In the context of political processes (such as elections), freedom of expression must be particularly protected.

During elections, the right to free expression is essential so as to promote:

— the media's right to report on elections freely;

— all candidates/parties' right to communicate their message to the voters;

— the voters' right to receive information about the candidates/parties and about the electoral process.

Restrictions to the right to free expression:

In very specific, narrowly-defined circumstances international law allows certain restrictions to the right to free expression. Such restrictions have to:

(1) be prescribed by law;

(2) pursue one of the legitimate aims, as listed, and;

(3) be necessary in a democratic society.

The ECHR lists the following legitimate aims:

— national security or public safety,

— the prevention of disorder or crime,

— the protection of health or morals,

— the protection of the rights and freedoms of others.

2. The right to political participation and right to vote are guaranteed in a number of international documents, for example Article 25 of the ICCPR, which states that:

“[e]very citizen shall have the right and opportunity, without ... distinction [of any kind] ... to vote ... at genuine ... elections.”

People can make an informed choice during elections only if they receive accurate and balanced information, together with a variety of viewpoints, so as to be able to form their own opinions on candidates and parties.

What do human rights mean in practice?

International bodies, such as the European Court of Human Rights or the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) have provided detailed guidance on what these principles mean in the practice of an electoral process. They have implications for the State, the campaigning parties, and the media itself.

Key guidelines are:

— All media must be free to report and comment on elections-related news and there must be no government censorship on election-related programs or articles⁴.

— The State-owned (public) media have to provide the public with fair and balanced reporting, to enable them to make an informed and unfettered choice in electing representatives. All State-owned and State-controlled media (including the print media) should report campaigns in a fair, balanced and impartial manner⁵.

— The State-owned media must provide voter education . This means, citizens should be well informed about the registration and voting process⁶.

— The private broadcast media can also be required by law to follow some basic principles of fairness, balance and impartiality. However, according to the Council of Europe, such regulations should be implemented “with due respect for the editorial independence of broadcasters”⁷.

— Private print and Internet-based media should be free to express a political preference for one or other candidates.

While the State should not make prescriptions on content to the private media, it is strongly recommended that all private media develop and follow voluntary guidelines conducive to fair reporting. This serves to fulfil the principles of journalistic ethics and to promote freedom of expression.

— It is common to give a certain amount of free air-time to candidates/parties (often but not always on the public broadcaster) so they can communicate their messages to the public. This free air-time has to be provided in a fair, transparent , and non-discriminatory way⁸.

⁴Political broadcasts or reports may however be subject to post-publication sanctions, for example, if they are found to have been defamatory or likely to incite violence. Any such measures should, however, be enforced through the regular judicial processes, in accordance with international human rights standards.

⁵Recommendation R(99)15 of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe on Measures Concerning Media Coverage of Election Campaigns, Note 2, Appendix, Principle I.2 ( Recommendation R(99)15 ). Also Recommendations on media and election are contained in the 1999 Report of the UN Special Rapporteur on the Protection and Promotion of the Right to Freedom of Opinion and Expression, Mr. Abid Hussein, UN Doc. E/CN.4/1999/64, 29 January 1999, Point 17 ( UN 1999 Report ).

⁶See 1999 UN Report, Point 17.

⁷Recommendation R(99)15, Note 2, Appendix, Principle II.1.

⁸Ibid, Principle II.4 and UN 1999 Report, Point 17.

— If paid political advertising is allowed, this “should be made available to all contending parties indiscriminately”⁹. This rule applies to both the public and private media.

⁹Ibid, Principle II.5.

— An election administration (central, regional, local) should be established which is independent of government, as well as of any political, financial or other force that can undermine its independence. The Central Election Commission has to be tasked and enabled to monitor and safeguard all principles of freedom of expression during the election period.

Ethical standards for media and journalists

Why ethics and self-regulation?

There are some important reasons why the media should establish and follow principles of professional ethics. Here are two of them:

— The media possess (in other places we put media as singular. We should make it consistent — normally I use the singular form, although it's true that medium is actually the singular form… I think that the singular is used increasingly) great power in society because of their capacity to shape public opinion. The media should exercise this power with accountability.

— Establishing your own ethical guidelines and the procedures for upholding them, means exercising your freedom of expression — the freedom to make your own decisions in this sphere. It is aimed to protect you from restrictions that are imposed from above, and can protect against illegitimate accusations and attacks.

What is ethics?

Ethics is the personal capability of and commitment to responsible judgement in each circumstance, even the most challenging and unusual. Guidelines and codes of conduct help in upholding it, but it requires active commitment to ethical standards from each member of the profession and each media outlet.

Key principles of journalistic ethics during elections

Principles for covering elections should be based on general ethical principles for good journalism, as they are outlined in numerous codes of conduct around the world. One of the most authoritative codes is the Declaration of Principles on the Conduct of Journalists of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ Code of Conduct)¹⁰.

Most codes hold journalists responsible for:

— Respecting the truth and disseminating accurate information¹¹;

— Refraining from fabricating information or falsifying documents;

— Using fair methods to obtain information;

— Respecting the confidentiality of sources;

— Avoiding discrimination;

— Avoiding ‘malicious representation', defamation and bribery¹².

¹⁰Available on http://www.ifj.org/default.asp?Issue=ETHICS&Language=EN

¹¹Principle 1 of the IFJ Code of Conduct states: “Respect for truth and for the right of the public to truth is the first duty of the journalist”.

¹²The IFJ Code of Conduct counts as ‘grave professional offenses' malicious misrepresentation; calumny, slander, libel or unfounded accusations; and the acceptance of a bribe (Principle 8).

Specific guidelines for election periods include:

— Cover elections fairly! This means that on a contentious issue a journalist should seek comments from all sides involved, and give a candidate the opportunity to respond to another candidate's accusation.

— Report news as accurately as possible, refraining from deliberately favouring any candidate!

— Always strive to correct any inaccurate information you may have disseminated by mistake. This has to be done particularly speedily during an election campaign, where time is vitally important for the campaigning parties and candidates.

— Speedily give the right of reply to those who have been harmed by the dissemination of inaccurate or false information through you¹³. The reply, correction or retraction should be approximately the same length, and should be broadcast in approximately the same time period, as the allegedly defamatory statement.

— Do not attempt to ‘interpret' a candidate's words, but instead faithfully report what was said.

— Avoid emotive, inflammatory or discriminatory language on any grounds, including race, gender and religion.

— In your reporting, make a clear distinction between the reporting of facts and the expression of an opinion or commentary.

— Provide voters voices in your reporting.

— Give access to your medium to all candidates.

— Opinion polls should be reported with due care. You should ensure that, along with the poll, you report essential information such as the date when the poll was carried out, who commissioned and carried it out, and the margin of likely error¹⁴.

¹³There should be an expedited procedure: during the short and intense election period, there is not time to address unfair and incorrect accusations through courts, and these can have a significant effect on the overall outcome.

¹⁴For example, see the BBC rules on this issue, reported in ACE, op.cit., “Voluntary Guidelines on Reporting Opinion Polls — United Kingdom”.
http://www.aceproject.org/main/english/me/mey16.htm

What is a bias?

A bias can be plain favouritism, but also omission of certain information, portraying of a story from a particular angle or giving it a certain twist.

Deliberate biases may also include more subtle techniques, such as the use of camera angles to make a candidate more or less photogenic, and the location of a candidate's interview (a luxurious office as opposed to decrepit surroundings).

How to cope with biases?

Avoiding biases is not an easy task even for the best journalists, and all journalists make mistakes occasionally — not only because of political pressure or to pursue personal gain, but also simply because of work pressure and the need to meet deadlines. Partisanship may be the result of other underlying, internal and invisible processes. As a journalist noted:

The gathering, editing and publishing of news involves decisions by people who inevitable bring their own background, values and prejudices to bear on deciding what to select, emphasise and colour as new¹⁵.

In addition, an increase in news items relating to the incumbent is not necessarily a clear indication of bias, but may simply result from the emergence of circumstances which require the incumbent's particularly frequent public exposure. What the media and the Central Election Commission should ensure is the elimination of deliberate biases — and the provision of journalistic training so as to avoid unintentional biases as much as possible.

As the IFJ reminds us, a journalist is “a link between the event and the reader, listener or viewer … news coverage should not become a barrier between the candidates and the voters. It should be a bridge connecting them.”¹⁶

¹⁵International Federation of Journalists, Election Reporting Handbook. A Media for Democracy Handbook, p.8. http://www.ifj.org/pdfs/electionreporting.pdf

¹⁶Ibid, p.9.

What practical steps can be taken?

Journalists' organisations such as the IFJ recommend a range of measures to improve media performance during election periods. These include the following.

Recommendations for Individual Journalists

— Carefully study the media-related election rules before the campaign starts!

— Thoroughly prepare yourself by studying the major candidates and the socio-political context of the elections!

— Respect issue complexity ! Issues are often more complicated than they might appear at first sight. Journalists should be acute observers and good analysts. One should remember that being impartial does not mean that one should not question or criticise.

— Do your utmost to remain impartial vis-а-vis the political process! As the IFJ Election Manual recommends, a journalist should not even take a ride in a politician's car¹⁷. This could impact adversely on his/her credibility.

¹⁷John Lawrence, Briefing Paper by Training Editor of “The Nation”, Kenya, in International Federation of Journalists, op.cit., p.24.

— In general, follow the guidelines of the IFJ Code of Conduct when reporting at all times!

Recommendations for Media Outlets

— Different media outlets should join forces to prepare general professional guidelines and codes of conduct for journalists, as well as a mechanism for its implementation.

— Each media outlet should develop internal guidelines for the coverage of elections.

— It may be advisable for a media outlet to establish an internal system — such a committee responsible for reviewing news items/articles so as to monitor impartiality, and to provide support to journalists.

— An internal ombudsperson may be appointed to review complaints from the public.

— So as to protect journalists' editorial freedom, internal statutes can be adopted. Some newspapers have agreements guaranteeing that journalist should not be forced to perform or report in a way that is contrary to their convictions. Committees of nominated representatives can act to safeguard the interest of journalists in case of conflict between them and management.

— The media should invest in building a relationship of trust with the public. A media outlet can, for example, set out and communicate to the electorate its rules for the reporting of the campaign, and solicit feedback from the public.

— Resource persons should be at hand to provide answers to specific questions. These may include media lawyers, respected political analysts, sociologists and specialists in journalistic codes of conduct and journalistic ethics.

— Minor parties should also be given attention in the media.

— Media and political parties/electoral candidates could jointly develop an agreement to promote ethical behaviour in their interaction and guarantee mutual respect during the election campaign. This type of informal agreement can improve the, often problematic, relationship between journalists and politicians, and reduce the common lack of mutual trust.

When violence against journalists was on the increase in South Africa in 1992, the South African Union of Journalists convened a meeting with the representatives of major political parties. A “Declaration of Respect for the Rights of Working Journalists” , was signed by the parties, stated that they undertook to “respect and promote the physical safety of journalists, including news photographers and radio and television crews”¹⁸.

¹⁸International Federation of Journalists, op.cit., pp. 19 and 28.

— After the elections, a media outlet should assess its performance and identify possible drawbacks, so as to correct them in future electoral campaigns.

Resources:

— UDHR — http://www.un.org/Overview/rights.html

— ECHR — http://conventions.coe.int/treaty/en/Treaties/Html/005.htm

— ICCPR — http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/a_ccpr.htm

— ARTICLE 19 Guidelines for Election Broadcasting in Transitional Democracies, London 1994

In 1994, building on experience gained during the first wave of democratic elections in post-Soviet Central and Eastern Europe, ARTICLE 19 published its Guidelines for Election Broadcasting in Transitional Democracies . These guidelines focus on the role of the broadcast media in elections, with a special focus on the obligations of State-owned broadcasters. http://www.article19.org/docimages/516.htm

— Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe

In 1999, the Committee of Ministers adopted Recommendation R(99)15 on Measures Concerning Media Coverage of Election Campaigns¹⁹, which goes beyond the broadcast sector and recommends measures that apply to all media.
http://www.coe.int/t/e/human_rights/media/5_Documentary_Resources/
1_Basic_Texts/2_Committee_of_Ministers'_texts/Rec(1999)015%20E%20&_Exp_Mem.asp#TopOfPage

¹⁹Adopted 9 September 1999.

— UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression

Recommendations on media and election are contained in the 1999 Report of the UN Special Rapporteur on the Protection and Promotion of the Right to Freedom of Opinion and Expression, Mr. Abid Hussein, UN Doc. E/CN.4/1999/64, 29 January 1999,
http://www.unhchr.ch/huridocda/huridoca.nsf/(Symbol)/E.CN.4.1999.64.En?Opendocument

— OSCE

Further recommendations regarding the role of the media in election times can be found in the ‘human dimension' agreements adopted by the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)

See ‘Document of the Copenhagen Meeting of the Conference on the Human Dimension of the CSCE', June 1990, mainly Principle 7.8. http://www.osce.org/docs/english/1990-1999/hd/cope90e.htm

— Venice Commission

Further recommendations are also included in the Code of Good Practice in Electoral Matters adopted by the European Commission for Democracy through Law²⁰, better known as the Venice Commission, an international organisation established through the Council of Europe²¹.
http://www.venice.coe.int/docs/2002/CDL-AD(2002)023rev-e.asp

²⁰European Commission for Democracy through Law (Venice Commission), Code of Good Practice in Electoral Matters, Strasbourg, 30 October 2002, CDL-AD (2002) 23.

²¹Russia is a member of the OSCE, Council of Europe and the Venice Commission.

Appendix 3

Appendix 4