III.3. THE DUTY TO INFORM THE VOTERS
Article 19 of the international Covenant on the civil and
political rights of 1966 guarantees all citizens the right to receive
information. During an election period, it means that the State is obliged to
ensure that voters are duly informed of the modalities of voting and ballot
issue.
The authorities perform in general this task by organizing
awareness-raising campaigns (leaflets, advertisements, etc.) and giving air
time to all parties and candidates in the public audio-visual media. But this
obligation to inform the voters does not concern only the journalists of the
public service. All journalists have a professional and moral duty to inform
citizens in election period.
Naturally, this duty to provide information is the major
political issues of the election. Citizens need the information provided by the
media to learn more about the candidates, the programs of the different parties
and issues that make debate. But the journalist also has a role to play in
electoral education of citizens.
Contribute to voter education journalist must provide citizens
with information on the modalities of the election:
· Who is entitled to vote and who has the right to
stand?
· Where, when and how to register on the electoral
lists?
· Where, when and how to vote?
· What is the type of the election? (Legislative,
presidential, municipal, etc.)
· What are the positions to be filled and what powers and
responsibilities will they give to the elect?
This information is important in all countries, but even more
essential in the countries where democracy has appeared very late or that are
home to large parts of low literate population. They can contribute to the
broad participation of the public in the polls by the awakening of the civic
consciousness of the citizens. For example, explain in detail the procedures to
ensure the secrecy of the ballot (which avoids the reprisal) may reassure some
voters.
This information can be transmitted via stories:
· On the work of governmental or civil society
organizations specialized in electoral education.
· Canadian citizens to verify that they have understood
the different aspects of the electoral process and/or to highlight the aspects
on which awareness is still necessary.
The transmission of this information assumes a serious work of
preparation beforehand by the journalist.
III.3.1 EFFECTIVELY INFORM
Convey information only makes sense if this information can be
understood by its recipient. The journalist must keep in mind that an electoral
process raises problems and the very complex issues. The presentation should
always be accessible to the greatest number. A journalist is not a University.
This is a person able to explain complex problems with the forms of the
simplest language, a kind of Ombudsman somehow:
· A good reporter can say much with few words while a
less good journalist needs to use a lot of words to say very little.
· Short sentences with one idea per sentence.
· Establish a plan before you start story writing. The
plan allows to define the logic of an event (or a problem) and the most dynamic
way to tell (or explained). It also allows identifying the most important
information (the hierarchy of information). Then ask the following question: in
what order use this information so that the narrative is the most logical and
the clearest possible?
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