Broadcasters backed the abolition of the long-standing ban on reporting any information which could influence an election from 2pm on the day before polling day until after voting had ended, media regulator Coimisiún na Meán has said.
The regulator said that, in response to a consultation process launched several months ago, there were seven submissions from broadcasters, all of which favoured abolition of the moratorium.
RTÉ said it was “entirely anomalous” that its online news service could report on a significant breaking story, and particularly one based on disinformation/misinformation in the moratorium period, but its television and radio division could not do so.
It told Coimisiún na Meán: “If a story based on misinformation or disinformation emerges in what would be the moratorium period, broadcasters should have editorial freedom to report on this and bring relevant facts into the public domain.”
TG4 told the Commission: “Because reporting restrictions of the moratorium do not apply to other media, such as online and print media, there could be a potential imbalance in coverage of elections and referendums between broadcast and other media. In order to have better balance across all media, we believe it is necessary to abolish the moratorium entirely.”
Virgin Media Television said the broadcast moratorium was “outdated and is no longer effective”.
“The moratorium does not allow broadcasters tackle the rise of disinformation/bad actors during the moratorium period. In fact, by silencing broadcasters, the moratorium completely undermines and hinders the trust and credibility in broadcast news. Abolishing the moratorium would permit television news to fulfil its primary public service function of delivering fair, balanced and impartial coverage of all election issues.”
The regulator said there were five responses from organisations performing a regulatory, political or advocacy role. It said among these, there were a mix of views in relation to the options put forward by the Commission.
Among these submissions there was support for abolition of the moratorium; making it last for a longer or shorter period; changing the rules so the moratorium would cover only more limited types of broadcast coverage or replacing it with a positive obligation on broadcasters, for example an obligation to exercise particular care with regard to material addressing election or referendum issues in the lead-up to a referendum or election.
The Law Society said it supported the abolition of the moratorium and replacing it with guidance imposing positive obligations rather than negative obligations.
The Oireachtas Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport and Media said its preference was “to afford a reflective period to the electorate in such a way that it is applied in a fair and balanced manner to all forms of media including social media”.
However, it said in the event that application of broadcast moratorium rules to online platforms was not possible in the short-term, and where the only options available were to retain or abolish the moratorium, the Joint Committee would favour abolition of the moratorium until such time that it could be enforced in a fair and balanced manner to all forms of media.
Staff in the FM104 and Q102 newsroom in Dublin, part of the Wireless Ireland Group said: “The news cycle is more ‘24/7′ than ever before and our work is made further challenging during voting cycles, especially when untraditional, online-only news outlets can publish stories during the broadcast moratorium that we cannot then make reference to. These stories can then often dominate the discourse on social media, and broadcasters are hamstrung from even mentioning the issue. We then get accused of ‘not covering’ the issue or ignoring it.”
The Labour Party said it backed ending the moratorium but said it was legitimate to have guidance requiring broadcasters, in the final hours, before polling day, to exercise special or particular care in considering whether to broadcast certain material.
“We support the view that it would be reasonable to require a broadcaster to prepare a policy to guide appropriate decision-making around political coverage near in time to a public vote.”
Coimisiún na Meán said there were six responses from individuals to its consultation process, split between leaving the traditional moratorium in place and abolishing it entirely.
The Commission decided earlier this month to abolish the moratorium and replace it with a revised guidance to broadcasters to exercise additional care with regard to material addressing election or referendum issues during the “critical election period” in the lead-up to a referendum or election.
“In arriving at this view, the Commission considers that maintaining the integrity of elections is a legitimate objective in protecting fundamental rights but that the broadcast moratorium can no longer be regarded as a necessary restriction on freedom of speech in a democratic society in light of the growth of online media,” it said.
The broadcast moratorium had been in place since 1997.
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