Media outlets who aren’t willing to be objective in their election reporting may be facing consequences..The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) is taking election matters into their own hands, cautioning broadcasters “to play fair in campaign news coverage,” says Blacklock’s Reporter..TV and radio stations are under relatively new guidelines ever since an investigation in 2016 revealed coverage of a Conservative MP “was so one-sided it breached the Broadcasting Act.“.Guidelines For TV And Radio Broadcasters said in a statement in order to comply with the balance requirements, broadcasters are required to “take reasonable steps” to attempt to ensure their audiences “are informed on the main issues, and of the positions of all the candidates and registered parties on those issues, through their public affairs programs generally.”.The Broadcasting Act does not apply directly to news coverage, but requires broadcasters to “set a high standard and permit expression of differing views on matters of public concern.”.The former Conservative MP for Calgary Northeast who held the position for two terms, Devinder Shory, lost re-election in 2015 by 2,759 votes. Shory claims his loss was partially due to a “pro-Liberal” broadcast on Calgary Radio CHKF-FM put on by Fairchild Radio the night before the election..The CRTC agreed with Shory in a 2016 decision, saying “the lengthy broadcast was so partisan it violated federal law,” but no penalty was ever imposed..The Commission said the night before the election, a four-hour program occurred in which hosts discussed election issues with guests and took live listener calls. The Commission said “the hosts, guests, and callers mainly talked about what they disliked about then-Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the Conservative Party.”.Apparently discussions on the program were “primarily centred on the reasons not to vote for the Conservative Party, and on strategic voting.” Strategic voting in this context meaning a vote for the Liberals also counted as a vote against the Conservatives..During the four-hour Punjabi-spoken broadcast, Shory said Fairchild Radio and it’s hosts “openly campaigned against him and asked listeners to vote for a candidate who wears a turban.” The turban comment was taken by Shory as a personal attack since he does not wear a turban — ironically, Darshan Singh Kang, the elected Liberal candidate, does..The broadcast was unusually long because it was actually a combination of two separate shows with two different hosts. The CRTC was told “neither of the hosts or guests provided any balance.”.Ultimately, the CRTC ruled the broadcast left no time for Shory to respond appropriately before the election, saying “the night before an election is a more sensitive period.”.The Commission said the show aired from 7:00 pm to 11:00 pm, a mere matter of hours before the polls opened the next morning..“The station broadcast political comments against a political party and discussed voting strategies aimed at a specific outcome the night before the election, when there was no time to provide opposing view on these comments,” the CRTC said. “The station knew candidates or political parties affected by the comments would not have time to reply.”.Jackie Conroy is a reporter for the Western Standard.jconroy@westernstandardonline.com
Media outlets who aren’t willing to be objective in their election reporting may be facing consequences..The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) is taking election matters into their own hands, cautioning broadcasters “to play fair in campaign news coverage,” says Blacklock’s Reporter..TV and radio stations are under relatively new guidelines ever since an investigation in 2016 revealed coverage of a Conservative MP “was so one-sided it breached the Broadcasting Act.“.Guidelines For TV And Radio Broadcasters said in a statement in order to comply with the balance requirements, broadcasters are required to “take reasonable steps” to attempt to ensure their audiences “are informed on the main issues, and of the positions of all the candidates and registered parties on those issues, through their public affairs programs generally.”.The Broadcasting Act does not apply directly to news coverage, but requires broadcasters to “set a high standard and permit expression of differing views on matters of public concern.”.The former Conservative MP for Calgary Northeast who held the position for two terms, Devinder Shory, lost re-election in 2015 by 2,759 votes. Shory claims his loss was partially due to a “pro-Liberal” broadcast on Calgary Radio CHKF-FM put on by Fairchild Radio the night before the election..The CRTC agreed with Shory in a 2016 decision, saying “the lengthy broadcast was so partisan it violated federal law,” but no penalty was ever imposed..The Commission said the night before the election, a four-hour program occurred in which hosts discussed election issues with guests and took live listener calls. The Commission said “the hosts, guests, and callers mainly talked about what they disliked about then-Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the Conservative Party.”.Apparently discussions on the program were “primarily centred on the reasons not to vote for the Conservative Party, and on strategic voting.” Strategic voting in this context meaning a vote for the Liberals also counted as a vote against the Conservatives..During the four-hour Punjabi-spoken broadcast, Shory said Fairchild Radio and it’s hosts “openly campaigned against him and asked listeners to vote for a candidate who wears a turban.” The turban comment was taken by Shory as a personal attack since he does not wear a turban — ironically, Darshan Singh Kang, the elected Liberal candidate, does..The broadcast was unusually long because it was actually a combination of two separate shows with two different hosts. The CRTC was told “neither of the hosts or guests provided any balance.”.Ultimately, the CRTC ruled the broadcast left no time for Shory to respond appropriately before the election, saying “the night before an election is a more sensitive period.”.The Commission said the show aired from 7:00 pm to 11:00 pm, a mere matter of hours before the polls opened the next morning..“The station broadcast political comments against a political party and discussed voting strategies aimed at a specific outcome the night before the election, when there was no time to provide opposing view on these comments,” the CRTC said. “The station knew candidates or political parties affected by the comments would not have time to reply.”.Jackie Conroy is a reporter for the Western Standard.jconroy@westernstandardonline.com
