Monitoring Jordanian media during the election campaign
The media play an important role during election periods – they help voters to make an informed choice. That’s why the EU EOM Jordan 2024 has established a Media Monitoring Unit, which began its work one month prior to elections.
The Unit is composed of the mission’s Media Analyst, Veronica Laputska, and five Jordanian media professionals. They assess the coverage of the campaign by a sample of Jordanian media outlets, including TV channels and radio stations. They produce an analysis of the distribution of media airtime given to political contestant, and the tone of coverage. The Media Analyst is also conducting meetings with journalists to gather more information on their role in the election process.
For broadcast media, the media monitors follow the main programs and primetime broadcasts during the campaign. Television and radio programs are recorded by the EU Election observation mission and analysed on a daily basis, until the end of the election campaign.
The mission’s final assessment considers:
- whether political parties and candidates are given fair and equitable access to the media;
- whether political parties and candidates are covered in a balanced and unbiased manner;
- whether the media and the authorities adhere to the rules on coverage of an election campaign;
- whether the media give sufficient coverage of electoral issues to provide for the electorate making an informed choice on election day;
- whether public, state-owned media fulfil their specific obligations.
The findings of the media monitoring will be included in the mission’s Preliminary Statement, to be issued two days after the elections. The Final Report of the EU Election Observation Mission to Jordan will comprise a more detailed analysis of the Jordanian media environment and may include technical recommendations to improve media coverage in future electoral processes.
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