Interesting rules of press engagement on election day in UK, should we have something similar ?
There are tight restrictions on reporting.
Once polls are open on Election Day, the British broadcasters that were reporting feverishly in the lead-up to the vote will suddenly have a noticeable lack of coverage.
It’s illegal for anyone in Britain to publish information on how people say they have voted — exit polling, or forecasts based on it — until after polls close at 10 p.m. local time.
The rules for broadcasters go further, however. A code of conduct laid out by Britain’s communications regulator, Ofcom, specifies that all discussion and analysis of election issues on television and radio must cease once polls open, that no opinion polls can be published and that no coverage of opinion polls is allowed while people are voting.
“When people are going to the polls on Election Day, it’s important that everyone can vote on the same information,” the regulator explained.
The Guardian has an item on its live briefing urging readers to comment, but to avoid saying how they voted.
“Please keep posting your comments below, but don’t say how you voted,” the note reads. “The Representation of the People Act outlaws the reporting of how people voted.”
Broadcasters’ websites generally follow suit. “There will be no coverage of any issues directly pertinent to the election campaigns on any BBC outlet,” according to the public broadcaster’s internal election guidelines.
source: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/12/world/europe/uk-elections-brexit.html#link-6a6bdd2
There are tight restrictions on reporting.
Once polls are open on Election Day, the British broadcasters that were reporting feverishly in the lead-up to the vote will suddenly have a noticeable lack of coverage.
It’s illegal for anyone in Britain to publish information on how people say they have voted — exit polling, or forecasts based on it — until after polls close at 10 p.m. local time.
The rules for broadcasters go further, however. A code of conduct laid out by Britain’s communications regulator, Ofcom, specifies that all discussion and analysis of election issues on television and radio must cease once polls open, that no opinion polls can be published and that no coverage of opinion polls is allowed while people are voting.
“When people are going to the polls on Election Day, it’s important that everyone can vote on the same information,” the regulator explained.
The Guardian has an item on its live briefing urging readers to comment, but to avoid saying how they voted.
“Please keep posting your comments below, but don’t say how you voted,” the note reads. “The Representation of the People Act outlaws the reporting of how people voted.”
Broadcasters’ websites generally follow suit. “There will be no coverage of any issues directly pertinent to the election campaigns on any BBC outlet,” according to the public broadcaster’s internal election guidelines.
source: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/12/world/europe/uk-elections-brexit.html#link-6a6bdd2
