Facts are the lifeblood of election reporting

Journalists reporting on Indonesia's presidential election campaign have a challenging task thanks to the tactic of spreading negative rumours about candidates. Thomson Foundation trainer Odd Isungset shares some lessons from Norway about how to deal with these black campaigns'.

Banners with pictures of the two candidates contesting Indonesia's presidential election and the flags of their parties' supporters are the main decoration on all streets of Banda Aceh, the capital of Aceh province, which spans the north-western tip of the island of Sumatra.

This election is hotly contested and media in Aceh face the additional challenge of reporting the campaign against the backdrop of an ongoing debate about the status of Aceh as an autonomous region of Indonesia.

Last month, 20 senior journalists from TV, radio, newspapers and online media attended an election coverage training seminar organised by the Thomson Foundation and the Press Council of Indonesia. This hosted discussions focusing on how to deal with so-called black campaigns and how to make the best use of social media.

Black campaigns are a common feature of the Indonesian presidential race. Similar to negative advertising, black campaigns focus on spreading negative - and often false - rumours about the other candidate, or the local head of the party supporting the candidate.

Black campaigns' In the rush to publish, journalists sometimes use the information spread by black campaigns as fact. The seminar concluded that editors needed to make clear statements to their newsrooms that it is more important to check the facts than to be the first to publish.

An example from Norway proved useful in this discussion. During Norway's last election, a site called "check the facts" was launched by campaigners for fair elections. The site called on the audience to help spot any mistakes or untruths when candidates used facts or figures to underscore their political statements. The site proved very successful and helped highlight how often politicians twist the facts to suit their purposes.

Questions were raised about using social media as a news source. What needs to be confirmed before it is published? How can information on Twitter or Facebook be checked? Participants brought examples of coverage and issues discussed in their newsroom the previous to the seminar.

The seminar gave us the opportunity to really think about and discuss editorial decision-making, said Zainal Arifin, editor of Serambi Indonesia. The examples presented by the Norwegian consultant and the Press Council are something I can use in my newsroom as the election campaign continues.

There have been some reports on violence around the election campaign in parts of Aceh and participants highlighted the concerns about extremist speech on social media.

Editorial guidelines Trainers and participants used the Media Making its Mark at Election Time guidelines produced by the Thomson Foundation as a base for discussing editorial guidelines on use of social media.

They also agreed that just because a statement published on social media is outrageous or extremist, it does not make it news. The role of independent journalists is to edit, to search for facts and to give readers, listeners and viewers a better understanding of the world around them.

While there may not be many similarities between Aceh and Norway, although both have about the same population, when it comes to the role of media in society, journalists in Norway and in Aceh share the same basic ideas of a free and independent press as a cornerstone in a democratic society.

Odd Isungset is the editor in chief of Brennpunkt , the weekly investigative reporting show on NRK (Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation). He is the author of four books about journalism and investigative techniques and was a member of Norway's Press Complaints Commission from 2000 to 2010, serving as chairman from 2004.

LINK:	http://www.thomsonfoundation.org/news-and-features/2014/07/01/facts-ar...
	See more stories from thompsonfoundation

Most recent headlines