WeeklySA_AdminBEWARE OF UNTESTED POLLS
Journalists are expected to serve as messengers of professional integrity whose job is to interpret events and facts and report stories with objectivity, balance and fairness at all times.
Concerns raised by the South African National Editors’ Forum (SANEF) and the South African Press Council (SAPC) relating to the coverage of a series of recent opinion polls leading to the provincial and national elections due to be held next month, should be taken seriously to protect the integrity of journalism.
SANEF has noted the release of several polls which promoted certain politicians and political parties and warned editors and journalists to approach the reporting of these opinion polls with meticulous scrutiny and a commitment to integrity. These polls, whose accuracy and methodology are under scrutiny, should be approached with caution as most of them did not paint the full picture of the views of the electorate. Journalists should always dig deeper and ask tougher questions relating to these polls which always suggested that certain political parties were on a downward slope while others were gaining momentum – a misleading assertion that could help sway public perception. These polls do not provide details of how the polls were conducted, where and when and how the findings determined.
It is therefore of utmost importance for the media to always check the accuracy, methodology and timing of these polls and verify their authenticity instead of just splashing them on their news pages and echoing them on television.
SANEF has noted that there had been a proliferation of election polls with some of these leaving a lot to be desired when it came to their depth audience reach and what they exactly wanted to achieve. We agree with the SAPC that the media, when reporting on opinion polls, should seek and provide sufficient technical and contextual information for audiences to judge the poll’s reliability. This included the commissioning body as well as the polling organization and its expertise, amongst others.
The screening of these polls would help the media to stop publishing invented polls which are designed to popularize certain politicians and political parties. SANEF has rightly cautioned that if not handled with care, some of these dubious opinion polls could sway public perception and influence electoral outcomes. Media platforms should not allow themselves to be used as tools to publish propaganda that could benefit desperate parties to govern this country. Journalists are also warned not to accept any kind of bribes from certain politicians in return for favourable coverage.
Editors and journalists are urged not to be biased but to uphold the highest standards of accuracy, fairness and balance in their reporting.
The duty of a journalist is to report the story with objectivity, balance and fairness. If a story is peppered with opinions and tinged with bias, the writer loses trust. Professional integrity is the cornerstone of a journalist’s credibility, as the saying goes.
