REQUIREMENTS AS TO STANDARDS AND PRACTICE APPLICABLE TO VARIOUS TYPES OF POLLS BROADCAST ON RADIO AND TELEVISION

BROADCAST ON RADIO AND TELEVISION SERVICES

SUBSIDIARY LEGISLATION 350.21

REQUIREMENTS AS TO STANDARDS AND

PRACTICE APPLICABLE TO VARIOUS TYPES OF

POLLS BROADCAST ON RADIO AND TELEVISION

SERVICES

22nd March, 2007

GOVERNMENT NOTICE 264 of 2007.

The title of these requirements is the Requirements as to

Standards and Practice applicable to various types of Polls

broadcast on Radio and Television Services.

Introduction

1.1 These Requirements as to Standards and Practice have

been made by the Broadcasting Authority in virtue of article 20(3)

of the Broadcasting Act, Chapter 350 of the Laws of Malta.

1.2 The specific issue of broadcasting of the various types of

polls listed in these requirements carried out is worth mentioning

because of its potential influence on viewers and listeners. The

Broadcasting Authority has thus surveyed the situation in foreign

jurisdictions and has drawn up the following rules to be followed

by local broadcasting stations.

Opinion polls

2.1. Opinion polls are a useful tool to inform the audience of

voting intentions. However, they can also be used as a tool of

manipulation of the viewers and listeners - especially if they are,

for instance, broadcast on the last days before a general election, a

European Union parliamentary election or a referendum.

2.2. A broadcaster who broadcasts the results of an opinion

survey must broadcast the following information with the results of

the survey

i.

the name of the sponsor/originator/originator of the

survey;

ii.

the name of the individual or organization who

conducted the survey;

iii. the dates when the survey was conducted;

iv.

to the extent that the information is applicable to the

survey, the number of individuals contacted for the

survey and the percentage of those who refused to take

part in the survey;

v.

to the extent that the information is applicable to the

survey, the margin of error for the survey;

vi.

the exact wording of each question for which data are

reported;

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vii. for each question for which the margin of error is

greater than that reported, the margin of error for the

question;

viii. a mailing address or telephone number, indicating it as

the address or telephone number at which the sponsor/

originator can be contacted to obtain a written report

regarding the survey.

2.3. The person carrying out the survey should provide to the

station a copy of a written report on the results of the survey,

inclu ding t he foll owing i nformation to th e ex tent that it is

applicable to the survey

i.

the name and address of the sponsor / originator of the

survey;

ii.

the name and address of the individual or organization

who conducted the survey;

iii. the dates when the survey was conducted;

iv.

the exact wording of each question for which data are

reported;

v.

the method used to collect the information;

vi.

the population from which the sample was drawn;

vii. the size of the initial sample and the number of

individuals contacted for the survey;

viii. the number and percentage of individuals contacted

who answered the survey;

ix.

the number and percentage of individuals contacted

who refused to take part in the survey;

x.

the method used to recalculate percentages when those

who expressed no opinion or those who did not

respond are omitted;

xi.

the times of any interviews;

xii. the sampling method;

xiii. the number of ineligible individuals contacted;

xiv. any weighting factors or normalization procedures

used;

xv. the margin of error for the survey.

2.4. Further, programmes reporting polls are to ensure that

i.

never rely on the interpretation given to a poll’s result

by

the

publication

or

organisation

which

commissioned it: look at the questions, the data, and

the trend;

ii.

never use language which gives greater credibility to

the polls than they merit - results never "prove" or

even "show", they simply "suggest";

iii. always report the expected margin of error, and where

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the gap between the two leading contenders is within

the combined margin of error say so;

iv.

always say if it was a telephone poll;

v.

never be tempted to single out one as more

"newsworthy".

2.5. Time must be allowed in programmes for all the proper

details to be given.

Televoting and Internet Polls

3.1. When reporting ring-in (also known as "televoting" or

"phone-in") polls or internet polls (that is, those where readers are

given a number or address to register a vote), it should be made

clear that, as the results have been generated by self-selected

respondents, and not by proper statistical sampling, they are not

necessarily representative of the whole population. In reporting the

results of such polls, expressions such as "most people" and "the

public" should be avoided if likely to give a misleading opinion

that the poll results are representative of public opinion.

3.2. These may accurately he called "straw polls" even when

the subject is serious. Programmes which want to carry them out

need to understand their severe limitations. They do not sample

opinion: they are simply a programme device which illustrates

certain viewpoints.

3.3. Phone-in polls must never be used by programmes as a

means of gathering serious information on party political support.

In other contexts, phone-in polls may produce interesting, even

impressive results. But it must not be implied that those results

have any wider significance.

3.4. Questions in phone-in polls should be as neutrally worded

as the context calls for. Slanted questions give slanted results.

Vox pops

4.1. Vox pop interviews with people in the street do not even

indicate what the public generally is saying. They are too small in

number to be representative and they are not selected as a quota

sample. Vox pops may sometimes be used to illustrate the kind of

things people are saying in properly conducted political opinion

polls. They can also be used in a wide variety of non-political

contexts, provided there is no suggestion that they represent the

views of the population at large. Thus, each vox pop should be

preceded by an announcement that the methodology followed is not

a scientific and reliable one.

Exit-polls

5.1. Exit polls, which are conducted outside polling stations on

voting day and assess what people have actually voted, are to be

broadcast only after the closure of the polling booths as, if they are

given during the election or referendum itself, they could have an

influence on the outcome of the elections and would also be in

breach of Maltese law.

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Prohibition of broadcast of polls on the days immediately

preceding polling

6.1. Some countries have regulations restricting the

dissemination of poll results on the day or the immediate days

preceding the election. As with the general prohibition of electoral

activity on 'reflection day', the reasoning behind such rules is to

enable the public to take a decision on their vote without external

influences, such as the predicted results which opinion polls

indicate.

6.2. It is therefore prohibited to broadcast the results of any of

the above-mentioned polls that would identify a political party or a

candidate or are in favour or against a referendum question from

Monday immediately preceding polling day till the close of the

polling booths.