Summary
A system to file complaints about media should be available to all citizens.
Obligations
Election Parts
Quotes
- A public complaints system for print or broadcasting should be available in accordance with the following principles: Complaints shall be determined in accordance with established rules and codes of conduct agreed upon by all stakeholders; and the complaints system shall be widely accessible.
- Any regulatory body established to hear complaints about media content, including media councils, shall be protected against political, economic or any other undue interferences.
- Accordingly, the Assembly calls on member States to review, where necessary, their regulatory frameworks governing media coverage of election campaigns, in order to bring them into line with Council of Europe standards, ensuring in particular that they: (...) 8.3. oblige, where this is not already the case, public and private broadcast media to cover election campaigns fairly and impartially, making sure that opposition parties benefit from balanced media coverage in current affairs and information programmes, and introduce, along with this obligation, appropriate penalties by setting up the necessary monitoring and rectification mechanisms to ensure implementation in practice.
- [The regulatory body] should also investigate alleged violations and impose effective remedies when violations have occurred. There should be an efficient complaints procedure that provides corrective measures of both a self regulatory and statutory nature.