Political Illusions of the Cajun Mafia

Laws and Regulations concerning the media in
elections
Laws and Regulations concerning the media in elections campaign may define:
• If parties and candidates are allowed free political advertisement
• How time or space will be allocated to candidates and political parties
• Whether paid political advertising is to be permitted
• If election expenditures that affect advertising campaigns are limited
• Whether time and content of electoral broadcasts is to be restricted
• What duty the media has to carry voter education material (Link to Regulation of
Content of Direct Access Material)
• Whether there is to be a right of reply to factual misrepresentation in the media
• If opinion poll findings are to be published.
• What the regulations should be about policies on "hate speech" and defamation.
The public media are thought to have a special duty to publish or broadcast election statements
by competing parties. It is generally accepted that the publicly funded media have some
obligation to allow parties and candidates to communicate directly with the electorate on an
equal basis, whereas the private media have the right to publish or broadcast more often
statements of the parties and candidates they prefer.
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