By
Bob Eggington
In parliamentary reporting, providing
context and analysis is essential.
Unlike breaking news reporting,
parliamentary reporting usually requires sufficient background knowledge to
make sense of proceedings. That's because the parliamentary reporter or
correspondent is expected to provide adequate context and analysis as well as
being able to put developments into perspective.
Respect the power of words
The word parliament comes from
"parlement" - a word in Norman French meaning a conversation or a
"talking". In written European records, it has been used for more
than 800 years to describe gatherings to talk about affairs of state.
The forerunner of modern parliaments
met in 1265 in Westminster, England. By
tradition, opposing parties sat two swords length apart - they had to resolve
their differences with words, not weapons. Parliament, therefore, is all about
words, argument, debate. The parliamentary reporter has the special
responsibility of reporting those debates to the public.
Reflect the importance of parliament
Parliaments make and modify the laws of
the land. In most parliamentary systems, the executive needs the support of
parliament to stay in power. A vote of no confidence in the government will
usually cause it to fall. Parliament is also an important stage for the testing
of arguments. And as with any stage, it can throw up moments of great drama.
The parliamentary reporter witnesses, summarises and reflects all of this to
the public. And if, for whatever reason, parliament becomes impotent, it is
just as important to reflect that.
Know the local laws
Different legislative bodies have
different rules concerning access, privilege, use of cameras and recorders and
so on. Parliaments, perhaps understandably, tend to take a severe view of
anyone who does not respect their rules. Familiarise yourself with these rules,
otherwise you may find yourself in contempt of parliament.
The importance of getting it right
At the most obvious level, check
spellings, titles, party allegiances, etc. But it is equally important to quote
people correctly and summarise their arguments fairly. The public will make up
their minds about the big issues of the day partly informed by what they read
and hear and see in the media. Make sure they have all the information they
need.
Be clear and comprehensible
Your audience should be able to
understand every word and every sentence you write, immediately and without
possibility of confusion. This means, in the first place, that you must be
clear about what you want to say. Then you must say it simply and without
ambiguity. Choose your words carefully and eliminate any possibility of
misunderstanding. As the 20th-century journalist, Cyril
Connolly, wrote: "Literature is the art of writing something
that will be read twice; journalism what will be grasped at once."
Keep your own views out of it
A good reporter is open-minded and
determined to give fair treatment to all the arguments he or she witnesses. A
bad reporter lets his or her own views interfere. This is particularly true in
reporting political controversy. It is not for the parliamentary reporter to
decide which argument is the strongest. Instead, the good reporter lays out all
the arguments, fairly and accurately, and lets the audience decide for itself.
The political context
Politicians always want to be presented
in the best possible light. They will brief journalists to try to influence the
way something is reported. For example, after the weekly Prime Minister’s
Questions in the British Parliament, the press spokesmen for the party leaders
will give journalists their own interpretation of who "won" and who
"lost" the exchanges. Such briefings can be useful, but they should
be treated with caution. Don’t let "spin" distort your reporting of
what actually happened.
Make it interesting
Parliamentary proceedings can sometimes
be dull. But they are important. So make them interesting. Capture the
attention of your audience. Write clearly and simply. Engage interest with your
first sentence and make the report flow naturally from there. The press fought
hard, over centuries, for the right to report on the proceedings of
parliaments, so don’t waste their sacrifice.
Avoid exclamation marks!
Print journalists sometimes call
exclamation marks "screamers". They should be used very sparingly, if
at all. The exclamation mark suggests that something is dramatic. But either
the thing you’re describing is genuinely dramatic, in which case you don’t need
an exclamation mark; or it is not dramatic, in which case, adding an
exclamation mark will not make it so. "Prime Minister resigns!" is a
worse headline than "Prime Minister resigns".
Keep a careful note
However good your memory, keep an
accurate note of any parliamentary debate that you are reporting. Keep it
somewhere safe. It might be needed later if your story is disputed.
This post first appeared on Media
Helping Media (MHM) and is published on IJNet with permission. It originally
appeared on IJNet on March 29, 2011. The author has recently updated the post,
and the revised version appears above.
MHM is a training information site that
provides free media resources for journalists working in transition states,
post-conflict countries and areas where freedom of expression and media freedom
is under threat.
Bob Eggington has been a journalist
since 1969. He began in newspapers before joining the BBC where he worked for
almost 30 years, including a spell as the head of the BBC's political and
parliamentary unit. He was the project director responsible for launching BBC
News Online in 1997. Bob currently works as a media strategy consultant in the
UK and overseas.
Photo CC-licensed on Flickr via dangodin.
Source: Ijnet.org
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