European and Local Elections : The Coverage and Count Process.

Course Aims

The aim of this course is to ensure that attendees know how to navigate the obligations imposed by broadcasting legislation when broadcasting during the period of elections. In addition to this, the course will also provide clear information and understanding of the structures of both the Irish representation in the European Parliament and the various Local Authorities in Ireland, taking an overview of the constituencies, candidates, major issues and the politicial landscape reflecting on the results from the 2019 elections.

Course Brief

This course will be run jointly with Sarah Kieran and Simon Devilly and will broadly cover the following content:

  • Understanding the Constituencies
  • How European Elections are run
  • Understanding Coimisiún na Meán guidelines and the remit of the Coimisiun
  • How to practically comply with the Guidelines
  • Preparing a station coverage statement
  • How to record coverage
  • How to deal with complaints 
  • How to approach fairness
  • Political Advertising
  • Overview of Structures, Electoral areas and key issues
  • Key personalites, polls and major issues
  • Calculating the Quota, how votes are transferred, distribution of surplus, reporting on tallies
  • Understanding PR-STV counts and count results coverage

Who is this content for?

The course is aimed at researchers, producers, presenters and content creators involved in the coverage of EU and Local Elections 2024.

Training Method

Participants will learn what the regulatory obligations are that they must follow and how to navigate them from a practical perspective. They will be able to prepare a coverage statement and monitor and comply with it. They will understand how to approach the requirement of achieving fairness.