voter abstention abstinence and journalists
Regional elections have therefore ended with a record of electoral abstention. Since the end of the first round, analyzes all go in the same direction. Supporters of the left sees it as a repudiation of the policy Sarkozyist, one abstention penalty and a worrying lack of interest in politics. The cons sees right through that a rejection of politics (left and right) and proof that the region as an institution is not understood by the French and it is therefore necessary to reform quickly.
Objectively, the arguments for abstention-punishment or lack of interest policy are undoubtedly good and partly explain the huge part of fishing in which voters have delivered these last two Sundays. Another argument is, however, which has, to my knowledge, been advanced by one: that of the low coverage of the election. The presidential election had yet resulted in a massive mobilization of resources to best cover the campaign. Every major television channel there was his talk show, his reports, his interviews, making the country live from day to day viewer necessarily concerned. The record attendance was at the height of media coverage and its development on the web. For regional elections, it is necessary to note that journalists have failed or have been at best a minimum service: some late night debates on France 3 region, a few interviews with political leaders, some controversy (Soumare, Frêche) and then ... nothing. We will reply that if the mainstream media has not covered the event with a maximum capacity, because it does not interest the French. It may yet turn the argument: what if the election was not interested the French because they could not follow the media? And if the media had a duty to inform and educate?
It was enough to follow the election night on television to understand that the journalists did not intend to make the event of the year. TF1 had planned to make the antenna at 21.15, France 2 at 21:30. As for France 3, the recess area has not always occurred because of non-striking employees. Large chains inviting the same persons (the speech calibrated), we could move them only to see the differences between the estimates and not analysis to find out different. It should obviously not expect to see on the screen a list of provincial head, the floor was the monopoly of party officials, his mind already in 2012 as journalists. Except, of course, if you named Georges Freche - whose election hands down is proof of a gap between Paris and the provinces - or if we had ordered in Alsace area suspense for the evening of March 21. The editors have chosen six test regions where there was an interest in their eyes, the results were given to the ladle for the rest and the national debate could begin. To the voters of Franche-Comté Aquitaine or if they would take his remote and look elsewhere. Fortunately, the news channel BFM-TV and as I-TV proposed a real election night with results streamed down the screen. As the DTT channels did yesterday shade for large chains, no one can deny.
But the same criticisms can be sent to them: interviews with national figures, the results of global regions and little detail. We were waiting desperately for a more detailed analysis of the situation or break a concern the rise of regionalism in Corsica. Nothing. It was necessary to learn more, go to the Net or regain control of its remote and continue zapping going further, to the channels on my Freebox (sorry for advertising), are beyond the number 200, those who have names as exotic (in the eyes of Paris) that TV8 Mont-Blanc, TV7 Bordeaux and Clermont-First. Here we found a bit of freshness (TV7, which invites students from Science Po Bordeaux to participate in the election night) and heads we never see but who are presidents or vice presidents of area. Speeches as we never hear, arguments regional policies (yes, they exist) which are essential to the understanding of a local election. On TV8 Mont-Blanc, and we learned environmentalists and socialists of the Rhone-Alps were not necessarily on the same wavelength on the application of Annecy for the Winter Olympics. An elected ecologist explained to us the position of his movement on the IOC's commitment to an ethic of Olympic sponsors and the relationship between Olympic Games and Paralympic Games. TV7 Bordeaux-on, the presenter of the debate did not hesitate to explain how the distribution of the vice-presidency between the parties, requesting clarification on in most regional debates on the HSL project while her colleagues, assisted by students from Science-Po, offered a more detailed analysis of the results to understand the score Honourable Modem in Aquitaine (15.65%) was the result a local presence of Jean Lassalle who collected nearly 25% of the vote in his department of Pyrenees-Atlantique.
In small ways, we had this quality information to help the viewer-voter to consider more clearly the implications of the regional election. Meanwhile, the experts were trying to elucidate on TF1 another crime. As for the problem of abstention or political information, the editorial of the big chains have not yet found and experts expect 2012 to the big show.
