Political pluralism
What is political pluralism?
Article 11 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union states the right of all persons to freedom of speech. This right includes freedom of opinion and freedom of information. The first refers to the right to freely express one’s own ideas. The second guarantees the right to receive or to communicate information or ideas without any interference by public authorities.
One of the fundamental values that underpin this right is pluralism in the media, an essential condition that guarantees the free formation of public opinion and diversity and social cohesion (article 5 of the Law 22/2005, of 29 December, of the audiovisual communication in Catalonia).
Political pluralism in the media is an indicator to measure the quality of a democratic system. Its observance implies that the media must offer transparent, proportionate, equal and diverse political information.
Periodic reports on political pluralism
The CAC systematically monitors political pluralism in the main radio and television channels that broadcast in Catalonia. In particular, it elaborates a periodic report (first monthly and since 2018 quarterly) that analyses the time of news and the presence of political actors in the daily news and also in interviews, debates and other forms of intervention.
The reports include references to the main topics that have been reported during the analysed month , as well as other aspects that help contextualize the data, such as information about the activity of the Catalan Parliament or the presence of women.
Political pluralism during electoral periods
The information during the period of electoral campaigning is subject to the principles established by the Organic Law of the general electoral system (political and social pluralism, neutrality, proportionality and equality), as well as the criteria defined by the coverage plan for each means of communication.
According to the regulations, during the electoral period, the maximum authority over the actions carried out by the radio and television stations is the Central Electoral Board (JEC). In spite of this, the CAC subsequently follows up on pluralism during the electoral period.
What does the CAC do?
