The 2015 Federal election campaign began on August 2nd and will wrap up with the October 19th ballot. In addition to relevant news items, 99.3 County FM will also offer specialized coverage of the campaign here in Prince Edward County including individual interviews with the candidates and, we hope, an on-air debate.
Throughout the campaign, the station will be absolutely neutral, reflected in the following rules which were announced by General Manager Deb Simpson on August 1st.
Federal Election Campaign Rules
The Federal election campaign really started well before the dropping of the writ and the official campaign is expected to be a very hard-fought one. Under the circumstances, it’s essential that the station is absolutely neutral and that it is perceived as such by our listeners. Effective immediately, the station will adhere to the following rules to ensure the station’s political neutrality.
On Air Hosts
Our policy has been –and remains—that on air hosts are not to inject political opinion into their shows.
Newscasters
Newscasts should reflect the station’s commitment to editorial neutrality in both content and tone of stories aired.
In Studio
For the station to play its role as a focal point for the whole community, the studio must provide a welcoming place for people of all political views. To achieve this, there is to be no political organizing or discussion of any internal party politics in the studio.
On Line
Everyone associated with the station is entitled to their own opinions and to actively promote their views. However, to keep the neutrality of the station, there are to be no hyperlinks or references from station or show related sites to other sites promoting a particular political view. Put positively, actively promote your views on your website or Facebook page, but don’t use station-related or show-related pages to promote such personal pages. Likewise, hosts should not link such politically-oriented personal pages back to station or show pages.
In The Field
During the time that anyone is representing the station in an official capacity (for example, during meetings or sales calls), there must be no political advocacy.
Advertising
We actively solicit advertising from all political parties, which is offered on the identical terms and conditions to all.