Irish Author and Journalist - Danny Morrison - We Now [Don't] Have A Party Political Broadcast on Behalf of

We Now [Don't] Have A Party Political Broadcast on Behalf of

Imagine a Sinn Fein election broadcast making a point about double standards. It shows Ian Paisley in a trench-coat on top of a hillside with a hundred supporters, waving fire-arms certificates at the moon, subtitled 'Decommission ALL Guns!'

Or Ian Paisley jigging with the leader of the Ulster Unionist Party, David Trimble, at the end of Garvaghy Road, with the message, 'No Walks Without Talks!'

Or an election broadcast showing the Reverend William McCrea sharing a platform with the killer of Catholic kids, the late Billy Wright, or David Trimble going into the Assembly flagged by representatives of the PUP and UDP, and making the point about unionist hypocrisy.

Or a broadcast that used different filmed interviews of Peter Mandelson clearly exposing his as a liar on the day that he suspended the Assembly.

Well, under new broadcasting rules drawn up by Ann Sloman, chief political advisor to the BBC, none of the above would be allowed. Up until about seven years ago, most party political broadcasts in the North boringly featured party leaders or spokespersons looking into the camera, reading from an autocue and addressing viewers. Then BBC and UTV announced that the parties could make their own election broadcasts, provided they met certain technical specifications, and that archive footage could be purchased from them.

Sinn Fein jumped at the opportunity and of all the parties was perhaps the most notable in its use of television archive, producing some highly visual and stirring election broadcasts. Often it had to fight with the local television controllers over the content. It was after several scrapes and a court case that - surprise, surprise - the BBC and UTV decided to cancel the sale of all but a strictly limited choice of archive material!

At the last election Sinn Fein got around this obstacle by purchasing the footage of, for example, RUC attacks on nationalists on the Ormeau Road and Garvaghy Road from other sources, including Sky News. But now, the effect of the new regulations has been to rule out even that, apart from the most bland of footage. The effect has been to emasculate party political broadcasts and make it impossible to effectively criticise ones opponents, their weaknesses and flaws or show them up in their own words and actions.

The regulations state that: "The use of material featuring exchanges between the parties [in the Assembly] should not be included." So, no banter between Martin McGuinness and Sammy Wilson, and no depiction of the virulent sexism of the DUP towards, for example, the Womens Coalition.

"Archive of news clips of members of any other political party should not be included." In other words, one cannot use footage of that famous film clip showing David Trimble, Seamus Mallon, Martin McGuinness, Bairbre de Brun and Michael McGimpsey around the Executive table on their first day together. One cannot show McGimpsey and Adams together at the Mozart Requiem. One cannot show the political process working despite the fact that whether it continues working is the single most important issue in the election campaign!

Now, one may think that this ban on including other parties is a good thing because it applies to everyone and perhaps robs Ian Paisley of supplementing his tired, old 'Smash Sinn Fein/IRA' message with footage of a long-haired, young Gerry Adams militantly addressing an Ard Fheis. But, in reality, it is the unionists who wish not to be seen doing business with Sinn Fein, not the other way around.

Last Wednesday, when Sinn Fein submitted its election broadcast to the BBC, the BBC (UTV allows the BBC to draft the rules) telephoned the SDLP and told them that in the broadcast there is footage of John Hume shaking hands with Gerry Adams. (This was in Dublin, along with Albert Reynolds, in September 1994, just after the first IRA cessation was announced.) And guess what? The SDLP successfully demanded that it be removed! So much for the hand of friendship and reconciliation.

It's hard to quantify what part, if any, a party political broadcast plays in influencing a voter's choice. One of the worst broadcasts several years ago - in fact, a Sinn Fein broadcast - could not be said to have had any measured effect since the two embarrassed individuals it featured were elected to the Assembly anyway. I think a good broadcast probably raises the morale of party workers and makes them feel good or proud and helps them work harder.

The British Labour Party had originally planned to depict William Hague and Michael Portillo as the alien crew of a spacecraft threatening the City of London. They got the idea from 'Independence Day'. Another film showed Baby Hague - would you let this child run your country? - going down a waterslide wearing his wee bathing hat and chuckling with excitement.

With their Marquess of Queensbury Rules, what the BBC and UTV have done is to narrow the creative possibilities and remove the opportunity for a bit of controversy and craic.

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