The dictionary definition of impartiality is not supporting one person or group more than another. The dictionary definition of fairness is the quality of treating people equally or in a way that is reasonable. Should we make elections fair or impartial?
With the presidential election just around the corner, many presidential candidates appear on entertainment shows. With about six months left before the presidential election, interest in candidates is growing. Therefore, it is time for candidates who are challenging the election to inform the public about themselves. However, all candidates cannot appear in entertainment programs because there are only a few terrestrial TV stations, which is the surest means of public relations. Among them, there are only a few entertainment programs with the best ratings. Therefore, compared to politicians who appeared in entertainment shows having a tremendous halo effect, relatively large discrimination inevitably occurs for candidates who failed to appear. As a result, the appearance of leading politicians in entertainment shows can result in a big inequity problem that would interfere with a fair election. However, according to the Public Official Election Act, only party candidates and candidates with more than 5% approval ratings are required to be invited to TV debates. Still, unlike TV debates, it is challenging to maintain authenticity and fairness in entertainment due to the recording and editing process. There is a possibility that political views of the production company, including the PD, will be included in casting, scriptwriting, and editing. Voters naturally follow the production company’s political orientation after watching such broadcasts. So there is a high risk that a candidate’s appearance in entertainment shows will undermine broadcast fairness.
I think the election should be fair. Suppose you think it’s already a tilted playing field. In that case, I think “reasonable,” from the dictionary meaning of ‘fairness,’ should be observed. Suppose people think that appearing on an entertainment program with good ratings equals the candidate’s actual ability. In that case, I don’t think it is fair for an entertainment program with a considerable influence because the individual political opinion of the production company is included through recording and editing.
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