Does the Political Context Shape How “Due Impartiality” is Interpreted? An Analysis of BBC Reporting of the 2019 UK and 2020 US Election Campaigns

Balance and impartiality are central principles in journalism, but this study argues their conceptual application news reporting should be subject to more academic scrutiny. In the UK, way “due impartiality” has been applied regulated by broadcasters raised concerns about promoting a ‘she-said-he-said’ style of reporting, which constructs balance not scrutiny competing claims. study, we analyse how UK’s was journalists different political contexts assessing BBC dealt with party-political We develop nuanced quantitative analysis journalist interactions (N = 967) claims made four main party leaders during 2019 UK 2020 US elections. Overall, found robustly challenged politicians, whereas coverage politicians often only conveyed counterclaims limited journalistic intervention, particularly on television news. argue that viewed as fluid than fixed concept given context shapes it is applied. As misinformation have grown over recent years, conclude finely tuned studies needed understand apply concepts reporting.