Television in the Legislature: The Impact of Cameras in the House of Commons

The introduction of television cameras in legislatures met, in many countries, with serious debate about the potential benefits and costs of broadcasting legislative debate. There were concerns about tendency for cameras to produce less focused,more attention-seeking behaviour amongst partymembers, and especial-ly leaders. This work draws together the literatures on televising debates, and on personalisation, to explore the impact of introduction of cameras in the Canadian House of Commons. Analyses are based on content analytic database of over 11,000 questions asked from 1957 to 2004; they suggest no discernible impact of cameras on House debates. These results are discussed as they pertain to both the current literature on personalisation, and the design of legislative institutions and communication policies. What happens if you put television cameras in legislative assemblies? There are consequences for the flow of information outside the assembly, certainly. Citizens are better able to see andhearwhat happens inside; journalists, even those not in the press gallery, are able to see and report on what happens as well. If the main goal is the communication of legislative information beyond the walls of the legislature— more importantly, into the homes of the voting public—then television cameras in legislatures seems like a very good idea. There arepotential disadvantages aswell, however. Itmaybe easier for citizens to observe and hold accountable their legislative representatives; but it may also be easier for legislative representatives to win popular support through their behav-iour in the legislature. This can change, fundamentally and negatively, the function of legislative debate. The focus may no longer be on legislation; instead, the focus may be on the outside world. Legislative debate may become indistinguishable fromcampaign stump speeches. The behaviour of party leadersmaybe particularly strongly affected. They may be under pressure to steal the spotlight and to draw