NI election Campaign 2016

I have yet to see any press releases: UTV seem to have yet have any graphics, but BBC newsline is using a EU ref logo but in Blue...

BBC Northern Ireland put out a press release last week, knowing the complex nature of our elections they will still be counting on Monday.

Leaders Debates
BBC NI have a Leaders' Debate on Tuesday 3rd May 2016 featuring the leaders of the DUP, UUP, SDLP, Sinn Fein & Alliance followed by a reaction show with Tara Mills featuring the smaller parties such as the Green Party, TUV & UKIP. BBC NI also have 4 special editions of The View each Thursday, starting on 7 April.

Results
The results will start on BBC One NI at 4pm on Friday 6th May moving to BBC Two NI from 7pm and back to BBC One NI at 10.35pm, the coverage will continue on Saturday 7th May from 11:00am

BBC Radio Ulster
William Crawley will interview representatives from the DUP, Sinn Fein, Alliance, UUP, SDLP, TUV, Green Party and UKIP from 7th April 2016 to election day, on Friday 6th May 2016 BBC Radio Ulster will have coverage from 5pm-10pm and 10am-1pm on Saturday 7th May 2016 with Seamus McKee and Karen Patterson.

BBC Radio Foyle
Have debates on 3 of the north west's three constituencies in the run-up to the election and have a live election count programme on Friday 6th May with Enda McClafferty & Elaine McGee

See more at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election-2016-northern-ireland-35985346

UTV on the other hand have not put out a press release yet but have an election debate tonight between 8pm-9pm

Election Debate
The UTV Election debate is on Wednesday 13th April 2016 hosted by Mark Mallett from the Lyric Theatre in Belfast which features DUP Leader & Northern Ireland First Minister Arlene Foster, Sinn Fein Deputy Leader & Northern Ireland Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness, UUP Leader Mike Nesbitt, SDLP leader Colum Eastwood & Alliance Leader David Ford.

Judged on previous elections the reactions and views of the smaller NI parties such as the Greens, UKIP and TUV will be on UTV Live Tonight.

See more at: http://www.u.tv/News/2016/04/11/UTV-set-for-first-big-election-debate-57264

I didn't know it was tonight!

I wouldn't say it is exactly the EU logo but it is similar
http://ichef-1.bbci.co.uk/news/235/cpsprodpb/15E49/production/_89137698_bbcelection2016-logostill.jpg

At first I thought it was supposed to say NI but then why is the blue tetris bit in the shape of an L when if the flick of the L was grey it would look much for like an n over an I. It is inconsistent with the logo on the website but then BBC NI Election coverage is never consistent.

Also some surprisingly good VR work in the Newsline studio
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-35964668

Your not the only one mate as I only found out about it yesterday, I looked and the debates were only announced or comfirmed by BBC NI & UTV last Thursday but the BBC NI debate is 2 days before the election so they have plenty of time to advertise it yet.

Doesn't seem to be being shown on ITV in England like the UTV General Election was last year. I know that was different as it was part of a UK-wide election but I would've thought ITV's ownership might have changed things and it would have got a late night repeat.

No reason at all for it to be shown across the UK. The general election was different as there was a possibility that a Northern Ireland party could have formed part of a coalition, so possibly had an impact beyond NI.

Anyone though think we're actually any better off as a result of these debates?

In Scotland yes, of course for some strange reason outside the Westminster bubble, the debates are more like Question time, and you get a good grilling. Mind you these TV debates having been going on since the start of the Scottish Parliament in some form.

Here the 2007 one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YIjscVbzowg everyone had chairs back then.

I also think NI has benefited.

I agree that in Scotland and Wales they are useful - though in Northern Ireland where voter allegiance is more fixed they don't seem such a necessity. The only real swing in Northern Irish elections are between parties on the same side - an incredibly tiny number of voters from one side of the religious divide vote for a party associated with the other side of the divide so in some sense a unionist party debate and a republican party debate would get more done and would probably avoid the debate devolving into the DUP and Sinn Féin arguing over each others pasts and links to paramilitary organisations - however segregated debates are definitely not the way forward and would rather reinforce the societal divide. But given the nature of voter behaviour in Northern Ireland most voters are voting on the parties themselves rather than the policies - for instance most republican voters are Catholic and most NI Catholics are opposed to abortion yet it is a major issue in Northern Irish politics and both republican parties are in favour of legalising it yet over 95% of NI catholics vote SDLP or Sinn Féin. Thus any debate on policy is effectively pointless.

In the London Mayoral elections I also feel that they aren't necessary, or at least not in their current format as they'd only be fair if they included all the candidates - something that really isn't that feasible given the dozen or so candidates standing. You can't necessarily go on past support as the candidates are often different to the party's previous candidate - a Blairite Labour candidate in one election may have notably different support to a socialist Labour candidate in the next. You can't really go by party support either as that would have meant theoretically excluding Ken for the 2000 election debates, if there were any. The current media coverage only focuses on major party candidates, no doubt Galloway will be attempting to get onto the BBC debate - in which case you'd have to bring in the other candidates polling at around 1/2% as well.

Will BBC Parliament be simulcasting Newslines efforts?

I'd have thought so - though I'm surprised that BBC Parliament haven't picked up last night's UTV debate: they showed a UTV general election debate in 2010, and the STV debate during the Scottish independence referendum campaign.

Parliament wasn't in session during those two periods, though, which presumably meant they had plenty of time to fill.