legitimization is not always achieved by carefully thought out reports, based on the information collected by the observers and carefully analyzed and chronicled by the media. Nor should it be assumed that the higher the quality and accuracy of the information on which the report is based, the greater will be its impact on public opinion. In far too many cases, opinions are shaped by mission statements issued shortly after polls close and based more on an overall political evaluation of the after-poll situation than on a careful and detailed analysis of the information collected by the mission. Media coverage is frequently based on the timing of the statement and the name recognition of the head of the mission, rather than on the quality of the information on which it is based. These aspects should be as much an integral part of the planning of the mission as the technical requirements.