Teledyaryo gives mostly negative coverage to Aquino: Gov’t TV shows bias for Teodoro, Lakas-Kampi
The CMFR Monitor of Media Coverage of the 2010 Elections
BROADCAST DISCOURSE ANALYSIS
(For the period March 15-19 and 22-26, 2010)
Introduction
The election coverage by TV Patrol World (ABS-CBN 2), 24 Oras (GMA-7) and Teledyaryo (NBN-4) from March 15 to 19 and March 22 to 26 was generally more of the same: their election-related reports were mostly on the presidential campaign. There were efforts by Teledyaryo to provide more reports on the party-list elections, but there was no variety in terms of subjects and sources used.
TV Patrol World and 24 Oras gave the most coverage to presidential candidates Manuel Villar Jr. (Nacionalista Party), Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III (Liberal Party) and Joseph Estrada (Puwersa ng Masang Pilipino). Villar and Aquino were tied for the top spot in the case of 24 Oras. On the other hand, Teledyaryo’s most covered presidential candidates were Gilbert Teodoro (Lakas-Kampi), Aquino and Villar, in that order. However, Aquino received mostly negative reports in Teledyaryo.
The three news programs gave little coverage to the vice-presidential, senatorial and party-list campaigns during the period in review. While all eight vice-presidential contenders figured as news subjects, the same cannot be said for the senatorial candidates and party-list groups, as only 33 and 28 of them, respectively, were cited by TV Patrol World, 24 Oras and Teledyaryo.
Given that the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) lists 61 senatorial candidates and 187 party-list groups, those used as news subjects during the period under review accounted for only 54.1 percent (senatorial campaign) and 15.0 percent (party-list campaign) of total airtime.
Number and placement of election-related reports
TV Patrol World (46.7 percent) and Teledyaryo (41.6 percent) had a little more than four election related reports out of every 10 of their news reports. 24 Oras reported on the elections in less than three out of every 10 (25.5 percent).
Analysis of the combined total election-related reports of the three news programs reveals that 65.9 percent were about elections in general (168 out of 255 election-related reports), followed by reports on the presidential (121), vice-presidential (55), party-list (51) and senatorial campaigns (33). As in the last period reviewed (March 1-5 and 8-12), the latter still got the least coverage. (See Table 1).
TV Patrol World, 24 Oras and Teledyaryo aired 57.1 percent of election-related reports during the first half of the program. Out of the combined election-related reports, the three news programs featured 19 as the banner or lead story. (See Table 2)
Candidates as news subjects
Among the presidential candidates, Villar and Aquino were the most covered by TV Patrol World and 24 Oras (both tied in the case of the latter program). Teledyaryo gave the most coverage to Teodoro and Aquino, but Aquino received mostly negative reports. Estrada was the third most covered in TV Patrol World and 24 Oras; he was a distant fourth in Teledyaryo. But all the other presidential candidates were far behind Villar, Aquino, Teodoro and Estrada in terms of being cited by the three news programs in their reports. (See Table 3)
In the vice-presidential campaign, the three news programs differed in their focus on the candidates. TV Patrol’s top three subjects were Sen. Loren Legarda (Nationalist People’s Coalition), Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay (PDP-Laban) and Sen. Manuel Roxas (Liberal Party). For 24 Oras, they were Roxas, Legarda and former Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chair Bayani Fernando (Bagumbayan). Teledyaryo’s most covered vice-presidential candidates were Legarda and actor Eduardo Manzano (Lakas-Kampi) who were both tied for the top spot at six reports each, followed by Roxas, Fernando and former Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Perfecto Yasay (Bangon Pilipinas) who were news subjects in two reports each. (See Table 4)
The senatorial campaign received the least coverage from the three news programs. Only 33 out of the 61 senatorial candidates were their news subjects, with 21 of them being cited not more than three times. As a result of Teledyaryo’s positive slant towards the Macapagal-Arroyo administration, the top four most covered senatorial candidates came from the administration party Lakas-Kampi—Sen. Manuel Lapid, charter change advocate Raul Lambino, broadcaster Rey Langit and Sen. Ramon Revilla, Jr. (See Table 5)
The most covered party-list groups, meanwhile, were Ang Galing Pinoy (AG), Buhay Hayaan Yumabong (BUHAY) and 1-United Transport Koalisyon (1-UTAK). The reports, however, were not on their platforms but on the controversy surrounding their choices for nominees (Rep. Mikey Arroyo for AG, Bro. Mike Velarde for Buhay and Energy Sec. Angelo Reyes for 1-UTAK). Coincidentally, the party-list group that filed the complaint against the so-called Malacañang-sponsored party-list groups, Bayan Muna, was the fourth most covered in terms of the combined total of the three news programs. (See Table 6)
Themes and issues
As in the last period reviewed, many election-related reports remained event-oriented. They focused mainly on campaign sorties and strategies. But there were also reports on issues related to the COMELEC, such as how prisoners would vote in the May 10 elections. President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was also cited in several election-related reports, particularly on how her so-called midnight appointments are related to her alleged plans to stay in power beyond the end of her term. (See Table 7)
Not surprisingly, the judiciary was the most reported development/policy issue in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision that Macapagal-Arroyo can appoint the next Chief Justice who will replace CJ Reynato Puno who will retire on May 17. The other development /policy issues that figured in election-related reports were health, governance, the economy and the controversy surrounding Hacienda Luisita. Compared to the other two news programs, TV Patrol World gave scant coverage to development/policy issues. (See Table 8 )
As regards the Other Themes in Table 7, the appointment of the next Chief Justice and other government officials was the most covered by TV Patrol World, followed by the controversy surrounding the C-5 Road Project, and political turncoatism. 24 Oras and Teledyaryo had very few reports on Other Themes. (See Table 9)
Candidates as sources
The most covered presidential candidates were also the most used sources of information by the three news programs. If the numbers of TV Patrol World, 24 Oras and Teledyaryo were totaled, Villar would be first, followed by Aquino, Estrada and Teodoro (the latter two tied for third place). Villar, Aquino and Estrada were the top sources of TV Patrol World. The same was true of 24 Oras, although Sen. Richard Gordon (Bagumbayan) was tied with Estrada, since he was used as a source in nine reports. Teledyaryo’s coverage was markedly different from the two news programs in that its top sources were Teodoro and Villar, with Bro. Eddie Villanueva (Bangon Pilipinas) a distant third. (See Table 10)
In the vice-presidential campaign, Legarda, Binay, and Roxas were the top sources in the election-related reports of all three news programs. Yasay was not used as a source in any of the three news programs during the period in review. Were it not for 24 Oras’ decision to use them as source, even if only once each, Ang Kapatiran Party’s (AKP) Dominador Chipeco and Kilusang Bagong Lipunan’s (KBL) Jose Sonza would have not been cited as sources at all. (See Table 11)
Just like the vice-presidential candidates, those running for senator were seldom used as sources. Out of the 61 candidates, only 15 were sources of information in election related reports. And out of these 15 senatorial candidates, only five were used as sources more than once in the total number of reports of all three news programs. (See Table 12)
That there was also scant coverage of the party-list campaign could explain the minimal use of party-list groups as sources of information. Teledyaryo, interestingly, did not use any party-list group as a source in its election-related reports. 24 Oras used only four party-list groups as sources during the period reviewed. TV Patrol World, even if it cited most of them only once, did slightly better than the two as it used nine party-list groups as sources. (See Table 13) It must be emphasized, however, that considering the number of COMELEC-accredited party list groups (187) party-list groups for the 2010 elections, the above numbers are pathetically low.
Background and slant of articles
To the credit of TV Patrol World (93.0 percent) and 24 Oras (87.3 percent), about nine out every 10 election-related reports they aired provided background information. In the case of Teledyaryo, only 48.6 percent. (See Table 14) of its reports provided background information.
Teledyaryo also had the most number of positive and negative slants in its election-related reports. For TV Patrol World (97.4 percent) and 24 Oras (91.5 percent), more than nine out of every 10 reports were neutral. (See Table 15)
Among the various contenders for national positions, Teledyaryo gave the most positive slant to presidential candidate Teodoro, whom it featured in nine out of its total 13 positively slanted election-related reports. TV Patrol and 24 Oras had their share of positively slanted reports, but these were a low one and three, respectively. (See Table 16)
TV Patrol World and 24 Oras did not have any negatively slanted reports against any presidential, vice-presidential or senatorial candidate, as well as party-list groups. Ten out of Teledyaryo’s 13 were slanted against presidential candidate Aquino. Aquino’s vice-presidential teammate, Manuel Roxas II, was featured in negatively slanted report, also by Teledyaryo. (See Table 17)
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