What’s On Your TV? Election worries, Noynoy, Manny, Gibo, and not much else

Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility
Broadcast Timekeeping Analysis
April 12-23, 2010

As the country’s first ever automated elections looms on the horizon, the media’s role becomes crucial in shaping the nature of the discussions and debates among the people who will troop to the polling places and cast their votes.

The fifth period of the broadcast monitor being conducted by Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR) examined the election coverage of the country’s two major primetime news shows – ABS-CBN’s TV Patrol World and GMA 7’s 24 Oras. The monitor also included the NBN’s Teledyaryo, to assess how it covers this significant national event as a government-run network. The monitor covered the period April 12-23, 2010.

This monitor period showed the highest percentage of election-related coverage, since the start of the official campaign period. Results show that, on average, all three shows devoted 39% of their total airtime to news reports on the elections, compared with 36% in the previous monitor period. TV Patrol World allotted the most airtime to election-related coverage, with 47% of its total airtime, while both Teledyaryo and 24 Oras allotted 34% of their total airtime to the elections.

The broadcast media coverage during this monitor period centered on two major topics: election-related concerns, and coverage of the three leading presidential candidates and their political parties. The monitor showed that election-related coverage, which included reports on the Comelec and Smartmatic, made up 16% of total news coverage during the coverage period; the coverage of the party standard bearers, and the movements between the Lakas /CMD, Nacionalista and Liberal parties, made up 15% of total news airtime. In contrast, the three news shows allotted an average of only 3% of their total airtime to the senatorial and party-list elections, and coverage of the vice-presidential elections received an almost-negligible 1% of total airtime.

Broadcast media news had a heyday in questioning the Commission on Election’s ability to conduct orderly elections. “Maaantala?” (Delayed?, April 16), “Failure of elections” (April 12), “Eleksyon, posibleng magka-aberya” (Possible problematic elections, April 12), “Baka madaya ang resulta ng halalan” (Possible election cheating, April 20), and “Comelec, bagsak sa contingency” (Comelec fails to prepare contingency plans, April 21) were some of the election-related reports from TV Patrol World with the longest airtime. 24 Oras, in the meantime, ran two- to three-minute stories such as “IT experts: automated Garci posible” (Possible automated Garci, say IT experts, April 14), “Pangamba sa eleksyon” (Election fears, April 20), and “Mga guro na tatayong Board of Election Inspectors, kulang sa training” (Teachers who will act as the BEI lack training, April 21). Teledyaryo’s stories with the most airtime continued to defend the government’s performance, in stories such as “Comelec patuloy na naghahanda para sa tagumpay ng eleksyon” (Comelec continues to prepare for successful elections, April 16), “AFP mariing pinabulaanang magkaka-military junta at failure of elections” (AFP denies there will be a military junta  and failure of elections, April 22), and “Survey manipulation sa eleksyon” (Survey manipulation in elections, April 21).

Coverage of the Presidential Elections

The campaign period, which started on February 9, heralded the start of a broadcast coverage which centered mostly on the presidential race. From the very beginning, three major presidential contenders have hogged news airtime – the Liberal Party’s Benigno Aquino III, the Nacionalista Party’s Manuel Villar, Lakas/Kampi’s Gilbert Teodoro.

This monitor period follows this same trend, except that this time, the broadcast news media’s focus on the Aquino, Teodoro and Villar trio has reached fever pitch. The airtime allotted to the three presidential candidates during this period is the highest each of them has ever enjoyed since the start of the campaign period.  Media coverage of the top three was so relentless that fourth-placer Richard Gordon received less than 1/3 of the airtime given to third-placer Gilbert Teodoro.  The total airtime of Aquino for the monitor period, at 56.19 minutes, was greater than the airtime of all the bottom seven candidates – Gordon, Estrada, Perlas, Madrigal, Villanueva, Delos Reyes and Acosta – who had a combined airtime of 55.43 minutes.

Table 1. Airtime allotted to the Presidential candidates

Aquino dominated the airtime in 24 Oras, while Villar was most covered by TV Patrol World. Teodoro, for the fifth straight monitor period, received the most coverage from Teledyaryo. The government-run network also gave less than one minute of airtime to seven of the ten candidates for the entire monitor period, and again did not allot any airtime to news reports on four presidential contenders – Perlas, Villanueva, Delos Reyes and Acosta.

Coverage of the Vice-presidential Elections

The Philippine vice president is the second highest executive official in the government, and is first in the line of succession for the presidency, as mandated by the 1987 Constitution. However, since the start of the official campaign period, the broadcast media has so far been ignoring the candidates for this very important post.

This monitor period showed hardly any coverage of the vice-presidential race. The vice-presidential candidate with the most airtime, the Liberal Party’s Manuel Roxas, was the most covered by both 24 Oras and TV Patrol World, while the Nacionalista Party’s Loren Legarda received the most airtime from Teledyaryo.

Table 2. Airtime allotted to the vice-presidential candidates

Five of the eight vice-presidential contenders received less than two minutes of airtime for the entire two weeks of the monitor period – Eduardo Manzano, Perfecto Yasay, Bayani Fernando, Jose Sonza and Dominador Chipeco. While TV Patrol World provided token airtime to all eight vice-presidential candidates, 24 Oras did not cover Dominador Chipeco. Teledyaryo did not allot any airtime at all to four candidates – Yasay, Fernando, Sonza and Chipeco.

Coverage of the Senatorial Elections

The senatorial elections received almost no airtime from all three news shows, with Teledyaryo allotting a mere 2%, 24 Oras 4%, and TV Patrol World less than 1% of its total airtime to the senatorial candidates.

However, there appeared to be some changes in the lineup of senators who did get airtime from broadcast news. In previous monitor periods, current members of the Senate and the House of Representatives dominated airtime – Ramon Revilla Jr., Jinggoy Estrada and Miriam Defensor-Santiago frequently topped the airtime count. This time, some new faces received broadcast media coverage.

Gilbert Remulla of the Nacionalista received the most airtime for this period, his first time to be in the top 10. Adel Tamano, Satur Ocampo and Susan Ople were also new entrants into the top 10.

Table 3. Airtime allotted to the senatorial candidates

Out of the 61 candidates for Senator, the broadcast news shows allotted airtime to less than half, at only 28. TV Patrol World, which has consistently been giving airtime to the most number of senatorial candidates, provided airtime to 28, 24 Oras to 12 candidates, and Teledyaryo to eight.

Coverage of the Party-list Elections

The party-list system was supposed to provide an alternative to the dominant, moneyed and patronage-based political parties and candidates, and open up the political process to the marginalized, who would otherwise not have the resources to launch full-scale campaigns. The party-list representatives are supposed to give voice to the concerns and platforms of the marginalized and underrepresented sectors.

However, only around 3% of total broadcast news airtime was devoted to coverage of the party-list elections and the parties running for positions. Teledyaryo only allotted around 1% of its total airtime to the party-list elections; 24 Oras allotted less than 1%; while TV Patrol World allotted around 7% of its total news hole to the party-list elections.

The monitor showed that the party-list group with the most airtime was Ang Ladlad, which represents the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered community in the Philippines. Bantay, whose mission is to ensure the “ social and economic empowerment of frontline defenders of people’s rights to peaceful lives, secured homes and prosperous communities,” (http://www.bantaypartylist.com/blog/?tag=mission), also  received significant airtime from all three news shows. The Alliance of People’s Organizations (APO), which represents indigenous communities from Luzon and Mindanao, entered the top 10 by virtue of airtime from Teledyaryo.

Other party-list groups received less than 30 seconds of airtime from all three broadcast news shows.

Table 4. Airtime allotted to the party-list candidates

Out of the 187 party-list groups accredited by the Commission on Elections, only 10 received airtime during the monitor period. Teledyaryo gave airtime to seven groups; TV Patrol World to four; and 24 Oras to only two party-list groups.

Download the report here (in Word or in PDF).

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