CMFR MONITOR OF NEWS MEDIA COVERAGE OF THE 2007 NATIONAL ELECTIONS

CMFR MONITOR OF NEWS MEDIA COVERAGE OF THE 2007 NATIONAL ELECTIONS
(First monitoring period, February 13 – March 2, 2007)

Team Unity gets widest coverage from TV, print

HERE were few surprises in the media coverage of the national elections in the first three weeks of the campaign.  Both the administration coalition (Team Unity) and the opposition’s Genuine Opposition (GO) were amply covered, although TU had a slight edge in both the TV news programs as well as in the broadsheets monitored.   There was very little coverage of the party-list elections, despite these elections’ being national in scope, but there was the usual emphasis on celebrity and celebrity-related news.

TELEVISION COVERAGE

The news programs monitored were TV Patrol World (ABS-CBN 2), Bandila (ABS-CBN 2), 24 Oras (GMA-7), Saksi (GMA-7), Sentro (ABC-5), and Primetime Teledyaryo (NBN-4).

Time allotment analysis
The six monitored television news programs’ coverage of the senatorial and party-list campaign ranged from 8.74 percent to 41.90 percent of total airtime in the first three weeks of the senatorial campaign. On the average, however, TV Patrol World, Bandila, 24 Oras, Saksi, and Teledyaryo allotted less than one minute for news about the party-list groups while Sentro allotted 1.08 minutes per episode. For three days (Feb. 20, 21, and 23), the six monitored television news programs did not cover the party-list campaign.
24 Oras allotted the longest airtime to the senatorial elections, at an average of 15.63 minutes per program episode. It was followed by TV Patrol (14.75 minutes), Saksi (10.08 minutes), Sentro (9.25 minutes), and Bandila (7.97 minutes). Teledyaryo allotted the least time for the senatorial elections with only 4.14 minutes on the average. (See Table 1)
Five out of the six monitored television news programs gave more airtime to the 12 senatorial candidates running under the administration’s Team Unity (TU). Only 24 Oras allotted more airtime to the 11 senatorial candidates of the Genuine Opposition (GO). All six television news programs gave the other senatorial candidates (those running as independents or under other political parties) the least total airtime, ranging from 1.83 to 37.17 minutes for the entire period in review. (See Graphs 1 to 6)
TU’s Cesar Montano—who replaced Leyte Gov. Jericho Petilla in the administration’s senatorial line-up last Feb. 16—had the longest total airtime coverage by the six television news programs at 79.32 minutes. Ralph Recto (also of TU) was a distant second with 58.57 minutes, followed by Alan Peter Cayetano (GO), Francis Pangilinan (independent) and Prospero Pichay (TU).
Eleven of the 20 senatorial candidates who enjoyed the most extensive media coverage were from TU. Eight of the 20 were from GO and one was an independent. (See Table 2)
Ang Ladlad, which was disqualified from the elections, was the party-list group that had the widest coverage in all six news programs, with a combined airtime of 4.28 minutes. It was followed by Bayan Muna, Gabriela Women’s Party, AnakPawis, and Kabataan Party. (See Table 3)

Discourse analysis
News about the Senate and party-list elections were given considerable airtime in the six news programs monitored. Out of the total 2,018 reports that appeared in the programs in the first three weeks of the senatorial campaign, 447 (22.15 percent) were about the Senate and party-list elections. This figure included reports that took up both the Senate and party-list elections.
The majority of these reports were about the senatorial elections (423 or 94.63 percent). In contrast to the three Manila broadsheets monitored, which had only one report on the party-list elections, there were 36 reports related to the party-list campaign and elections in the TV news programs monitored.
24 Oras had the biggest number of reports (103) while  Teledyaryo had the least, with 45. Teledyaryo was also the only news program that did not devote any airtime to the party-list campaign during the period, focusing its coverage on the Senate race.
Most of the party-list reports were about the premature posting of campaign posters by certain groups and the disqualification of some party-list organizations like Ang Ladlad and Mare. The government’s accusation that some party-list groups like Bayan Muna and AnakPawis were communist fronts and the groups’ reaction were also aired in some reports.

Placement
News about the Senate and party-list elections were usually among the top stories of the programs. There were 31 reports (6.94 percent) that came out as the lead stories of the programs, while the rest was aired usually in the first half of the programs. More than 20 percent of all the reports about the Senate and party-list elections (99 reports or 22.15 percent), however, appeared in the second half of the programs.

Subjects
The 2007 senatorial elections are shaping up as a battle between the administration and the traditional opposition. Unsurprisingly, the candidates who received the widest media coverage came from the administration’s TU, with 577 reports, and GO, with 523. Most of these reports focused on former oppositionists Vicente Sotto III, Teresa Aquino Oreta, and Edgardo Angara, who are now running under the administration banner. Controversies involving the candidates were also reported, such as Francis Pangilinan’s decision to run as an independent even after he was “adopted” by GO and the feud between couple Vilma Santos and Sen. Ralph Recto on one hand and the latter’s  brother, Batangas Vice-Gov. Ricky Recto on the other.
The independent candidates were also covered (163 reports), but lagged far behind their administration and opposition rivals. These reports were mostly about the campaigns of Pangilinan, jailed former senator Gregorio Honasan, and actor Richard Gomez.
There were 47 reports about the candidates from the Kilusang Bagong Lipunan (KBL), but these were mostly about Joselito Pepito Cayetano, who has adopted the nickname “Peter.” Ang Kapatiran party was covered in just nine reports.
There were 82 reports on the party-list campaign, with TV Patrol airing the the highest number of stories (23).
Some reports covered the allies of the senatorial and party-list candidates. There were 45 reports that touched on related subjects like election guidelines and poll fraud.

Themes
As in the 2004 presidential elections, some of the reports monitored had more than one theme. A report about the campaign of one senatorial candidate, for instance, may also be considered personality-oriented, depending on the report’s content. Based on the current monitor, the total number of Senate and party-list election reports (447) had 523 themes.
As in 2004, the TV reports focused mostly on the details of the campaign, such as the campaign jingles, slogans, or sorties of the parties. This type of report accounted for 62.14 percent (325 campaign-themed stories) of the Senate and party-list elections coverage. In contrast, a mere 5.54 percent (29 reports) was devoted to development and policy issues.
Personality-oriented reports (86 or 16.44 percent) easily outnumbered those on development and policy issues.  Such stories usually told of  how certain candidates spent their Valentine’s Day with their spouses, or how the celebrities conducted their campaigns.
Some stories reported on poll fraud, and nuisance candidates, among other things.

Sources
Most of the sources of the news were the administration and opposition candidates and their respective allies. Except for Pangilinan and Gomez, can-didates running independently  were rarely interviewed, as were those from the KBL and Ang Kapatiran.
Teledyaryo, which airs over government TV channel NBN-4, rarely used opposition sources for its stories.

Slant
Out of the total 447 reports on the Senate and party-list elections, more than half (273 reports or 61.07 percent) were neutral. Only ABC-5’s Sentro aired more reports that were slanted (positive or negative) rather than neutral.
The Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility’s count of slanted articles included all stories for or against any of the candidates. It is thus possible that a report might have been slanted for someone or his/her organization or it might have been slanted against another candidate or his/her organization. 24 Oras had the biggest number of reports that had a positive slant (33 positively slanted out of 47 biased reports or 70.21 percent). The biases in 24 Oras were mostly shown in reports on both administration and opposition candidates.
On the other hand, Teledyaryo mostly had reports with a negative slant (32 out of 45 slanted stories or 71.11 percent). The opposition bets and independent candidate Gomez were the usual subjects of Teledyaryo’s unfavorable reports.
The rest of the programs had an almost equal share of stories with negative and positive slants.

NEWSPAPER COVERAGE

The broadsheets monitored were the Manila Bulletin, the Philippine Daily Inquirer, and The Philippine Star.
Even before the start of the official campaign period for the Senate elections on Feb. 13, speculations on who would be running under what party were already on the front pages of  the Bulletin, the Inquirer, and the Star.
The number of reports on the elections increased when the campaign season started. Out of a total of 419 front-page articles and photos published in these broadsheets from Feb. 14 to March 2, 101 news stories (24.10 percent) were about the Senate and party-list elections. Only one article was about the party-list elections–a report that was printed in the Star.
Of the 100 reports on the Senate elections, 38 appeared in the Inquirer. Not far behind was the Bulletin, which had 36.  Aside from its report on the party-list elections, the Star also published 26 reports on the senatorial race.
Most of these stories appeared below the fold (60.4 percent out of 101 stories). The Bulletin had the biggest number of below-the-fold reports (26), while the Inquirer had the largest number of main stories about the Senate elections.

Subject
It was clear on the front pages of the three papers that the widest coverage was given to senatorial candidates in the administration and traditional opposition parties. There were 158 reports about the candidates from the administration’s Team Unity, while candidates from the Genuine Opposition were the subjects of 128 reports.  But the reports were mostly about the controversies involving candi-dates in both teams, such as the decision of Sen. Edgardo Angara, and former senators Vicente Sotto III, Teresa Aquino Oreta to join the administration slate.
In contrast, the three papers devoted only 26 reports to the independent candidates. Most of these were about the decision of Pangilinan to run as independent.
Much lesser coverage was given to candidates of the Marcos-era party, the Kilusang Bagong Lipunan, with practically all of the reports focusing on its contro-versial candidate, Joselito Pepito Cayetano.  Taguig Rep. Alan Peter Cayetano, one of the opposition candidates and an administration critic, had questioned the candidacy of his namesake, describing it as a move by the administration to confuse the voters and cause the invalidation of the votes cast for him.
The campaign jingles of various candidates and the amount spent by various candi-dates on political advertisements were also noted in the reports, particularly in the Inquirer. The Inquirer also covered extensively the marital spat between celebrity couple Kris Aquino and James Yap, and its effect on the senatorial campaign of Ms. Aquino’s brother, Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III. The Recto family quarrel over the gubernatorial contest in Batangas was also consistently covered by the paper.
The Inquirer was the only paper that reported on Ang Kapatiran party and its candi-dates, focusing on the latter’s advocacy of non-traditional politics. Although the Inquirer gave the party and its candidates much-needed public exposure, the reports did not include the party’s program of action.
Among the senatorial candidates of the administration, those who enjoyed the widest coverage were Surigao del Sur Rep. Prospero Pichay Jr. (20 reports), Sen. Ralph Recto (18), and Cesar Montano (13).
Among GO candidates, those who received the most extensive media coverage were current Senate President Manuel Villar (20), House Minority Floor Leader Rep. Francis Escudero III (12), and Taguig’s Rep. Cayetano (12).
Pichay, Recto, and Villar were cited in a recent study by Nielsen Media Research Philippines as the biggest television advertisement spenders in the first two weeks of the campaign. Among the senatorial candidates, Pichay spent the biggest amount—about P33 million—for TV ad spots during that period, while reelectionist senators Villar and Recto spent P30.29 million and P22.79 million, respectively.
Despite—or because of—his decision to run as an independent candidate, reelectionist senator Pangilinan was a frequent subject of reports in the three news-papers. Among the independent bets, Pangilinan received the widest coverage with 18 reports. Other independent candidates covered during the period were former senator Gregorio Honasan (six) and actor Richard Gomez (two).
If administration candidates received wider coverage than their opposition rivals, the opposite happened when their allies were covered by the press. While 58 opposition allies were covered during the period, only 27 administration allies were covered by media.
Among the opposition figures, detained former president Joseph Estrada received the biggest coverage in media. His son JV Ejercito, GO’s first campaign manager, was the subject of seven reports, while GO spokesperson Adel Tamano, Kris Aquino, and former Arroyo ally Sen. Franklin Drilon were tied at third place with four reports each.
Among administration allies, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo was first with eight reports, followed by her spouse Jose Miguel, and Vice President Noli de Castro, both with two reports.

Use of photos, caricatures
If the Inquirer alone seemed aware of the independent and Ang Kapatiran candidates, this aware-ness was limited only to news reports. In all three newspapers, most of the photographs and other illustrations related to the Senate elections were of the candidates of either the administration or opposition parties.

Themes
As in the 2004 presidential elections, some of the reports monitored had more than one theme.
In the first three weeks of their coverage of the elections, the three most widely read broadsheets had so far not allotted much space to development and policy issues. Eleven reports out of the total 101 articles on the Senate and party-list campaign (10.89 percent) touched on crucial issues the candidates needed to address. But most of these reports barely explained to readers how the candidates intended to address the most pressing public issues—poverty, peace and order, education, Charter change, global warming, among others—that confront government.
Most of the articles reported a candidate’s position on an issue, but did not explain how the candidate planned to translate his views into action.  Was it perhaps because the candidates had no idea themselves?  It would have helped if the reports indicated if this was indeed the case— if, for example, the reporter pressed the candidate to explain how, say, the latter’s motherhood statements on ending poverty could be translated into policy through legislation.
Campaign sorties, as in the 2004 elections, dominated the coverage. Readers were treated to a daily log of the candidates’ campaign sorties, complete with the usual “color” pieces on which candidate got the loudest applause, or how TU senatorial candidate Juan Miguel Zubiri beat the other candidates in getting a franchise on that insanely infectious ditty, Boom Tarat Tarat.
Twenty-three reports were personality-oriented, with the Inquirer leading the two other broadsheets with 14. These personality-themed reports included the effect of Kris Aquino’s latest love life drama on her brother Noynoy’s campaign, the rumored row between half-brothers JV Ejercito and Jinggoy Estrada over who would be GO’s campaign manager, and which team has the better-looking spokesperson.
Other issues covered were the political mudslinging among the candidates (nine reports), the election rules and guidelines set by the Commission on Elections or Comelec (six), poll violence, the candidacy of Joselito Pepito “Peter” Cayetano (four),  election debate and poll violence, both with two reports.

Sources
The papers used almost the same number of sources from both the administration (46) and opposition (45) parties in their reports. They constituted 87.5 percent of all the sources used in the reports related to the Senate and party-list elections. Among the top sources from the administration were Pichay (12), Recto (eight), and Defensor (five).  TU’s Vicente Magsaysay of Zambales was the only senatorial candidate who was never cited as a news source by any of the three papers during the period monitored. Fellow administra-tion candidate Jamalul Kiram III of Sulu was quoted in one report.
The leading news sources cited among opposition candidates were Villar and Escudero (both with nine reports), and Cayetano (eight). At the other end, there were two opposition candidates who were never quoted in any report: alleged Oakwood mutiny leader Antonio Trillanes IV– which was understandable because he is in jail – and Sonia Roco, widow of the late 2004 presidential candidate Raul.
Among the independent bets, Pangilinan was the top source (five reports).

Slant
Out of 101 stories related to the Senate and party-list elections, 57 were neutral (56.44 percent), or neither slanted positively or negatively.  Both the Inquirer (73.68 percent) and the Star (66.66 percent) had a high number of neutral reports throughout the period.
The Bulletin had the smallest number of neutral reports. Only 11 of its reports (30.55 percent of its coverage) could be deemed neutral.
There were 44 slanted reports, in contrast to 57 that were neutral.
The Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility’s (CMFR) count of slanted articles included all stories for or against any of the candidates. It is thus possible that a report may have been slanted for someone and at the same time slanted against another candidate, group or institution.
Most of the articles with a positive slant came from the Bulletin (27 out of the total number of 33 positively slanted reports, or 81.82 percent). But if the Bulletin had more stories that favored certain candidates or parties, both the Inquirer and Star had a higher number of stories with a negative rather than a positive slant.

(Second monitoring period, March 3 – 16, 2007)
(Third monitoring period March 17 – 30, 2007)

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