How Media Fared in Elections ’04

IN 2004, the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR) started a landmark project:  monitoring the performance of the media during the presidential elections. Included in the monitor were six television newscasts, two public affairs programs, and the front pages of three major broadsheets.
Dubbed  “Citizens’ Media Monitor,” the project was participated in by volunteers from civil society and religious organizations, as well as journalism students and faculty from the University of the Philippines College of Mass Communication. Among the monitor’s findings were:

•    Positive developments: There were significant efforts by the media to improve elections reportage. Even during the pre-campaign period, some television programs such as ANC’s Impact and GMA-7’s Biodata presented viewers with the background, plans, and positions of candidates on a broad range of issues. There was also front-page coverage in The Philippine Star  and the Philippine Daily Inquirer on policy and development issues.
•    Focus on the campaign trail and “horse race”: TV and print coverage concentrated on the candidates’ campaign sorties and the neck-and-neck race between Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and the late Fernando Poe Jr., the two leading presidential candidates.
•    Bias: There was fair media coverage of Arroyo and Poe. No organizational bias was evident in the coverage.
•    Areas ignored: The media failed to report substantially on the Senate, party-list, and local elections. Policy and development issues were also virtually ignored.
•    Political controversies:  Poe’s citizenship and the disqualification cases against Arroyo, Eddie Gil, and Eddie Villanueva were well covered.
•    Public opinion polls: Surveys received banner treatment in the newspapers, but reports often lacked context.
•    Delayed newscast and public affairs programs: Some programs were aired past midnight which prevented more people from watching them.
•    Sourcing and attribution: The Inquirer stood out for using unnamed sources while the Manila Bulletin consistently had single-source stories.
•    Poe and the media: Poe was widely covered before the campaign period. However, his relations with the media began to sour midway into the campaign because of his inaccessibility to journalists and the difficulty of covering him.
•    Sensationalism: The media allotted extended coverage and considerable front-page space to the alleged axing of comedian Dolphy’s show in ABS-CBN, the rape complaint against former Sen. John Osmeña, and the word war between vice-presidential candidates Loren Legarda and Noli de Castro.
•    Contextualization: Very little background was provided in election-related news. The media did not explain to the public those laws concerning the elections.

Taking all these findings into account, CMFR concluded that the media failed to serve as “a bridge of learning” for the electorate. Thus, a number of points were recommended for the media in covering elections:

•    Providing background on most news events should be a matter of routine.
•    Media organizations may want to review the election laws and their implications on coverage. Reporters should be familiar with the Omnibus Election Act, the Fair Election Act, the Party-List Act, the Overseas Absentee Voting Act, and the Philippine Constitution.
•    The senatorial, local, and party-list elections have to be more thoroughly covered.
•    Reporters could benefit from pre-coverage exposure to experts in governance, politics, and Philippine society.
•    Refresher courses on basic news reporting with emphasis on balance and fairness could be helpful.
•    Special training on issues reporting may enhance coverage depth.
•    Public affairs programs need to be scheduled when most viewers can see them.
•    The media can sponsor debates among the candidates and parties to shed light on public issues and what the candidates stand for.
•    Media can involve religious, civil society, business, and professional groups in the discussion of issues.
•    Media literacy programs must be put in place to develop a media-savvy public.

— Venus L. Elumbre

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