Online publications challenge traditional media in election coverage

Political journalism finds new battleground
Online publications challenge traditional media in election coverage
By Melanie Y. Pinlac

NEW form of medium is carving out an important role in political journalism.
In the 2007 campaign period, various candidates, political parties, and other groups tapped the Internet to reach out to Filipino voters here and abroad. Candidates allotted time and money in putting up online campaign sites as well as Friendster accounts and YouTube entries. Socio-civic groups formed election monitoring sites and news portals to educate Internet users on the election process.
In addition, there was a surprising surge in the number of new visitors in online publications. Despite the relatively low Internet penetration in the country, Inquirer.net alone had 2.2 million new or “unique” visitors daily in May. “Unique” visitor refers to a single unit of computer used to visit a site.
It was not the first time that the online news medium covered an election in the Philippines. It began doing so in 2001 and again in 2004 during which it reported breaking news and updates on the campaigns.
But something made this year’s online coverage of the elections rather different. The online press was better prepared for the 2007 election coverage.

Getting ready
With considerable experience learned from the 2001 and 2004 elections, online publications took further steps to improve their coverage skills. Reporters were given training both within the media outfit and outside.
Bulatlat reporters, for example, attended lectures on covering elections and on safety training by the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP). Newsbreak managing editor Glenda Gloria conducted occasional training for the GMANews.TV’s staff.
JV Rufino, Inquirer.net’s editor in chief, sent staff writers to an in-house training with the Philippine Daily Inquirer team. Carlos Conde, Davao Today editor in chief, said he “had an extensive discussion among the staff on how to cover the elections.” They identified the core issues they needed to pursue like corruption and human rights, and pointed to specific areas that needed attention.
Inquirer.net had a formula for its elections website—running accounts, tallies, and a voter’s guide. Other than the grueling task of uploading updates, Rufino said his team constantly thought of doing something new.

New tools
With new developments in web technology, online pub-lications like abs-cbnnews.com, Inquirer.net, and GMANews.TV supplemented their running accounts or breaking news with interactive web tools.
One of the most noticeable web tools was the election map. Inquirer.net’s election map  drew praise from readers and online journalists alike. It presented its viewers with comprehensive data on the 2004 voters’ profile and a comparison of the 2004 and 2007 figures in the different areas of the country. Just by clicking on an area’s marker, readers could get information such as the discrepancies between the 2004 and 2007 numbers of voters.
GMANews.TV’s geopolitical map, on the other hand, was also helpful in identifying the bailiwicks of the 2004 presidential candidates, the election hot spots, the top vote-rich provinces, and the poorest ones in the Philippines.
Another web tool developed by online publications was video and audio streaming. Online visitors of both GMANews.TV and abs-cbnnews.com could access programs and television specials by the mother networks like Isang Tanong and Halalan 2007.
Meanwhile, Inquirer.net published podcast interviews with the senatorial candidates. Rufino said this was a chance not only for voters to hear the senators’ platforms but also for the candidates to present and explain their platforms and stand on various issues.
These web tools helped the Filipino voters, especially those abroad, to understand the politics behind the elections. They provi-ded readers with the data neces-sary to make informed choices.

Some difficulties
Still, many online publi-cations were hampered by minimal resources and the small number of Internet users in the country. They were not able to cover local campaigns, forcing them to tap their television and print counterparts to get the news. Consequently, most online publications had to limit their coverage to specific areas and topics.
In the case of Bulatlat, lack of manpower prevented it from fielding reporters to election  hotspots. According to reporter Alexander Martin Remollino, Bulatlat then decided to concentrate on issues that candidates should put on their agenda.
For its part, Davao Today focused on alternative politics in the elections. Conde said his publication “wanted to explain to readers that there’s such a thing as alternative politics” by putting out stories on leftist candidates and groups. Davao Today also emphasized the urgent problems in the three districts of Davao and the local candidates’ planned solutions for each.
To make up for the lack of resources, various online publications linked up with other groups to supplement their coverage. They coordinated with election monitoring groups like Halalang Marangal, Kontra Daya, and the Legal Network for Truthful Elections and tied up with other online publications and media organizations.
Even then, Rufino said the alliances were not enough. The new medium had to think of new ways to present the news and other information.
The Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism’s (PCIJ) I-site, for example, put up an audio-visual presentation of the Philippines’ political timeline. PCIJ, as well as Newsbreak, traced the roots of cheating and other issues that influence the outcome of the elections.
Seeking to be different from traditional media, online publications paid attention to stories that newspapers and television usually ignored, such as the importance of the party-list elections. Bulatlat, for example, discussed the party-list system and whether it truly represents the marginalized sectors of society. Other news sites like Inquirer.net, GMANews.TV, and abs-cbnnews.com presented can-didates’ and party-lists’ profiles and platforms.
This early, the new medium is gearing up for a bigger political exercise: the 2010 presidential elections. By then, Conde hopes there will be more innovations driven by consumer technology and higher Internet penetration.
“Not too many Filipinos have access to the Internet, so whatever good stuff was generated was only available to a limited audience (in the Philippines),” he said. Three years from now, that could no longer be the case, as Internet access continues to grow among Filipinos.

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