CMFR Monitor of News Media Coverage of the 2007 National Elections: Improvement noted in media coverage of 2007 elections

There was widespread awareness of the professional and ethical responsibilities of the press among the major media players. TV networks ABS-CBN 2 and GMA-7 and the leading Manila broadsheets seemed very much aware of the importance of their role in the 2007 elections.

The leading media organizations in both print and television also prepared their staffs for the coverage through seminars and briefings, in which the ethics of reporting the elections was emphasized.

These were among the conclusions of the study on media coverage of the 2007 elections conducted by the non-governmental Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR). The results of the study were released today during a roundtable discussion at the Filipinas Heritage Library in Makati.

The CMFR study covered the period February 13 to May 13, as well as election day itself. A team composed of CMFR staff, volunteer journalism students from the University of the Philippines (UP) College of Mass Communication, and student interns from Far Eastern University, St. Scholastica’s College, UP, and University of Santo Tomas monitored six TV news programs, the three leading Manila broadsheets, selected AM radio stations and Manila tabloids, TV public affairs programs, and online news sites. Political ads in all Manila TV stations as well as the state of preparedness of the media were also studied.

The study found that the major TV networks were pro-active in providing viewers information
they needed. This was a departure from 2004, when the media were criticized for surrendering their agenda setting function by merely reacting to the statements of the candidates and political parties.

In addition to their regular public affairs programs, for example, ABS-CBN 2 and GMA-7 offered special programs on the elections. In print, the Philippine Daily Inquirer offered articles on election issues, what the candidates stood for, and even information for voters and poll watchers. It also covered lesser known parties like Ang Kapatiran, rather than concentrating only on the administration and opposition parties.

The usual emphasis on personalities and controversies persisted in the rest of the media, however. In 2007 as in 2004, the party-list elections were covered only when party list groups like Bayan Muna and their leaders were involved in controversies. There was a minimum of reporting on what the various party list groups, including those supposedly supported by the government, stood for.

The study also suggests that the government-run TV system needs reforming, and urged the implementation of the government’s privatization policy in the case of the sequestered stations. The study found the coverage of the government TV system conspicuously biased for administration candidates.

Contact person:
Hector Bryant L. Macale
(63 2) 894-1326/894-1314/840-0903/840-0889 (telefax)
staff@cmfr-phil.org
www.cmfr-phil.org
www.cmfr-phil.blogspot.com

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