Government TV covered Teodoro most, ignored bottom dwellers

THE CMFR MONITOR OF MEDIA COVERAGE
OF THE 2010 ELECTIONS
BROADCAST DISCOURSE ANALYSIS (For the Period Feb. 9-26, 2010)

The programs monitored were 24 Oras, Teledyaryo, and TV Patrol World. The programs 24 Oras (GMA-7) and TV Patrol (ABS-CBN 2) are the leading early evening newscasts in the country. Teledyaryo is aired over government-owned station NBN-4. The Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR) analyzed the programs from Feb. 9 (when the  national campaign officially started) to 26.

CMFR analyzed the above programs’ reports on the presidential, vice-presidential, senatorial, and party-list elections. Reports about the elections in general, such as the country’s preparedness to undertake its first nationwide automated polls in May, as well as election rules, were  included in the monitor. Reports exclusively about local elections were not.

The news programs reported the presidential elections  most. As in print coverage of the first three weeks of the campaign, most reports about the vice-presidential and senatorial candidates were  limited to short soundbites about various controversies or reactions to these by party spokespersons in behalf of their presidential candidates.

The party-list elections were given minimal  coverage on TV.

About four in every 10 Teledyaryo reports on the presidential elections were about administration bet Gilberto “Gibo” Teodoro Jr. However, it ignored  other candidates in the coverage.

In its coverage, Teledyaryo also showed bias in favor of Teodoro.

For more information about this report and CMFR’s Monitor of the News Media Coverage of the 2010 Elections, visit CMFR’s Media and Elections microsite (www.cmfr-phil.org/mediaandelections/).

Comments are closed.