Mudslinging among candidates boosts media coverage

The media play a crucial role in the democratic life of the country. This is especially evident during election periods. The media are the people’s main source of information on electoral issues, the candidates, the candidates’ views, and their party platforms if any.  Information on developments related to the voting process is also essential to informed decision-making. Ideally, how the media cover the elections affects how the people perceive and understand the issues and helps them decide which candidates and parties to vote for.

CMFR continued to monitor the two major primetime news programs in the country – ABS-CBN 2’s TV Patrol World and GMA 7’s 24 Oras– over the two-week period of March 29 until April 9, excluding Saturdays and Sundays, and the episodes aired during the Holy Week break. It also included NBN 4’s Teledyaryo news program in the monitor, to assess how it performs its role as a taxpayer-funded, national news network.

As the elections approached the homestretch, the media coverage of the elections markedly increased. All three news shows monitored during the period allotted more airtime to election-related reports.

Click this link to read the rest of the report. Visit the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility’s “Media and Elections” microsite to read other reports.

Comments are closed.