Media covered 2010 polls ‘better’ than past elections — CMFR

A media watchdog has lauded the coverage of the Philippine media in the May 10 automated elections, saying it was “better" than in the two previous elections. Print, broadcast and online media in the country showed “efforts to solicit the platforms and plans for governance" of candidates in the 2010 polls, a study by the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR) said. “The media definitely did a much better job now. There has been a cycle of continuing improvement, and the reason we do this monitor is so that we can make it (coverage) even better," CMFR Executive Director Melinda Quintos de Jesus told GMANews.TV in an interview on Wednesday. According to CMFR’s monitoring of the media coverage of the 2010 polls, a big majority (64.6 percent) of news reports printed on the front pages of major broadsheets and reported over prime time news shows “provided background information on candidates." The study, conducted from February to May this year, also revealed that eight out of 10 (84.2 percent) news reports aired over broadcast stations ABS-CBN 2, GMA 7 and NBN 4 were “neutral" or presented both sides of a story. CMFR Deputy Director Luis Teodoro said these figures indicate how the media “presented more information geared towards more meaningful decision-making of the electorate" for this year’s elections. Teodoro also noted how the media played a more “proactive" role in getting the stand of candidates on certain issues rather than relying on statements and press releases. “Unlike in 2007, the media elicited the stand of candidates on various issues this year rather than wait for them (to state their positions)," he said at a briefing in Makati City. He added that the media also gave the public more opportunity to know the stand of candidates on certain issues by “giving regular and special election reports and debates earlier time slots." Lapses But despite this, the media also committed several “lapses" in covering the 2010 polls, the CMFR said. The media watchdog’s study showed how television and newspaper reports focused on presidential frontrunners, which gave less airtime and space for candidates for other positions. Television reports also tended to give more attention to the conduct of the presidential campaigns and the preparations for the poll automation rather than the platforms of lesser known candidates, according to the study. “We did not cover the Senate and provided the electorate with more news on the new candidates. Hindi natin naikwento na mayroon namang mga bago na puwede nating i-consider. Ang nangyari, puro top-of-the-mind choices ang binoto ng electorate," De Jesus said. The CMFR likewise said that the party-list polls were “hardly covered," focusing only on the “controversial" groups such as Ang Ladlad and Ang Galing Pinoy, which chose former Pampanga Rep. Juan Miguel “Mikey" Arroyo, son of former President and incumbent Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, as its first nominee. “I don’t blame the media. It is a hard story to tell. Hindi naipaliwanag kung paano ginamit ang party-list elections para maipasok ‘yung mga hindi naman marginalized at ‘yung mga galing pa sa traditional political sources," she said. Recommendations After presenting the findings of its study, the CMFR likewise gave recommendations to improve the media coverage of future elections. The media watchdog said that legislators should consider amending Republic Act 9006 or the Fair Election Act, since candidates this year found ways to “circumvent" some provisions in the law. “Leading candidates exceeded the 120 minutes per station time required by law and got around with it by appearing in the campaign advertisements of other candidates and party-list groups," Teodoro said. The group also proposed greater focus on news on election spending, as well as on the party-list elections and the selection of their nominees. The CMFR also advised media organizations to “exercise care in airing reports circulating over the Internet," since these may be forms of black propaganda. Media groups, such as the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP), were nonetheless pleased about the “marked improvement" on the coverage of Philippine elections over the years. “Yung media naman natuto din. It was good na nagkaroon ng improvement compared sa 2004 and 2007. It just goes to show na kaya nating malampasan ang ating weaknesses," NUJP treasurer Rowena Paraan said in a separate interview. She added that the “positive findings" indicate that the media can “self-regulate" and that the government does not need to enact laws for the media to correct its mistakes. - KBK, GMANews.TV