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THECMFRMONITOROFMEDIACOVERAGEOFTHE2010ELECTIONS

GOVERNMENTTVCOVEREDTEODOROMOST,IGNOREDBOTTOMDWELLERS

BROADCASTDISCOURSEANALYSIS(ForthePeriodFeb.926,2010)

Scope

Theprogramsmonitoredwere24Oras,Teledyaryo,andTVPatrolWorld.Theprograms24Oras(GMA7)andTVPatrol(ABSCBN2)aretheleadingearlyeveningnewscastsinthecountry.Teledyaryoisairedover governmentowned station NBN4. The Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR)

analyzedtheprogramsfromFeb.9(whenthe nationalcampaignofficiallystarted)to26.

CMFRanalyzedtheaboveprogramsreportsonthepresidential,vicepresidential,senatorial,andparty

listelections.Reportsabouttheelectionsingeneral,suchasthecountryspreparednesstoundertakeits

firstnationwideautomatedpollsinMay,aswellaselectionrules,were includedinthemonitor.Reports

exclusivelyaboutlocalelectionswerenot.

The news programs reported the presidential elections most. As in print coverage of the first three

weeksofthecampaign,mostreportsaboutthevicepresidentialandsenatorialcandidateswere limited

toshortsoundbitesaboutvariouscontroversiesorreactionstothesebypartyspokespersons inbehalf

oftheirpresidentialcandidates.

Thepartylistelectionsweregivenminimal coverageonTV.

Aboutfour inevery10Teledyaryoreportsonthepresidentialelectionswereaboutadministrationbet

Gilberto"Gibo"TeodoroJr.However,itignored othercandidatesinthecoverage.

Inits

coverage,

Teledyaryo

also

showed

bias

in

favor

of

Teodoro.

Numberofreports

FromFeb.926, lessthanathirdoftheoverallcoverageofthesethreeprogramswasdevotedtothe

presidential,vicepresidential,senatorial,partylistelectionsandgeneralissuesaboutthecampaignand

upcomingelections299outofatotalof1,028reports/items,or29.09percent.Manyreportswerenot

just on one category (for example, the presidential elections) but also on others (such as the vice

presidentialorsenatorialcampaign)atthesametime.

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9867

25 20 235

416

9444 28 28 4

44

263

10753 26 23 13

52

349299

164

79 7119

131

1028

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

Electionrelated

reports

Presidential

elections

Vice

presidential

elections

Senatorial

elections

Partylist

elections

Electionsin

general

Totalnumberof

reports(news

hole)

*Reportsmayhavemorethanonecategory

Numberofreports*

24Oras

Teledyaryo

TVPatrolWorld

Total

TV Patrol had the most number of electionrelated reports (107) followed by 24 Oras (98) andTeledyaryo (94). However, in proportion to their news holesor their total number of reports aired

duringtheperiodTeledyaryoairedmoreelectionrelatedreports(35.74percent)thanTVPatrol(30.66percent)and24Oras(23.56percent).Clearly, theprograms reported the presidential elections most (164 times). General issues about the

elections (such as fears of election fraud and electionrelated violence) took the second spot (131

times). The programs devoted almost equal coverageif not far smaller compared with that of the

presidentialelections

to

the

vice

presidential

(79)

and

senatorial

elections

(71).

As

in

print

coverage

of

the first three weeks of the campaign, most reports about the vicepresidential and senatorial

candidateswere limitedovertelevision, toshortsoundbitesaboutvariouscontroversiesorreactions

to these by party spokespersons in behalf of their presidential candidates. The parties platforms or

viewsonpolicyissueswerehardlydiscussed.

Issuesrelated topartylistelectionsarenot important,at leastbasedon theTVcoverage in the first

threeweekssince thenationalcampaign started. Thepartylistelectionsweregivenminimal coverage

onTV(19outof299electionrelatedreportsor6.35percent).

Placement

Morethanhalf(162reportsor54.19percent)oftheelectionrelatedreportsweretreatedasamongthe

days biggest stories and aired during the programs first half. About four in every 10 reports (42.81)

wereairedduringthesecondhalf.Asmallnumber(9or3.01percent)werebannerorleadstories.

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3

52 43

98

2

6032

94

4

50 53

107

9

162128

299

0

50

100

150

200250

300

350

Banner/lead

story

Firsthalfofthe

program

Secondhalfof

theprogram

Totalperprogram

Placement

24Oras

Teledyaryo

TVPatrolWorld

Total

Subjects

Manyreportswereonmorethanonecandidateorgroupasnewssubjects.

TheNacionalistaPartys ManuelMannyVillarJr.wasthemostcoveredpresidentialcandidatewith74

reports (18.69 percent). Following Villar were administration candidate Gilberto Gibo Teodoro (59

reports or 14.9 percent) and the Liberal Partys Benigno Simeon "Noynoy" Aquino III (49 or 12.37

percent).

Former president Joseph Estrada was the fourth most covered candidate in terms of the number of

reports, although he was the top candidate in terms of airtime during the same period monitored

(36.29 minutes; See TV news devoted more air time to Joseph Estradaduring the first weeks of thecampaign).

Villar, on the other hand, was not far behind Estrada in terms of airtime (34.51 minutes). Although

televisiondevotedthemostairtimetoEstradaduringtheperiodmonitored,hegotfewerreportsthan

Villar.Duringtheperiodmonitored,Villarwasastapleofprimetimenews,reactingtohisrisingsurvey

ratingsand/orrespondingtovariouscontroversiessuchashisexcessivecampaignspending,hisseeking

of endorsement by celebrities and religious groups, and his alleged involvement in the C5 road

extensionprojectcontroversy.

Other candidates were the subjects of fewer reports: Sen. Richard Dick Gordon (39); evangelist

EduardoBro.

Eddie

Villanueva

(35);

Ang

Kapatiran

Partys

and

Gordons

nephew

John

Carlos

JC

de

losReyes (33);andSen.Ma.AnaConsueloJambyMadrigal (31).The leastcoveredcandidateswere

economistJesusNicanorNickPelas(23)andKilusanngBagongLipunansVetellanoDodongAcosta

(11)whowaslaterdisqualifiedbytheCommissiononElectionsaftertheperiodmonitored.

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Duringtheperiodmonitored,Teledyaryocompletely ignoredcandidatessuchasGordon,DelosReyes,

Perlas, and Acosta. About four in every 10 Teledyaryo reports (39.62 percent) on the presidential

electionswereaboutTeodoro.

Somereportstriedtomovebeyondtheusualdiarytype,straightnewsreportingofthecampaign.One

examplewasa24OrasreportlastFeb.10whichtackledtheHaciendaLuisitacontroversy,anissuethathasbeenconsistentlylinkedwithAquino,includingthestockdistributionoptionthatwasofferedtothe

farmersin1988inexchangeforlandownership.

PRESIDENTIALCANDIDATES 24Oras Teledyaryo TVPatrol

World

Totalper

candidate

1 Villar,ManuelJr."Manny"Bamba(NP) 27 15 32 74

2 Teodoro,GilbertoJr."Gibo"Cojuangco

(LakasKampi)

15 21 23 59

3 Aquino,BenignoSimeonIII"Noynoy"

Cojuangco(LP)

17 8 24 49

4

EstradaEjercito,

Joseph

"Erap"

Marcelo

(PMP)18

5 19

42

5 Gordon,Richard"Dick"(B.BayanVNP) 25 14 39

6 Villanueva,Eduardo"Bro.Eddie"Cruz

(BP)

21 3 11 35

7 DelosReyes,JohnCarlos"JC"Gordon

(AKP)

24 9 33

8 Madrigal,Ma.AnaConsuelo"Jamby"AS

(Ind)

19 1 11 31

9 Perlas,JesusNicanor"Nick"Pineda(Ind) 17 6 23

10 Acosta,Vetellano"Dodong"Seinez(KBL) 10 1 11

Total

per

program

193

53 150

396

Among the vicepresidential candidates, Loren Legarda was the most covered candidate (24 reports)

whilerivalManuelMarRoxasoccupiedthesecondspotat19.Theirranking intermsofreportswas

consistentwiththeirrankingintermsofairtime.Likesomeofthepresidentialcandidates,TVprograms

gave scant coverage of the lesserknown candidates.Teledyaryo did not report anything about vice

presidentialcandidatesBayaniFernando,JoseJaySonza,andDominadorJunChipecoJr.duringthe

periodmonitored.

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VICEPRESIDENTIALCANDIDATES 24Oras Teledyaryo TVPatrol

World

Totalper

candidate

1 Legarda, Loren "Loren" Bautista

(NPC)

5 12 7 24

2 Roxas, Manuel "Mar" Araneta

(LP)

5 4 10 19

3 Binay, Jejomar "Jojo" Cabauatan

(PDPLaban)

6 3 8 17

4 Manzano, Eduardo "Edu" Barrios

(LakasKampi)

2 7 5 14

5 Yasay, Perfecto "Kidlat" Rivas

(BP)

7 2 5 14

6 Fernando, Bayani "BF" Flores

(B.BayanVNP)

3 5 8

7 Sonza, Jose "Jay Sonza" Yumang

(KBL)

2 2 4

8

Chipeco,

Dominador

Jr.

"Jun"

Fuentecilla(AKP)2

1

3

Totalperprogram 32 28 43 103

Comparedwith thecoverageof thepresidentialandvicepresidentialcandidates, thecoverageof the

senatorialcandidatesall61ofthemwerescant,andwhenitoccurred,perfunctory.

Mostsenatorialcandidateswerecoveredprimarilyfortheirreactionstovariouscontroversiesusually

involvingtheirpresidentialcandidates.Moreoftenthannot,theirstandoropiniononvariousissueswas

hardly solicited at all. A Feb. 19 TV Patrol report proved one worthy exception when it adequatelyfocused on reelectionist Juan Ponce Enriles position on the perpulse billing rate for cellular phones.

TeledyaryosFeb.

25

report

about

alaw

authored

by

another

reelectionist,

Sen.

Lito

Lapid,

also

reported

thelawssalientfeatures.

MOSTCOVEREDSENATORIAL

CANDIDATES

24Oras Teledyaryo TVPatrol

World

Totalper

candidate

1 Enrile,JuanPonce"JPE"(PMP) 3 2 7 12

2 Estrada,JinggoyEjercito(PMP) 4 2 4 10

2 Querubin, Ariel "Marines" Oliva

(NP)

3 5 2 10

3 Bong Revilla, Ramon. Jr. "Kap"

Bautista(Lakas

Kampi)

4 3 1 8

3 Langit,ReyMagat(LakasKampi) 1 4 3 8

3 Marcos, Ferdinand Jr.

"Bongbong"Romualdez(NP)

1 2 5 8

4 Lapid, Manuel "Lito" Mercado

(LakasKampi)

2 4 1 7

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4 Tamano,AdelAbbas(NP) 2 2 3 7

5 Bello, Silvestre III "Bebot"

Hernando (LakasKampi)

1 5 6

5 DefensorSantiago,MiriamPalma

(PRP)

3 2 1 6

5

Lim,Danilo

"General

Danny"

dela

Puz(Ind)4

2

6

6 Cayetano, Pilar Juliana "Pia"

Schramm(NP)

1 2 2 5

6 Remulla, Gilbert Cesar Catibayan

(NP)

2 1 2 5

7 HontiverosBaraquel, Ana

Theresia"RisaH."(LP)

2 2 4

7 Lambino, Raul Loyola (Lakas

Kampi)

3 1 4

7 Maza, Liza "Liza Maza ng

Gabriela"Largoza

(Ind)

1 1 2 4

7 Recto,RalphGonzalez(LP) 3 1 4

8 Bautista, J.V. "J.V. Bautista"

Larion(PMP)

1 1 1 3

8 Biazon, Rozzano Rufino "Ruffy"

Bunoan(LP)

1 1 1 3

8 Drilon, Franklin "Frank"

Magtunao(LP)

2 1 3

8 Inocencio, Ma. Katherine "Kata"

L.Reyes(BP)

1 1 1 3

8 Mitra,Ramon"Monmon"Blanco

(NP)

1 1 1 3

8 Ocampo, Saturnino "Satur"

Cunanan(BayanMuna)

1 2 3

8 Ople,Susan"Toots"Vasquez(NP) 1 1 1 3

8 Tinsay, Alexander "Alex Tinsay"

Britanico(BP)

1 1 1 3

Totalperprogram 73 55 50 178

There was some coverage of the controversies involving partylist groups and their candidates,

especially those accused of being administration or opposition fronts. Some groups, such as Bayan

Muna, were also reported for filing disqualification cases against certain partylist groups that are

allegedly

dummiesof

Malacaang.

Beyond the controversieshowever, notmuchcoveragewas given to theprograms, ifany,of the 187

partylistgroupscurrently running,orwhetherthey really representmarginalizedsectors.Substantive

coverageofpartylistcandidateswasabsent.

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This lack of serious coverage about the partylist elections, an appalling trend in the coverage of

previouselections, isattheexpenseofanelectorate,themajorityofwhichstilldoesnotknowabout

thepartylistelections.

AccordingtotheJanuary2010preelectionsurveyforpartylistgrouppreferencebypolling institution

PulseAsia,nearlysevenoutof10Filipinosareunawareof thepartylistsystemeven ifthesurvey

wasconductedjustfourmonthsbeforethefirstnationwideautomatedelections.ThePulseAsiasurvey

found this low levelofawarenessdespiteFilipinoshavingvotedforpartylistgroups fivetimessince

1998, when the partylist elections were first introduced. Pulse Asia added that the current level of

awarenessofthepartylistsystemisthelowestsofaramongthegroupssurveysontheissuesinceearly

2004.

PARTYLISTGROUPS 24Oras Teledyaryo TVPatrol

World

Totalper

candidate

1 Akbayan! Citizen's Action Party

(AKBAYAN)

1 4 5

1 BayanMuna(BAYANMUNA) 1 4 5

2 1AangatkaPilipino(1AK) 1 2 3

2 AhonPinoy(AHON) 1 2 3

2 Anakpawis(ANAKPAWIS) 1 2 3

2 Gabriela Womens Party

(GABRIELA)

1 2 3

3 ActTeachers(ACTTEACHERS) 2 2

3 Action League of Indigenous

Masses(ALIM)

2 2

3 Babae para sa Kaunlaran (BABAE

KA)

2 2

3

KabataanPartylist

(KABATAAN)

2

2

4 Alyansa ng Media at Showbiz

(AMS)

1 1

4 Puwersa ng Bayaning Atleta

(PBA)

1 1

Totalperprogram 8 24 32

Themes

Asinthecoverageofpreviouselections,mostTVreportsfocusedonthecampaignofthecandidates

theirlatestcampaignsorties,theirstrategies,anddaytodayactivities(116times).Asidefrombeing

repetitious,thislogbooktypeofreportingdoesnothelpinformthepublicabouttheissues inthese

elections.Neitherdotheyevencomeclosetosuggestingthereasonswhytheelectorateshouldvotefor

acandidate.

IssuessuchastherulesandregulationsoftheCommissiononElections(Comelec)oncampaign

spendingorpoliticaladvertisementswerereported51times.

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47

9

6

11

9

20

12

9

5

19

28

31

2

1

2

8

12

14

6

15

2

8

9

38

5

10

8

12

19

1

10

2

1

9

27

116

16

17

21

29

51

15

28

26

8

36

64

0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140

CampaignConduct

CampaignFinances

Contest/Horserace

Polls/Surveys

Pollautomation

OtherComelecrelated issues

Electionrelatedviolence/Peaceandorder

TheArroyofactor

Personality

Civilsocietyandelections

Development/Policyissues

OtherThemes

*Reportsmayhavemorethanonetheme

Themes*

Totalpertheme

TVPatrolWorld

Teledyaryo

24Oras

Development/policyissueswerereported36timesduringtheperiodmonitored,butwereinsufficiently

discussed.Suchreportsoftenmerelymentionedthatthecandidates,especiallyifindebatesorspecial

programs,discussed

issues

related

to

development

or

policy

(such

as

peace

and

order,

the

economy,

andagriculture)withoutsubstantivelyexplainingorairingeventhemainpointsofthesecandidates

discussionsortheirpositions.

MOSTREPORTED

DEVELOPMENT/POLICYISSUES

24Oras Teledyaryo TVPatrol

World

Totalper

issue

1 Peaceandorder 3 2 1 6

2 Economy 2 3 5

3 Agriculture 3 1 4

4 Education 1 1 2

4 Platformandpolicy 2 2

4 Corruption 2 2

4 Landgrabbing 2 2

4 Health 1 1 2

4 Reproductivehealth 1 1 2

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The three programs also reported other issues. Among the most reported were the endorsement by

celebritiesofvariouscandidates (14times),thecitizenjournalisminitiativesbyABSCBN2 (reportedin

TVPatrolseventimes),andeffortsbyvariousmediaorganizations(suchasABSCBN2andGMA7)toeducatevotersonthisyearselectionsandtohelpassureitsintegrityandtransparency(seventimes).

MOSTREPORTEDOTHERISSUES 24Oras Teledyaryo TVPatrol

World

Totalperissue

1 Celebrityendorsement 5 8 1 14

2 CitizenJournalism 7 7

2 Media efforts on voters'

education/Media campaign for

cleanandfairelections

3 4 7

3 Voters'education 4 4

3 Appointed officials running in

theelections

2 1 1 4

4

Aquinovs.

Villar

2

1

3

4 EDSAPeoplePower1 2 1 3

4 C5 road extension project

controversy

2 2

5 Incumbent officials running in

theelections

2 2

5 Bulacangubernatorialrow 1 1 2

4 Politicalendorsement/support 1 1 2

5 ManilaPeninsulasiege 2 2

5 Villar as Arroyo's alleged

"secret"candidate

2 2

5 Mediacoverageofelections 2 2

5 Disqualificationcases 2 2

Sources

The most covered presidential candidate in terms of reports, Villar, was also the top source of

information on the presidential elections with 30 reports. He was closely followed by Aquino (27),

Teodoro(27),andEstrada(25).

PRESIDENTIALCANDIDATESAS

SOURCES

24Oras Teledyaryo TVPatrol

World

Totalper

candidate

Presidential

Villar,ManuelJr."Manny"Bamba(NP) 16 6 8 30

Aquino, Benigno Simeon III "Noynoy"

Cojuangco(LP)

16 1 11 28

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Teodoro,Gilberto Jr. "Gibo" Cojuangco

(LakasKampi)

14 5 8 27

EstradaEjercito,Joseph"Erap"Marcelo

(PMP)

15 2 8 25

Gordon,Richard"Dick"(B.BayanVNP) 12 5 17

Villanueva,

Eduardo

"Bro.

Eddie"

Cruz

(BP)

12

2

3

17

Madrigal, Ma. Ana Consuelo "Jamby"

AS(Ind)

8 7 15

De los Reyes, John Carlos "JC" Gordon

(AKP)

6 5 11

Perlas, Jesus Nicanor "Nick" Pineda

(Ind)

7 3 10

Totalperprogram 106 16 58

Legardaand

Roxas

were

the

most

quoted

vice

presidential

candidates

as

well.

VICEPRESIDENTIALCANDIDATESAS

SOURCES

24Oras Teledyaryo TV

Patrol

World

Totalper

candidate

Legarda,Loren"Loren"Bautista(NPC) 2 4 2 8

Roxas,Manuel"Mar"Araneta(LP) 3 5 8

Manzano, Eduardo "Edu" Barrios

(LakasKampi)

1 3 2 6

Binay, Jejomar "Jojo" Cabauatan (PDP

Laban)

2 3 5

Yasay,Perfecto"Kidlat"Rivas(BP) 3 1 1 5

Fernando,Bayani"BF"Flores(B.Bayan

VNP)

1 3 4

Sonza,Jose"JaySonza"Yumang(KBL) 2 2

Totalperprogram 14 8 16

Backgrounding

Aboutthreeineveryfivereportsduringtheperiodmonitored(182outof299reportsor60.87percent)

providedsomebackgroundinformationontheissuestheyreported.About38.47percent(115reports)lackedbackgroundinformation.Twoitemsdidnothavebackgroundastheymerelyflashedthefacesof

candidatesonscreen.

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50 46

2

98

33

61

9499

8

107

182

115

2

299

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

Yes No N/A Total

Background

24Oras

Teledyaryo

TVPatrolWorld

Totalpercandidate

Slant

Anoverwhelmingmajorityofthereportswasneutral.Outof299reports,234(or78.26percent)were

consideredneutral.Only48reports(16.05percent)hadapositiveslant,while 18(6.02percent) hada

negativeslant.Teledyaryohadthehighestnumberofslantsintermsoffrequency(31positiveandeight

negative slants) and in terms of proportion to the total number of electionrelated reports (41.05

percent)

1231

548

4 8 6 18

8256

96

234

98 95 107

299

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

24Oras Teledyaryo TVPatrol

World

Total

*Reportsmayhavemorethanoneslant

Slant*

Positive

Negative

Neutral

Totalperprogram

TeledyaryounabashedlyshoweditsbiastoadministrationbetTeodoro(13times).

POSITIVESLANT(CANDIDATES) 24Oras Teledyaryo TVPatrol

World

Totalper

candidate

Presidential

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Teodoro, Gilberto Jr. "Gibo"

Cojuangco(LakasKampi)

13 13

Villar, Manuel Jr. "Manny" Bamba

(NP)

3 2 2 7

Estrada Ejercito, Joseph "Erap"

Marcelo(PMP)

4 1 1 6

Villanueva, Eduardo "Bro. Eddie"

Cruz(BP)

1 1 2

De los Reyes, John Carlos "JC"

Gordon(AKP)

1 1

Vicepresidential

Roxas,Manuel"Mar"Araneta(LP) 1 1 2

Manzano, Eduardo "Edu" Barrios

(LakasKampi)

1 1

Senatorial

Lapid, Manuel "Lito" Mercado

(LakasKampi)

1 1

Estrada,JinggoyEjercito(PMP) 1 1

Villarreceivedsixnegativelyslantedreportsfromallthreeprograms(2ineach) whileAquinoreceived

threenegativelyslantedreportsfrom24Oras(one)andTeledyaryo(two).

NEGATIVESLANT(CANDIDATES) 24Oras Teledyaryo TV Patrol

World

Total per

candidate

Presidential

Villar,ManuelJr. 2 2 2 6

Aquino, Benigno Simeon III

"Noynoy"Cojuangco(LP)

1 2 3

Acosta, Vetellano "Dodong" Seinez

(KBL)

1 1

Teodoro, Gilberto Jr. "Gibo"

Cojuangco(LakasKampi)

1 1

Vicepresidential

Roxas,Manuel

"Mar"

Araneta

(LP)

1

1

Binay, Jejomar "Jojo" Cabauatan

(PDPLaban)

1 1

Partylist

Kabataan 1 1

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