baseline survey of reporting of electoral issues ahead 2015

BASELINE SURVEY OF REPORTING OF
ELECTORAL ISSUES AHEAD 2015 ELECTIONS
BY SIX NIGERIAN NEWSPAPERS
With the support of Democratic Governance for Development (DGD) III Project
BASELINE SURVEY OF REPORTING OF
ELECTORAL ISSUES AHEAD 2015 ELECTIONS
BY SIX NIGERIAN NEWSPAPERS
A REPORT
Published by
International Press Centre (IPC), Lagos-Nigeria
(A Media Resource Guide)
September, 2014 IPC
ISBN: 978 - 3157510
A publication of International Press Centre (IPC)
Any enquiries regarding this publication should be made to
IPC
11, Dideolu Court, Dideolu Estate, Ogba, Lagos
+234 1 8112422
[email protected]
www.ipcng.org
With the support of Democratic Governance for
Development (DGD) III Project
i
ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The International Press Centre (IPC), Lagos-Nigeria is indebted
to the United Nations Development Programme's (UNDP)
Democratic Governance for Development (DGD 111) Project and
its partners including the European Union (EU), UK Aid, the
Canadian Department for Foreign Affairs, Trade and
Development (DFTAD) and UNDP for supporting the conduct and
publication of this baseline survey as well as other related project
activities.
IPC deeply cherishes the support of the Project Director of DGD,
Dr. Mourtada Deme and the Media and Communications
Specialist, Mrs. Toyin Adewale-Gabriel in ensuring the success
of this initiative.
program Associate and the Financial Officer, Bola Abimbola who
played key roles in carrying out associated tasks for the successful
conduct of the exercise.
It is hoped that the outcome of this baseline report would be
studied and used as an engagement tool by media stakeholders to
address the identified shortcomings and strengthen the capacity
of the media reportage to so it could embark on issue-focussed
professional, conflict sensitive, public interest and gender
supportive reporting of the 2015 elections.
Lanre Arogundade
Director, IPC
September 2014
This conduct of the survey would not have been successful
without the commitment and professionalism of the Media
Monitors who assiduously carried out the one-month exercise by
going through every relevant report in the six newspapers and
analysing them per specific index. In this regard, IPC commends
the media monitoring team of Pamilerin Fadeyi, Keye Ewebiyi
and Stella Nwofia for their painstaking efforts and Omolola
Arogundade who assisted the team as an intern.
The yeoman's job by Raji Rasaki as head of media monitoring
team in facilitating the process of developing the codes,
overseeing the monitoring process and drafting the report is
commendable. Also to be commended are 'Sanmi Falobi, IPC's
iii
iv
REPORT OF A BASELINE SURVEY OF THE REPORTING
OF ELECTORAL ISSUES AHEAD 2015 ELECTIONS BY
SIX NIGERIAN NEWSPAPERS
1. 0. INTRODUCTION
This report presents the analysis and findings of a baseline
survey of the trends in the reportage of electoral issues ahead
2015 elections by six Nigerian newspapers - The Punch, Thisday,
The Guardian, Daily Trust, Daily Sun and The Nation.
the quantity and quality of the coverage of major electoral
stakeholders including the election management body,
the political parties, female politicians, etc;
v. Document the observations on major strengths and
weaknesses of the reporting of electoral issues ahead
2015 elections;
vi. Make recommendations on mechanisms for
improvement in media coverage and reporting of
electoral issues ahead 2015 elections; and
vii. Integrate the outcomes into media engagements
including capacity building programs on the professional,
conflict sensitive, public interest and gender supportive
reporting of 2015 elections.
The survey is a component of the project on “Media Capacity
Building, Mentoring and Monitoring for Conflict-Sensitive,
Public-Issue and ICT-Driven Reporting of 2015 Elections” being
implemented by the International Press Centre (IPC) through the
funding support of the United Nations Development
Programme's (UNDP) Democratic Governance for Development
(DGD 111) project and its partners including the European Union
(EU), UK Aid, the Canadian Department for Foreign Affairs, Trade
and Development (DFTAD) and UNDP.
2. 0. METHODOLOGY
The objectives of the baseline survey were to:
i.
Monitor the trend of election reporting in the context of
compliance with ethical and professional standards;
ii.
Monitor the trend of election reporting in the context of
public interest, gender an d conflict issues;
iii.
Monitor the trend of election reporting in the context of
diversity and inclusivity;
iv. Monitor the trend of election reporting in the context of
The six newspapers were randomly but purposively selected for
the survey based on the fact that:
*
They are national in orientation, outlook and editorial
philosophy;
*
They give robust coverage to electoral issues nationally,
regionally and locally; and
*
They have well established political desks.
Three media monitoring/research experts with the requisite
1
The duration of the baseline survey was the four-week period
between July 21, 2014 and August 20, 2014. A benchmark for the
survey was the Osun State governorship election, which held on
August 10, 2014.
2
monitoring and analytical skills were contracted to conduct the
survey in addition to a supervisory media monitor and a research
analyst.
They utilized the monitoring codes developed by IPC in
conjunction with UNDP-DGD 111 based on the issues that were
considered relevant to the objectives of the survey.
During the 31-day period, the relevant reports were identified
according to topics and subjects for which specific codes and
indices were also developed. The issues were then analyzed
according to certain key reporting elements. These elements
were further empirically analyzed using certain key reporting
indices and indicators.
2.1. NOTES ON ISSUES MONITORED.
The main topics (also referred to as key issues) monitored during
the survey were all election related. However, the specific issues
monitored were derived from reportorial indicators and trends
around the following:
Professionalism: Here the reports were analyzed according to
how diverse, balance and fair they were in terms of the frequency
of mention of political parties, aspirants/candidates and other
interest groups including women and youths.
Conflict Sensitivity: Here the reports were analyzed to
determine whether they helped with conflict resolution, offered
early warning signals or had sensational headlines.
3
Public Interest: Here the reports were analyzed to determine
how much they focused on issues of public interest through
engagement with politicians, candidates and related stakeholders
drawing inference from the public interest issues identified in the
opinion poll conducted by IPC on citizens' expectation from the
media in the countdown to 2015. These were: Power Supply,
Education, Health, Youth Employment & Job Creation and
Security.
Gender Focus: Here the reports were analyzed to determine how
well they focused on women political rights; they were also
analyzed to assess the negativity or positivity of the language and
the portrayal of the female gender.
Language and Hate Speech: Here the reports were analyzed to
determine whether the tone and the headlines were temperate,
inciting or constituted outright hate speech.
Electoral Management Body: Here the reports were analyzed to
determine the extent of the coverage of INEC and the trend of such
reports in terms of whether they constituted complaints,
demands, commendations or responses to issues.
Editorial Focus: Here the reports were analyzed to determine the
type of electoral issues they addressed including electoral reform,
voter and civic education, political conflict, electoral conflict,
programs and manifestoes, credible elections and general politics.
Source: Here the reports were analyzed to determine the type and
4
diversity of sources used for the stories.
Inclusivity: Here the reports were analyzed to determine how
well they focused on issues of youths' political rights and persons
living with disabilities.
Prominence: Here the placement of the reports was analyzed to
determine the importance attached to them.
Reporting Format: Here the reports were analyzed according to
the form in which they were presented, that is, whether as news,
features, opinions, editorials, interviews, cartoons or
photographs.
2.2. SUMMARY TABLE OF CODES ON ISSUES AND TOPICS
The following table presents information on the main topics (key
issues), the sub-topics (specific issues) and the corresponding
codes for both categories.
5
Table I: Codes for main topics (key issues) and sub-topics (specific issues)
MAIN TOPICS (KEY
ISSUES)
1. Professionalism
CODES
PR
2. Conflict Sensitivity
CS
3. Public Interest
PI
4. Gender Focus
GF
5. Language & Hate
Speech
LHS
6. Electoral
Management Body
(EMB)
EMB
7. Editorial Focus
EF
8. Sources
SO
SUB-TOPICS (SPECIFIC
ISSUES)
Diversity
Balance & Fairness
Equitable Access
Conflict Resolution
Early Warning Signals
Headline Sensationalism
Power Supply
Education
Health
Youth Employment & Job
Creation
Security
Women Political Rights
Language
Portrayal
Moderate
Incitement
Hate Speech
Complaints
Commendations
Demands
Responsiveness
CODES
Electoral Reform
Voter & Civic Education
Political Conflict
Electoral Conflict
Programs & Manifestoes
Credible Elections
General Politics
Political Parties
Male Politicians
Female Politicians
Ordinary Citizens
Govt. (Legislature)
Govt. (Executive)
Security Agencies
EFCER
EFCVCE
EFPC
EFCEC
EFCPM
EFCCE
EFCGP
SOPP
SOMP
SOFP
SOOC
SOGL
SOGE
SOSA
6
PRDI
PRB
PRFEA
CSCR
CSEW
CSHS
PIPS
PIED
PIHE
PIYJ
PISE
GFPR
GFLA
GFPO
LHSM
LHSI
LHSH
EMBC
EMBCO
EMBD
EMBRE
Chart i: The reports as published by each newspaper
3. 0. SUMMARY OF FINDINGS ON REPORTING OF MAIN
TOPICS (KEY ISSUES)
3.1.
Total number of reports
A total number of 2,349 reports on the electoral process (news,
features, interviews, editorials, etc) were published and
monitored in the six newspapers during the period under
consideration, that is, July 21, 2014 to August 21, 2014.
Daily Sun published the highest number of reports with 523
stories, representing 22% of all relevant items across the six
newspapers.
Guardian
3.1.
The Nation was second with 514 stories, representing 22.3% of
the total.
Daily Trust, ranked third with 391 reports or (16.6%) followed
respectively by The Punch, which had 373 items, representing
15.9%; ThisDay, which had 294 stories or 12.5% of the total
items and The Guardian with 254 items representing only
10.8%.
Table II: Analysis of reports as published by each newspaper
Newspapers
Daily Sun
The Nation
Daily Trust
The Punch
ThisDay
The Guardian
TOTAL
Frequency/Total Items
523
514
391
373
294
254
2,349
7
Percentage
22.3%
21.9%
16.6%
15.9%
12.5%
10.8%
100%
This Day
Daily Sun
Daily Trust
T
The Punch
The Nation
Reportage of main topics (key issues)
The analysis of the reportorial trend of the main topics (key
issues) showed that stories that belonged to the category of
Editorial Focus were published the most, with 1,883 items,
representing 80.1% of the total reports. Further analysis showed
that the specific issue of General Politics (ECGP) was reported the
most across the newspapers. This was by way of commentaries,
interviews and reports about political happenings and emerging
political activities of parties and politicians including aspirants
and candidates.
The frequency of other stories under main topics (key issues)
were: Conflict Sensitivity, 211 items (9%); Electoral
Management Body, 195 items (8.3%); Gender Focus, 26 items
(1.1%); Public Interest, 18 items (0.8%) and Inclusivity, 16
items, (0.7%).
8
Table III: Trend of reporting of main topics (key issues)
Key Issues
Editorial Focus
Conflict Sensitivity
Electoral Management Body
Gender Focus
Public Interest
Inclusivity
Total
Frequency/Total Items
1,883
211
195
26
18
16
2,349
Percentage
80.1%
9%
8.3%
1.1%
0.8%
0.7%
100
3. 3. Comparative analysis of trends in reporting main topics
(key issues)
3.3.1. Editorial Focus (EF)
Daily Sun took the lead in this category by accounting for 429 of
the 1,883 relevant items and to which it allocated a space of
35,477 sq. inches or 29% out of the total available space on the
issue. This was followed by The Nation, which had 392 stories
with an allotted space of 22,272 sq. inches or 18% and Daily
Trust with 363 stories within a space of 16,259 sq. inches or 14%.
The Punch published 302 stories within a space of 13,491 sq.
inches or 11% while The Guardian featured the least number of
stories in the category by publishing 163 which occupied a space
of 18,099 sq. inches or 15% of the total available space. ThisDay
had 234 stories with a space of 16,438 sq inches, or 13%.
3.3.2. Conflict Sensitivity (CS)
A total number of 211 conflict-sensitive stories were reported by
the newspapers during the period and to which they collectively
allocated a total space of 12,666 sq inches. Of these, The Nation
9
reported the highest number of 80 stories, allocating a space of
4,323 sq. inches or 34%. The Guardian had 48 stories with a
space of 2,901 sq. inches or 23%. Daily Sun had 30 stories, with a
space of 1180 sq inches or 9 %. ThisDay published 29 stories to
which it allocated 2,958 sq. inches or 23% of available space
while The Punch reported 21 items in the category within a
space of 930 sq. inches or 7 %. Daily Trust had 3 stories with
space allocation of 374 sq. inches or3%.
3.3.3. Electoral Management Body (EMB):
195 stories about the Electoral Management Body were reported
during the period out of which Daily Sun led with 44 items to
which it devoted a space of 764 sq. inches or 13%. The Punch
followed with 40 stories to which it allocated 1,209 sq. inches or
21% space. The Guardian reported 32 stories within a space of
1,128 sq. inches or 19.4% while The Nation and ThisDay
published 27 (984 sq. inches or 17%) and 29 (1,054 sq. inches or
18%) stories respectively within the total available space. Daily
Trust had 23 stories with a space of 663 sq inches, or 11.6%.
3.3.4. Gender Focus (GF)
26 stories relating to female gender-sensitive issues and the
rights of women to political participation were published. Daily
Sun had the highest number of 9 items for which it allocated a
space of 547 sq. inches or 47% of the total available space. This
was followed by The Nation with 8 stories covering a space of
276 sq. inches or 24% and The Punch which had 4 stories with a
space of 120 sq. inches or 10% of the total available space. The
Guardian had 2 stories with a space of 101 sq inches or 9%. Daily
10
Trust reported 2 stories with a space of 95 sq inches or 8%.
Meanwhile, ThisDay featured only 1 story in the category with a
space of 29 sq inches or 2%.
3.3.5. Public Interest (PI)
The Guardian took the lead in this category as it published 6 out
of the 18 stories on the topic within the period to which it
allocated a space of 356 sq. inches or 52% of the total available
space. This was followed by The Nation which published 4
stories within the period and allocated a space of 43 sq. inches or
6%. The Punch and Daily Trust had 2 stories each with a space
allocation of 10 sq. inches (1.3%) and 146 sq. inches (21.3%)
respectively. Daily Sun had 4 stories with a space allocation of
133 sq. inches or 19.4%.
3.3.6. Inclusivity (IN)
There were few reports on issues in the inclusive category in
all the newspapers as only 16 stories were recorded in the
category during the period. The Punch had 4 stories with a
space of 358 sq. inches or 47%; Daily Sun reported 5 stories
and allocated a space of 133 sq. inches or 18% of the total
available while The Nation featured 3 stories with a space of
112 sq. inches or 15%. ThisDay had 1 story with a space of 31
sq inches or 4%. The Guardian had 2 stories with a space of
108 sq inches or 14%; while Daily Trust had 1 story with a
space of 16 sq inches or 2% of the total.
11
Table IV: Trend of reporting of main topics (key issues).
Newspape
rs
Editori
al
Focus
Conflict
Sensitivi
ty
Electoral
Manageme
nt Body
Gende Public
r
Intere
Focus st
Inclusivi
ty
The
Guardian
The Punch
Daily Trust
The Nation
ThisDay
Daily Sun
Total
number of
reports by
all
the
newspape
rs on each
main
topic (key
issue)
163
48
32
2
7
2
302
363
392
234
429
1,883
21
3
80
29
30
211
40
23
27
29
44
195
4
2
8
1
9
26
2
2
4
3
18
4
1
3
1
5
16
12
Total
number
of
reports
on main
topics
(key
issues)
by each
newspap
er
254
373
391
514
294
523
Combine
d total
2,349
Table V: Trend of space (calculated in sq. inches) allocated to the main topics
Newspape
rs
Editori
al
Focus
Conflict
Sensitivi
ty
Electoral
Manageme
nt Body
Gende Public
r
Intere
Focus st
Inclusivi
ty
Total
space on
all the
main
topics
(key
issues)
by each
newspap
er
The
Guardian
The Punch
Daily Trust
The Nation
18,099
2,901
1,128
101
357
108
22,694
13,491
16,259
22,272
930
374
4,323
1,209
663
984
120
95
276
10
146
43
358
16
112
16,118
17,553
28,010
ThisDay
Daily Sun
Total
Space on
each main
topic (key
issue) by
all the
newspape
rs
16,438
35,477
122,03
6
2,958
1,180
12,666
1,054
764
5,802
29
547
1,168
132
688
31
133
758
20,510
38 ,233
143,118
4. 0. SUMMARY OUTCOME OF FINDINGS ON REPORTING OF
SUB-TOPICS (SPECIFIC ISSUES)
82,212 sq inches.
The Nation had the highest number of stories in this category
with 290 items featured within a space of 17,975 sq. inches or
22%. Daily Sun had 265 stories with space allocation of 16,796
sq. inches or 20% followed by Daily Trust which reported 231
stories within a space of 11537 sq. inches or 14% of the total
space. The Punch had 208 items to which 10,536 sq. inches or
13% space was allocated. The Guardian had 89 stories to which
it allocated 14,053 sq. inches or 17% space while ThisDay
published 185 stories with space allocation of 11,315 sq. inches
or 14%.
Chart ii: Trend of reporting of general politics
Daily Sun Daily Trust
The Punch
The
Guardian
4.1.
EDITORIAL FOCUS (EF):
4.1.1. General Politics (EFGP)
The totality of story items and space allocated to general politics
overshadowed other specific issues under Editorial Focus of
which there were 1,268 in all and occupying a total space of
13
14
This Day
4.1.2. Voter and Civic Education (EFVE)
53 stories were reported on the subject of voter and civic
education with a total space of 1,073 sq. inches out of which
Daily Sun had the highest number of 18 reports to which it
allotted a space of 307 sq. inches or 29%. However, The Nation
which had fewer stories of 13 actually allocated a bigger space of
384 sq. inches or 36% than Daily Sun which had more stories.
Daily Trust published 12 stories, allocating 248 sq. inches or
23% space. The Punch had 5 stories and allocated a space of 57
sq. inches or 5%. The Guardian featured only 3 stories,
allocating 63 sq. inches or 6% of space. ThisDay reported the
least number of stories - just 2 - within a space of 14 sq. inches or
1%.
4.1.3. Credible Elections (EFCE)
There were 161 stories that centered on Credible Elections
within a total space of 10,808 sq. inches. The Nation published
the highest number of 45 stories and allocated a space of 458 sq.
inches or 4%. The Guardian followed with 36 stories but with a
bigger space of 2,142 sq. inches or 20% while The Punch had 28
stories with a space allocation of 161 sq. inches or 1%. Daily
Trust published 13 stories with a space of 389 sq. inches or 4%
while ThisDay allocated 1,036 sq. inches (10%) to its 17 stories.
Daily Sun had 22 stories with a space of 6,622 sq inches or 61%.
Chart iv: Trend of reporting credible election issues
Chart iii: Trend of reporting voter education issues
Nation
Punch
This Day
Guardian
15
Trust
Sun
Nation
Guardian
Trust
Punch
Sun
This Day
4.1.4. Electoral Reform (EFER)
There were 11 reports in this category occupying a total space of
1,314 sq. inches. ThisDay and The Guardian published 4 stories
each, allocating 427 (32%) and 364 (28%) sq. inches of space
respectively. The Nation reported 2 stories with a given space of
483 sq inches or 37% while The Punch published 1 story with a
space of 40 sq. inches or 3%. Daily Sun and Daily Trust had no
story on the sub-issue.
16
Chart v: Trend of reporting electoral reform issues
Chart vi: Trend of reporting political conflict: issues
The Nation
Daily Sun
Daily Trust
The Punch
The
Guardian
The Nation
Daily Sun
Daily Trust
The Punch
The
Guardian
This Day
4.1.5. Political Conflict (EFPC)
There were a total of 395 stories on political conflicts which
occupied a total space of 17,128 sq. inches in all the newspapers.
Daily Sun had the highest number and volume of space, as it
published 124 items and allocated a space of 5,129 sq. inches or
30%. Daily Trust followed with 102 stories and a space of 4,085
sq. inches or 24% while The Punch published 60 stories with a
space of 2,459 sq. inches or 14%. The Nation had 52 stories with
a space of 2,894 sq. inches or 17% and The Guardian, 31 in a
space of 1,477 sq. inches or 9%. ThisDay had the least number of
stories and space at 26 stories and 1,084 sq. inches or 6%
respectively.
17
This Day
Table VI: Reporting of specific issues under Editorial Focus, Conflict
Sensitivity, Gender Focus, Public interest and Inclusivity
EFCE
EFER
EFGP
EFPC
EFVC
CSEW GFPR
PISE
INYR
The Nation
45
2
290
52
13
70
8
4
3
The Punch
28
1
208
60
5
21
4
2
4
Daily Trust
13
-
231
102
12
3
2
4
1
Daily Sun
22
-
265
124
18
30
9
3
5
ThisDay
17
4
185
26
2
29
1
-
1
4
89
31
3
48
2
7
2
11
1268
395
53
201
26
20
16
The
Guardian
36
Total
number of
reports on
each
specific
issues by all
the
newspapers 161
18
Total
number of
reports by
each
newspaper
on the
specific
issues
487
333
368
476
265
222
2151
4.1.
CONFLICT SENSITIVITY (CS)
4.2.1. Early Warning Signal (CSEW)
201 reports categorized as early warning signals of conflict were
reported by the newspapers. The Nation took the lead by having
70 stories and allocating a space of 4,323 sq. inches or 34% of the
total available space. Daily Sun and ThisDay reported 30 and 29
stories with a space of 1180 sq. inches and 2958 sq. inches
representing 9.4% and 23.3% respectively. The Guardian had
48 stories to which a space of 2901 sq. inches was allocated,
representing 23%. The Punch had 21 stories and allocated a
space of 930 sq. inches or 7% while Daily Trust reported only 3
stories with a space of 374 sq inches or 3.3%’
Chart vii: Reporting trend of early warning signal
This Day
The Guardian
4.2.2. Conflict Resolution (CSCR)
None of the six newspapers published stories that can be
categorized as constituting conflict resolution during the period.
4.2.3. Headline Sensationalism (CSHS)
No sensational headline was recorded during the period.
4.3.
ELECTORAL MANAGEMENT BODY (EMB)
4.3.1. Complaint (EMBC)
25 stories categorized as complaints about the activities of the
Electoral Management Body were recorded during the survey.
The highest number of these was published by Daily Sun, which
had 15 stories to which it allotted a space of 297 sq. inches or
39%. ThisDay had 3 stories and allocated 240 sq. inches of space
or 32%. The Punch published 4 stories allocating a space of 90
sq. inches or 12%; The Guardian had 3 stories published within a
space of 72 sq. inches or 10%; while Daily Trust had one story in
the category to which it devoted a space of 57 sq. inches 7%. The
Nation did not publish any story in the category.
The Punch
Daily Trust
Daily Sun
The Nation
19
20
Chart viii: Reporting trend of complaint related issues
Chart ix: Reporting trend of commendation related issues
The Nation
The Nation
Daily Sun
Daily Trust
The Punch
The Guardian
Daily Trust The Punch
The
Guardian
This Day
This Day
4.3.2. Commendation (EMBCO)
The newspapers had 32 stories which fell into the category of
commendation for the Electoral Body. Daily Sun had the highest
of these with 9 stories, which occupied a space of 170 sq. inches or
9%. However, The Punch took the lead in terms of space
allocation. The newspaper published 6 stories within a space of
570 sq. inches representing 30% of the total available space on
the sub-topic in all the newspapers. ThisDay had 7 stories with a
space of 334 sq. inches or 17%; while The Nation had 6 stories
and allocated a space of 403 sq. inches or 21%. Daily Trust and
The Guardian reported the least number of stories in the
category with 2 stories each published within a space of 396 sq.
inches (20%) and 49 sq. inches (3%) respectively.
21
Daily Sun
4.3.3. Demand (EMBD)
31 stories belonged to the category of Demand with The Punch
having the highest number of 9 and allocating a space of 286 sq.
inches. The Nation had 7 stories with space allocation of 207 sq.
inches and Daily Trust had 7 with a given space of 87 sq. inches.
The Guardian had 5 stories to which a space of 272 sq. inches
was allocated. ThisDay had 3 stories to which a space of 147 sq
inches was allocated. Daily Sun had no story in the 'demand'
category.
22
Chart x: Reporting trend of demand related issues
Chart xi: Reporting trend of responsiveness issues
This Day
This Day
The Guardian
The Guardian
The Punch
The Punch
Daily Trust
Daily Trust
Daily Sun
Daily Sun
The Nation
The Nation
4.3.4. Responsiveness (EMBDRE)
106 stories were monitored in the category during the period
with a total given space of 2,126 sq. inches by the newspapers.
Out of these, The Punch and The Guardian took the lead by
reporting 21 stories each. The Guardian also took the lead in
terms of space allocation with 735 sq. inches while The Punch
provided 263 sq. inches of space. Daily Sun had 20 stories with a
given space of 297 sq. inches. The Nation and Daily Trust also
had 14 stories each with given spaces of 374 sq. inches and 123
sq. inches respectively. Meanwhile, ThisDay reported 16 stories
with a given space of 334 sq. Inches.
23
Table VII: Space allocated to specific issues under
Electoral Management Body
EMBC
EMBCO
403
EMBD
207
EMBR
374
TOTAL
984
The Punch
90
570
286
263
1209
Daily Trust
57
396
87
123
663
Daily Sun
297
170
-
297
764
ThisDay
240
334
147
334
1054
The
Guardian
TOTAL
72
49
272
735
1128
756
1922
999
2126
5802
The Nation
24
Table VIII: Reporting trend of specific issues under
electoral management body
EMB
C
The
Nation
The
Punch
Daily
Trust
Daily
Sun
ThisDa
y
The
Guardi
an
Total
4.3.
EMBC
O
EMBD
EMB
R
TOTAL
27
6
7
14
40
4
6
9
21
24
1
2
7
14
43
14
9
-
20
29
3
7
3
16
31
3
25
2
32
5
31
21
106
194
The survey showed that The Guardian published 7 stories in this
category, allocating 357 sq. inches or 52% of the total available
space. Daily Trust and The Nation published 4 stories each and
respectively allocated 146 sq. inches (21%) and 43 sq. inches
(6%) of space. Daily Sun had 3 stories with a space of 132 sq
inches or 19% while Punch featured 2 stories with a space of 10
sq inches or 2%.
4.3.
INCLUSIVITY (INYR)
There were 16 stories reported in this category by the
newspapers. The Punch had 4 stories with a space of 358 sq.
inches or 47%; Daily Sun reported 5 stories and allocated a
space of 133 sq. inches or 18% of the total available while The
Nation featured 3 stories with a space of 112 sq. inches or 15%.
ThisDay had 1 story with a space of 31 sq inches or 4%. The
Guardian had 2 stories with a space of 108 sq inches or 14%;
while Daily Trust had 1 story with a space of 16 sq inches or 2%
of the total space.
GENDER FOCUS (GF)
4.3.1. Women Political Rights (GFPR)
As earlier explained, 26 stories on women political rights were
published by the respective newspapers. (see 3.3.4. for details)
4.4.
PUBLIC INTEREST (PI)
4.4.1. Security (PISE):
25
26
Chart xii: Reporting trend of issues of inclusivity
Table IX: Total number of times each source was used by all
the newspapers
The Nation
Female
Male
Media
Politicians Politicians
Civil
Society
Ordinary Youths
Citizens
Govt. Experts
Exe
48
129
66
191
Daily Sun
Daily Trust
781
78
48
121
The Punch
The Guardian
This Day
4.3.
SOURCES (SO)
A total number of 1,928 sources were used by all the newspapers
during the period covered by the survey. Out of these, the greater
percentage of information was sourced from male politicians
who accounted for a total of 781, representing 41% of the total
number of sources used. 'Female politicians' were sources in
only 48 of the stories, accounting for only 3%. Media accounted
for 4%, having been used 78 times. Similarly, Civil Society groups
were used 129 times, representing 7%. Ordinary citizens who, in
this wise include the poor and the aged accounted for 3.2%,
having been used 66 times. Youths were used as sources 48 times
(3.4%) either by being directly interviewed or by being quoted
from press statements. Government executives were used
copiously 191 times, representing 10%. Experts were used 121
times representing 6.2%; Security agencies, 40 times (2%);
Electoral Management Body, 119 times (6.1%) and Political
Parties, 307 times, (16%).
27
Security
Agencies
Electoral Body
Political Parties
40
119
307
The reporting trend shows that Daily Sun had the highest
number of sources of 439 representing 23% of the total number of
sources used by the newspapers. This was followed by The
Nation which used 350 sources (18%.1); Daily Trust, 344, (18%);
ThisDay, 317 (16.5%) and The Punch, 310 (16%). The
Guardian made use of the least number of sources which
accounted for 9% at 168.
28
Table X: Use of sources by each newspaper
The
Punch
The
Guardian
ThisDay
Daily
Trust
Daily
Sun
The
Nation
Total
Female
7
Politicians
6
6
5
9
15
48
Male
120
Politicians
83
108
107
201
162
781
Media
24
8
8
8
16
14
78
Civil
Society
24
23
15
22
18
27
129
Ordinary
Citizens
19
2
6
17
8
14
66
Youths
7
4
3
14
8
12
48
Govt.
14
Executives
18
18
56
70
15
191
Experts
16
1
14
35
35
20
121
Security
Agencies
7
1
4
10
12
6
40
Political
Parties
42
17
113
50
41
44
307
Electoral
Body
30
5
22
20
21
21
119
Total
310
168
317
344
439
350
1928
29
4.3.1. Political parties mention:
According to the reporting trend, all the political parties were
mentioned 3,055 times in the relevant items during the survey
period. But the biggest political parties, that is, the PDP and the
APC, were the most mentioned.
PDP got 1,423 mentions or 47% closely followed by the APC
which got 1,284 mentions, or 42%. Next to them was APGA which
got 196 mentions or 6.4%; Labour Party (LP), 60 (2%); PPA, 13
(0.4%) and SDP, 28. Others include AP, 10 mentions; AD, 7
mentions; NCP, 7 mentions; UPP 5 mentions; DPP 3 mentions;
PPN, 2 mentions; NNPP, 1 mention; APA, 1 mention; and UDP, 1
mention. MPP had no mention at all. The trend of mentioning was
despite the fact that almost all of these political parties as
indicated by the table below participated in the Osun
governorship election, which took place during the period
covered by the survey.
Table XI: Total number of times each political party got
mentioned by all the newspapers
AD
APC
PDP
NCP
PPA
PPN
PDM
DPA
SDP
UPP
7
1,284
1,423
7
13
2
7
6
23
5
AP
NNPP
CPP
APGA
DPP
MPP
APA
LP
UDP
10
1
1
196
3
-
1
60
1
30
Table XII: Total number of times each newspaper mentioned
each political party
Political Daily
Party
Sun
The
ThisDay Daily
Guardian
Trust
The
Punch
The
Total
Nation
AD
4
1
-
-
-
2
7
APC
208
117
166
172
347
274
1284
PDP
222
154
179
205
362
301
1423
NCP
2
1
1
2
-
1
7
DPA
1
1
1
-
3
6
PPN
1
-
-
-
-
1
2
PDM
2
1
1
2
-
1
7
PPA
2
1
1
-
3
6
13
SDP
6
10
1
4
1
6
28
UPP
1
1
3
-
-
-
5
AP
6
1
1
2
-
-
10
DPP
1
-
-
1
-
1
3
UDP
-
1
-
-
-
-
APA
1
1
1
-
-
-
3
LP
7
-
7
3
34
9
60
APGA
80
-
6
62
36
12
196
DPA
-
1
-
-
-
-
1
-
-
-
-
368
453
783
617
CPP
Total
544
290
31
As the table above shows The Punch had the highest number of
mentions for Political Parties at 783 or 26% of the total mentions.
This was followed by The Nation with 617 mentions, or 20%.
Daily Sun mentioned political parties 544 times, representing
18%. Political parties got 453 mentions in Daily Trust
representing 15%. Also, ThisDay and The Guardian mentioned
political parties 368 (12%) and 290 (9.4%) respectively.
Meanwhile, it is worth-mentioning that PDP had the highest
mentions in all the newspapers with 362 mentions in The
Punch; 301 in The Nation; 222 in Daily Sun; 205 in Daily
Trust; 179 in ThisDay and 154 in The Guardian.
Chart xiii: Mention of political parties
The Nation
Daily Sun
Daily Trust
The Punch
3055
32
The
Guardian
This Day
4.6. PROFESSIONALISM
The 2,349 reports generally met the professional criteria of
diversity and balance given the wide range of sources used as
well as the issues and perspectives. It might be argued though
that the 'poor' mention of most of the political parties, the female
politicians, the youths and the persons living with disabilities,
meant that the reports were not as fair to the concerned groups
or interests as per access.
4.7. REPORTING FORMAT (RF)
At 1,815, that is, 76%, most of the reports published by the
newspapers on the survey topics and issues were in the form of
news items. Features went as low as 6.4% while there were
also few stories in the investigative category out of which The
Nation had 23, The Guardian, 10 and ThisDay, 1.
4.3. PROMINENCE (PRM)
Most of the stories were published on the inside pages, which
accounted for 1,356 (58%) out of a total of 2,349. But with 14,
Daily Sun had the highest number of stories published on the
front page. The Punch had 13 followed by The Nation and The
Guardian with 8 stories each. Daily Trust had 7 while ThisDay
had the least number of stories on the front page with just 5
stories.
Chart xiv: Placement of stories
Table XIII: The reporting format
RFN
The
Nation
The
Punch
Daily
Trust
Daily
Sun
ThisDay
The
Guardian
TOTAL
RFO
RPP
RFI
RFF
RFC
TOTAL
The Nation
350
63
15
23
63
-
514
Daily Sun
Daily Trust
The Punch
The
Guardian
303
41
15
-
12
2
373
255
16
11
-
9
-
291
443
260
58
8
5
1
1
17
24
523
294
204
1815
8
194
11
58
10
34
21
146
254
2249
33
2
34
This Day
Table XIV: Placement of stories
OP
EP
FP
PP
INP
TOTAL
The
Nation
The
Punch
Daily
Trust
79
5
8
101
321
514
30
4
13
165
161
373
-
-
7
274
110
391
Daily
Sun
ThisDay
The
Guardian
TOTAL
16
1
14
100
392
523
20
12
6
1
5
8
68
56
195
177
294
254
157
17
55
764
1356
2349
5.0. OBSERVATIONS
The baseline survey revealed some significant strengths and
weaknesses in the reportage of electoral issues by the six
newspapers during the period under reference.
5.1. Strengths
5.1.1. Conflict Sensitivity: All the newspapers performed
creditably well in terms of compliance with the required ethical
standards on conflict sensitive reporting as none of the stories
had sensational or inciting headlines. Another evidence of
35
conflict sensitivity was the fact that the newspapers published as
many as 201 stories that constituted early warning signals of
likely outbreak of violent crisis, which showed commitment to
the conduct of peaceful elections;
5.1.2. Gender Sensitivity: None of the newspapers published
unfavourable stories about the female gender while none of them
contained negative stereotypes about female politicians. This is a
step in the right direction for gender-supportive reporting of
elections;
5.1.3. Responsiveness: By publishing as many as 106 stories
dealing with the response of the INEC to complaints and
demands by politicians, the civil society, the public etc, the
newspapers showed commitment to ensuring the accountability
of the electoral management body to the society;
5.1.4. Sources: The newspapers made use of considerable
diverse sources of which the politicians, the political parties, the
civil society, the experts and the electoral management body
accounted for the highest. The high use of experts is particularly
commendable as it showed efforts at ensuring the credibility of
the reports. Also, as many as 17 of the registered political parties
had one form of mention or the other in the reports published
during the period;
5.1.5. Credible Elections: The newspapers published
commendably high number of stories in this category in line with
the social obligation of ensuring that elections are free, fair and
credible.
36
5.2. WEAKNESSES
5.2.1. Agenda setting: The survey revealed that the reports
published as interviews, commentaries, features, etc, were often
times based on happenings and emerging events around political
parties, politicians, aspirants and candidates especially
disagreements, accusations and counter accusations and general
conflict issues. Because of this tendency, the politicians
invariably set the agenda for what the newspapers mostly
reported, whereas it is the public interest that should dictate the
media agenda on the electoral process;
5.2.2. Dearth of investigation: A common feature of virtually all
the reports is that most of the stories were derived from press
briefings, press statements and coverage of events organized by
politicians (especially those in government) and the frontline
political parties (particularly the spokespersons) and not from
investigations which would have ensued more in-depth coverage
of electoral issues.
5.2.3. Sources: Although the sources used by the newspapers
were quite diverse, they were not quantitatively favourable to
gender and the under-represented groups. It should be noted for
example that out of 1,532 sources used during the period, 'Male
politicians' were used as sources 679 times, representing 44%
whereas 'Female politicians' were used as sources in only 40
instances representing just 3%. Ordinary citizens were used as
sources 71 times and youths 48 times while persons living with
disabilities hardly featured.
37
5.2.4. Voter Education: The newspapers did not seem to have
given enough attention to the specific issue of voter and civic
education during the period given the low number of stories 53
devoted to it. There should have been more of such stories since
this is a major plank of media role prior to and during elections;
5.2.5. Political Party Mentions: The reports related to political
parties were skewed in favour of the biggest ones that also
happen to control government at different levels to the
disadvantage of the smaller ones that are not in government.
Thus of the 3055 reports in the category, the PDP had 1423 and
the APC 1284, while the rest were shared by the other political
parties.
6.0. RECOMMENDATIONS
6.1. For the Media
?
The media should continue to base its agenda for the
reporting of the elections on the public interest in development,
democratic accountability and the conduct of peaceful and
credible elections;
?
The media should accord higher priority to civic and
voter education on the whole gamut of the electoral processes;
?
The media should give fair access to and ensure
equitable coverage of political parties participating in elections
especially in order to enable the electorate to make informed
choices at the polls;
?
The media should embrace the philosophy of gendersupportive reporting of the 2015 elections by giving greater
38
projection to female politicians while also seeking the
commitment of aspirants and candidates to providing solutions
to the problems of the female gender;
?
The Media should invest in capacity building for their
employees on professional and ethical reporting of elections;
they should also provide adequate resources for journalists and
other media professionals covering the elections so as to
guarantee their welfare and ensure editorial independence;
?
The media should continue to accord priority to the
conduct of violence free polls by refraining from publishing
inciting and hate speech or sensational headlines that could
inflame passion;
of their reports;
?
Journalists should read and digest the legislative and
institutional frameworks for media reporting of elections such as
the Electoral Act (as amended), the Nigerian Broadcasting Code
(as revised), the Code of Ethics of Journalists in Nigeria, etc in
order to ensure compliance with the stipulated professional and
ethical standards.
6.2. For Journalists
?
Journalists should ensure that their reports on the
electoral processes in general and elections in particular are
more credible and inclusive by improving on the use of experts,
women, youths, ordinary citizens, rural dwellers, the civil society,
etc, as sources;
?
Journalists should in the countdown to the 2015
elections do more of 'issues behind the news' reporting in order
to bring to the front burner the concerns of ordinary citizens;
such issues should form the basis of engagements with
politicians;
?
Journalists should rely less on press handouts but do
more of investigations, especially by making use of investigative
instruments like the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to report
the electoral processes; this will enrich the diverse perspectives
39
40
41
42