CMFR: Media coverage of 2007 polls better than 2004

There was widespread awareness of the "professional and ethical responsibilities of the press" among major media players during the coverage of the 2007 national elections, revealed a study released by the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility on Friday. Television networks, including GMA-7, and Metro Manila's newspapers "seemed very much aware of the importance of their role in the 2007 elections," CMFR said. The study found that GMA-7 and the other television networks were pro-active in providing viewers the information they needed. "This was a departure from 2004, when the media were criticized for surrendering their agenda-setting function by merely reacting to the statements of the candidates and political parties," the CMFR said in a statement issued after the presentation of the results of the study. In addition to regular public affairs shows, GMA-7 and the other networks offered special programs on the elections. The CMFR also cited the Philippine Daily Inquirer for offering articles on election issues, the candidates' stand on issues, and even information for voters and poll watchers. The media monitoring institution said leading media organizations even prepared staff members for the coverage through seminars and briefings, which emphasized journalism ethics. CMFR released the result of its study during a roundtable discussion at the Filipinas Heritage Library in Makati on Friday. The CMFR study covered the period from February 13 to May 14. A team of CMFR staff members, volunteer journalism students from the University of the Philippines College of Mass Communication, student interns from the Far Eastern University, St. Scholastica’s College, UP, and University of Santo Tomas monitored six television news programs, the three leading Manila broadsheets, selected AM radio stations and Manila-based tabloids, television public affairs shows, and online news sites. Also included in the study were political advertisements in all Manila television stations and the state of preparedness of the media. CMFR observed that there was still emphasis on personalities and controversies surrounding candidates in the coverage. The party-list elections, for example, were covered only when party-list groups like Bayan Muna and their leaders got involved in controversies, CMFR said. "There was a minimum of reporting on what the various party-list groups, including those supposedly supported by the government, stood for. The study suggested that government-run television networks "need to reform." The study called for the implementation of the government’s privatization policy in the case of sequestered television stations. - GMANews.TV