Comprehensive Report Media Monitoring Study on the 10th ... · • Nature of the channel The selected channels included: state-owned Bangladesh Television; privately owned ATN Bangla,

Comprehensive Report

Media Monitoring Study on the 10th Parliamentary Election

Submitted To:

The International Republican Institute (IRI)

Gulshan, Dhaka

Bangladesh

Submitted By:

International Institute of Media and E-Journalism (IIMEJ)

&

The Free Election Movement Association (FEMA)

Dhaka, Bangladesh

Dhaka, April 2014

Team Leader:

Dr. Aliur Rahman

Study Design and Report Writing

Sheikh Shafiul Islam, MA.MSS

Study Consultant

AKM Rahmat Ali

Team Coordinator:

Zahid Al Amin

Team of Researchers

Abdul Mannan

Hafizur Rahman

Mokammel Hossain

Naznin Kabir

Rafiquzzaman

Muhammed Rashedul Hasan

Sharif Uddin

Sajeeb Sarker

Tareq Mahmud

Team of Research Associates

Farjana Yesmin

Habiba Afroz

Lincon Mahmud

Shah Alam

Sadique Hasan Polash

Sharmin Akter

Naim Mahmud

ABBREVIATIONS

AL Awami League

BNP Bangladesh Nationalist Party

BB Bangladesh Betar

BNHA Bangladesh Network of Hawker’s Association

BTV Bangladesh Television

DFP Department of Film and Publication

EC Election Commission

FEMA Free Election Movement Association

IRI The International Republican Institute

IIMEJ Institute of Innovative Media and E-Journalism

IP Interpretative

IV Investigative

PM Prime Minister

SJ Straight Jacket

UN United Nations

Definitions of Terminologies:

Subjective Reports: Reports containing reporter’s own subjective statements and comments,

inadequate sources, lack of completeness and neutrality

Straight Jacket Report: Reports based on surface information only, commonly covered by

‘What, Where, When and Who’ with least emphasis on ‘Why and How’.

Interpretative Report: Based on depth information and explanation of data collected from

various sources without reporter’s comments and statements.

Investigative Report: Based on research and documentation of a long period digging the

news behind the news, mostly covered on corruption, malpractices, political issues and public

interests legitimacy.

Column Inch: Unit of measuring content space of a newspaper

News Beat: In news media parlance, a beat is the subject area that a reporter is assigned to

cover e.g. election, health, education crime etc. Beat reporters are expected to develop

sources, i.e. people who have information about their subject matter so they can better gather

news and find scoops.

List of the Contents

Contents Page No. Executive Summary 6-14

Chapter- One: Background and Methodology of the Media Monitoring Study 15-22 • IRI Mission and the Media Monitoring Assignment 15-15

1.2. Conceptual Underpinnings 15-17 1.3. Media Landscape in Bangladesh 17-18

1.4. Objectives of the monitoring study 18-18 1.5. Methodology of Media Monitoring 18-21 1.6. Study Management 22-22

Chapter-Two: Findings of the Media Monitoring Study 23-35 2.1. Frequency of Electoral Coverage in Different Media 23-25

A. Newspapers 23-24

B. Television channels 24-25

C. Radio Channels 25-25 D. Online Portals: 25-25 2.2. Most Frequently Covered Electoral Themes in Different Media 25-31

• Newspapers 25-27 • TV Channels 28-29

• Radio Channels 29-30 D. Online Portals 30-31 3. Extend of coverage on different political parties in Different Media 31-34

• Newspapers 31-32 B. Television channels 32-33 C. Radio Channels 33-34

D. Online Portals 34-34

2.4. Quality of electoral coverage in different media 34-35

Chapter-Three: Analysis of the Findings 36-44 • General Analysis 36-38 • Relationship Between Ownership and Coverage 38-44

Chapter-Four: Recommendations and Conclusion 45-46

Executive Summary

The International Republican Institute (IRI) is a non-profit, non-governmental organization

dedicated to supporting democracy worldwide. The institution supports the efforts of civil

society organizations in Bangladesh to conduct election-related research, monitor campaigns,

provide citizens with information on candidates and monitor pre-election media coverage. To

help address these issues for a healthy democratic society, IRI works with journalists, civil

society, and election monitors to effectively monitor and publicize candidates’ compliance

with electoral process and democratic culture. The IRI desired a monitoring study of the

print, electronic, and online media relating to Bangladesh’s 10th Parliamentary Elections. The

study was conducted with the four broad objectives:

• To figure out frequency of electoral coverage of the selected media

• To understand most frequently covered/referenced electoral themes

• To comprehend extend of coverage on different political parties and

• To review quality of electoral coverage

The Free Election Movement Association (FEMA) and the Institute of Innovative Media

and E-Journalism (IIMEJ) carried out the media monitoring study from December 15,

2013 to February 28, 2014 being entrusted by IRI. The study covered three phases: Pre

(December 15, 2013- January 3, 2014), During (January 4-6, 2014) and Post-electoral

(January 7- February 28, 2014) period.

Political Context and Background of Media: The 10th Parliamentary Elections were

held on January 5, 2014, despite boycott by 18-party alliance led by the then main

opposition, Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). The 18-party alliance demanded for

holding the election under a ‘neutral caretaker government’. But, the provision of

‘caretaker government’ was repealed from the constitution by the ruling Awami League

(AL) through 15th Amendment to the Constitution passed on June 30, 2011. In response,

the BNP-led alliance carried out a series of agitations including hartals and blockades that

triggered countrywide violence causing massive casualties. The political situations

worsened immediately after the announcement of the election schedule by the Election

Commission (EC) on November 25, 2013.

Media Landscape in Bangladesh: Media presence in Bangladesh was minimal

preceding the 1990s, encompassing a handful of newspapers and only state-owned TV

and Radio channel. After the fall of autocratic regime of Ershad, the media began

booming. The interim government in 1991 paved the way for media expansion by

amending the special power act ‘The Printing Presses and Publications (Declaration and

Registration) Act, 1973. Media growth has continued steadily since the 1990s, with the

most recent Department of Film and Publication (DFP) report showing that there are

more than three hundred registered dailies published in the country. The most popular

and well-circulated dailies are published in the capital city of Dhaka, but there are a

number of popular regional dailies. The newspapers have played a significant role in

facilitating a democratic atmosphere, and socio-economic and cultural advancement in

Bangladesh. During the 2007-2008 emergency periods, newspapers aided in restoring

democracy through advocacy for a free and fair election. It is thought that the

unprecedented participation of the voters in the 9th parliamentary election was partly due

to the media coverage of the process and their commitment to reaching out to the voters

in remote areas of the country.

One of the most spectacular changes in the media scenario in Bangladesh is the rise of

electronic media, i.e. the satellite television channels. Privatization policies under the

post-1990 democratic government administrations allowed TV channels to expand. The

first privatization measure was taken in March 1999, authorizing Ekushey TV to go on

air. At present, one state-owned and 24 private TV channels are on air in the country.

Though the popularity of radio is on the decline in the face of rapid growth of television,

there are currently 11 FM, three online radio and 14 community radio stations operating.

Bangladesh Betar(BB), being the sole state-run radio channel, has country-wide

coverage, while the BBC has international ownership but is popular radio channel in the

country. Online news portals are the latest additions to the media landscape in

Bangladesh. This medium was pioneered by Bdnews24.com in 2005 as the country’s first

web-based news agency. The government does not have strict monitoring controls on

internet news sites. As such, online media has been allowed to proliferate rapidly within

the last few years. Online media outlets are largely popular with Bangladeshi youth and

more educated sectors of the population. Currently, almost all the newspapers have

committed to both paper and online versions of their content.

Methodology of the Media Monitoring

The media monitoring study was carried out applying ‘Content Analysis Method’, the

commonly used methodology for analyzing the content of the media. Content analysis is

a specific research approach used frequently in all areas of the media. The method is

popular with mass media researchers because it is an efficient way to investigate the

content of the media.

According to Kamhawi and Weaver, content analysis was the most popular data-

gathering method reported in major mass communication journals between 1995 and

1999. An informal content analysis of three journals that focus on mass communication

research (Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, Journalism and Mass

Communication Quarterly, and Mass Communication and Society) from 2007 to 2008

found that content analysis was still a popular method, used in about one-third of all

published articles.

Selection of Media for Monitoring: With a view to conducting the monitoring study, 24

individual units from the print, electronic and online media were selected through

sampling.

Selected Print Media: Eight national dailies (6 Bangla and two English) published from

Dhaka and six regional dailies (one from each of the six divisions/region outside Dhaka)

were selected based on their circulation. Among the national dailies; The Daily Prothom Alo,

The Daily Ittefaq, The Daily Jugantor, The Daily Samakal, The Daily Naya Diganta, The

Bangladesh Protidin, The Daily Star and The New Age were selected. The regional dailies

included: The Daily Azadi from Chittagong, The Daily Purbanchal from Khulna, The

Daily Sylheter Dak from Sylhet, The Daily Juger Alo from Rangpur, The Daily Karotoa

from Rajshahi and The Daily Dakkhinanchal from Barisal.

Selected Electronic Media:

Television Channels: Six television channels were selected for the study considering

their:

• Television Rating Points (TRP)

• Pattern of ownership and

• Nature of the channel

The selected channels included: state-owned Bangladesh Television; privately owned

ATN Bangla, Channel-i, Independent TV (news-based channel), ETV and NTV. The

primetime news bulletin (7 pm-11 pm) of all the sample TV channels was surveyed during

the study using content analysis format.

Radio: Radio channels were selected based on national coverage and popularity and thus

BBC Bangla (international channel owned by BBC, UK) and state-run Bangladesh Betar

(BB) were selected since there were no other national radio stations in the country. BBC

news at 70:30 pm and BB news at 8:00 pm were analyzed using content analysis format.

Online Media: According to the Alexa rating, Bdnews24.com and Banglanews24.com are

the most circulated online portals. These two web portals were selected for the study.

Methods and Technical Approaches against the Objectives

Objective Aspects Methods and Approaches Used

Understanding

frequency of electoral

coverage

Content survey to figure out contents; also used ‘column inch’ to

quantify newspaper’s space and ‘seconds’ to count duration of TV and

Radio reports

Most frequently

covered electoral

themes

Content survey to figure out most frequent themes; also used ‘column

inch’ to quantify newspaper’s space and ‘seconds’ to count duration of

TV and Radio reports

Extend of coverage on

different political

parties

Content survey to figure out party coverage; also used ‘column inch’ to

quantify newspaper’s space and ‘seconds’ to count duration of TV and

Radio reports on the party coverage

Assessing quality of

electoral coverage A 10-points scale was set for clarity of content, level of interaction with

sources, overall presentation of the content and journalistic styles and

principles followed in the content. Of the scale, 8-10 points were rated

as ‘good’, 5-7 were moderate and below 5 as poor

News reports, features, editorials, post editorials, articles, news analysis and commentary

as well as relevant pictures on the election issues were extracted from the aforesaid media

and analyzed for understanding their overt and covert meaning, political stand/stance and

inclination.

Key Findings

Frequency of Electoral Coverage in Different Media

A. Newspapers: Considering significance of the newspapers in Bangladesh’s political

participation context, 14 newspapers (8 national and 6 regional dailies) were monitored

for the 10th Parliamentary Election. The study reveals that the electoral coverage of the

national dailies constituted 6.21 percent of their total news coverage. The daily Jugantor

gave the highest coverage, 17.81 percent (of the total electoral coverage) while the daily

Star, the highest circulated English Daily (as per the DFP report) gave 6.66 percent

coverage of the same. Of the three phases (Pre, during and Post), the national dailies put

more emphasis to cover reports ‘during’ (4-6 January’14) election period. In terms of

allocating space to publish electoral news items, the daily Samakal spent more, 13471

column inches (16% of the total spaces allocated by the dailies). The total electoral coverage

of the regional dailies was 5.76 percent of their total news coverage. Of the regional dailies,

the daily Korotoa published 581 items, the highest amount of news items which was

23.52% of the total coverage made by all the regional dailies. The Dakkhinanchal

published 295 news items, the least amount which was about 12% of the total electoral

coverage of the regional dailies.

B. Television channels

• The electoral coverage of the six TV channels was 16 percent of their total news

coverage. NTV gave the highest electoral coverage, 25 percent of the total coverage by

the channels; BVT paid the least, 12 percent.

• Compared to all the three phases, the TV channels aired the highest number of reports

during election period (4-6 January 2014), 71 reports per day in average.

C. Radio Channels: The electoral coverage of the radio channels was 11.4 percent of

their total news throughout the monitoring period. In the electoral coverage, BBC’s share

was 32.70 percent while BB gave the remaining 67.30 percent. Though BBC broadcast

less news items on election issues than BB, it allocated more time (17.2% of the

channel’s total duration) for covering election. BB spent 9.5% of its total duration.

D. Online Portals: Banglanews24.com and BDnews24.com published 1308 reports on the

election which was 5.57 percent of their total news items (23,476).

Most Frequently Covered Electoral Themes in Different Media

• Newspapers: The themes of electoral coverage varied phase to phase. The national

dailies dedicated maximum coverage on election environemnt (violence, blockade, hartal and

other derogating situtaion of law and orders triggered surrounding the election) with 948

reports throughout the monitoring. Reaction (criticism, feedback and opinion on the non-

inclussive electoral process) of different stakeholders, statement of political parties and

publicity and campaign of the prospective candidates were covered significantly with 651,

541 and 483 reports respectively. The most striking coverage of the national dailies at the

post-election phase was the minority issue. A total of 299 reports were covered on the attack,

intimidation and oppression on the religious minorities particularly the Hindus. The coverage

of the dailies on the aforesaid themes was mostly linked with their interest and agenda on the

election, for example, the Naya Diganta owned by an influential leader of Jammat, the most

vibrant ally of BNP-led alliance, througholy showed interets to cover reaction of different

stakeholders on the election process. Again, the political statements of different parties

(mostly the AL statements) were covered by the Jugantor, of which the editor became MP

with ticket from AL-led alliance. The themes of coverage of the regional dailies were

almost similar with the national dailies. The regional dailies could not forecast on the

attack and oppression on the ‘minority communities’ at the pre-election stage though the

issue was a local.

• TV Channels: The TV channels mostly concentrtaed on covering statements of different

political parties with 501 reports aired. NTV dedicated the maximum coverage on the issue,

13.77 percent of the channels total coverage on the issue. The channels aired 212 reports on

election environment (violence, blockade, hartal and other derogating situtaion of law and

orders triggered surrounding the election) throughout the monitoring. Reaction of different

stakeholders on the process of election was covered significantly by the channels with 183

reports aired. NTV covered the maximum reports on the issue too. The channels aired 142

report on the activties and staments of the government. The state-run BTV took much

interests to cover the issue. At the post election period, minority issue was a striking incident

which was covered by the TV channels with significance. However, the channels failed to air

reports forecasting the incidents. Channel-i covered the maximum reports on the issue.

• Radio Channels: Activities and statements of government got the maximum coverage in

the radio channels with 64 reports aired of which BB paid 86 percent coverage on this issue.

Apart from this, formation of new government, election environment, statements of different

political parties, minority issues, candidate’s publicity and Government’s preparation for

holding the election were some of the themes frequently covered by the channels. BBC took

interest on covering election environment and party statements while BB was inclined to

cover issues on new government formation and government’s preparation for holding

election.

D. Online Portals: The online portals thoroughly emphasized on election environment

covering 185 reports on the same. Government activities and statements were significantly

covered by both the portals with 159 reports covered. The party statements stood third in

terms of coverage with 121 reports while 117 reports were covered on reaction of different

stakeholders. The portals did not show much interest on covering minority issues since they

published 44 reports on the issue. Rather, formation of the new government got more

coverage with 79 reports. Inclination of coverage of the portals was almost similar.

Extend of coverage on different political parties in Different Media

• Newspapers: As a political party, AL was more frequently covered than others. In all

the phases, a total of 2091 reports were published on its activities, 62 percent of the total

party coverage made by the national dailies. On BNP, 803 reports were covered, 24

percent of the total party coverage. The JP received 11 percent coverage with 357 reports

while the number of reports on Jammat and leftist parties were 2% and 1% respectively.

Regarding the party coverage, the regional dailies showed similar inclination. AL was

mostly covered by the dailies with 59 percent reporting on the party coverage while BNP

received 28 percent. Like the national dailies, the regional ones also gave 11% coverage

on JP which was con-incidentally matching. Jammat and Leftist party had equal share in

the coverage of the regional dailies with 1 percent share.

B. Television channels: The TV Channels covered more reports on AL than other

political parties. Throughout the election (pre, during and post), a total of 596 reports

were aired on the activities of AL, 56 percent of the total party coverage of the channels

while BNP’s share was 33 percent (with 353 reports). JP’s share was 9 percent with 91

reports while the coverage on Jammat and Leftists was 1 percent for each with 14 and 7

reports respectively.

C. Radio Channels: The Radio Channels aired 125 reports (82% of total party coverage)

on AL altogether in all the phases, the maximum coverage with 3 hours length while

coverage on BNP was 12 percent with 18 reports (1 hour 19 minutes length) and

coverage on JP was 5 percent. There was no report aired on Jammat while 1 percent

report was aired on the Leftist.

D. Online Portals: Both the portals published more news on AL than on BNP throughout

the election (all the three phases). The portals webbed 457 reports (61% of the total party

coverage) on AL and 198 reports on BNP, 26 percent of total party coverage. JP got 10

percent coverage while Jammat and the leftist got 1percent and 2 percent respectively.

Quality of electoral coverage in Different Media: The ranking reveals that 72%

reports of the national dailies were good, 20% were moderate and the remaining 8% were

poor. The percentages for the regional dailies were 68%, 22% and 10% for good,

moderate and poor respectively. Of the TV reports, 76% reports were ranked as good,

14% were moderate and 10% were poor while BBC stood the highest in ranking with 80

percent reports as good. BB and BTV reports were finally excluded ranking since these

state-run channels were extremely biased towards government and the ruling party

without demonstrating minimum professionalism and commitment to the audience and

the society. Of the online portal’s 66 percent reports were good, 19 percent were

moderate and 15 percent poor. However, 94 percent reports of media (all the types) were

based on surface information. It means the audiences were deprived of knowing the

detailed aspects of an issue. For example, most of the reports on attack and oppression on

the minority communities lacked detailed information on the attackers and government

initiatives to control the situation. Moreover, most of the reports depended on the official

sources like police stations and statements of the local political leaders. Some of the

media reports directly contained ‘opinion and judgment’ of the reporters that went against

the journalistic principles. For example, the Prothom Alo, the highest circulated Bangla

daily and the daily Star, the highest circulated English daily used adjectives (deadliest,

farcical, stigmatized election etc) in many of their ‘news headlines’. The Daily Star

published some ‘news analyses on the election issue but they mostly reflected the

reporter’s own opinion and judgment rather than capturing interviews and explanation of

the experts accordingly.

Analysis of the Findings

• Analysis of the content reveals, the media stance in general was in favour of holding an

inclusive election. Media’s attention was mostly directed towards covering election

environment (violence, hartal, blockade etc), reaction of different stakeholders on the

electoral process, dialogue and diplomatic initiatives facilitating inclusive election,

political statements and activities and the minority issues.

• Media mostly covered event-based reports (for example, political activities and

statements, violence, reaction of different stakeholders etc) with surface information.

Investigative and interpretative reports on the election issues were not significantly

covered.

• The media put less emphasis on covering ‘follow-up’ reports on election issues since the

number of the reports was gradually declining after the election held on 05 January 2014.

Media did show less interest to cover the election issues in-depth manner. For, example,

incidents of ‘vote rigging’ in some of the pool centers reported with importance during

the election lost after a few days. Media did not take interests to cover ‘follow-up’ stories

on the same.

• Media coverage was visible on five political parties: AL, BNP, JP (both fractions),

Jammat and Leftsist. AL received the maximum coverage but the overall tone of the

reporting was often critical to the party, its activities and policies regarding the process of

election.

• Marshal McLuhan’s ‘medium is the message’ is also a reality for the Bangladesh media.

Ownership and its ‘perceived’ political affiliation is becoming one of the major

determinants of news coverage. For instance, the owner of NTV is an advisor of BNP

Chairperson. The channel presented report on BNP with much care than others. On the

other hand, ATN Bangla was found covering AL with more attention. Similar things

happened for the national dailies too. The Naya Diganta, owned by an influential leader

of Jammat, most vibrant ally of BNP-led alliance showed extreme bias in its content

while the daily Ittefaq, owned by an influential leader of JP (Monju), one of the allies of AL

who became the ‘Member of the Parliament’ in the said election with ticket from AL-led

alliance showed compassion for AL and its alliance.

• Media could not forecast of minority attack though the issues were frequently covered

after the incidents took place immediately after the Election Day. The coverage was

mostly incident-based rather than investigation and interpretation.

• Some reports directly contained ‘opinion and judgment’ of the reporters which went

against the journalistic principles. For example, the Prothom Alo, the highest circulated

Bangla daily and the daily Star, the highest circulated English daily used adjectives

(deadliest, farcical, stigmatized election etc) in many of their ‘news headlines’. The Daily

Star published some ‘news analyses on the election issue but they mostly reflected the

reporter’s own opinion and judgment rather than capturing interviews and explanation of

the experts accordingly.

• The fear of retaliation from political leadership led a sort of forced balance in coverage.

Some of the media’s stances shifted in line with the changing political situations around

the election. Corporate ownership was also a factor in party coverage. [

• In general, the TV channels frequently projected political figures, ministers, bureaucrats,

diplomats, intellectuals, civil society members and business elites in their news content.

The larger segment of the society is deprived of presenting their voices in television. The

‘expert’s opinion’ were mainly male-dominated since the female experts were seen rarely

in the news interviews.

• The state-owned media (BTV and BB) functioned as the mouthpiece of the government

and the ruling party throughout the election period avoiding the voice of the then main

opposition, BNP.

• The regional dailies were found ‘imitating’ the national newspapers as a whole. They

took little interest on presenting local electoral problems, women participations, people’s

interest on and expectation from the candidates as well as the election commission. The

regional dailies covered the minority issue with less emphasis. The regional dailies could

not forecast attacks on the minority communities though it was a local issue.

• Some of the incidents/issues were covered recurrently for a certain period of time and the

issues were suddenly dropped with rare follow-ups. For example, media covered the

minority issues with emphasis for a certain period after the Election Day and suddenly

dropped that. Tendency of event-based coverage of the media is responsible for this.

• All the channels aired almost similar news items. In some cases, ‘run-downs (sequences)’

of the ‘lead news’ of the TV channels matched each other. There was no mentionable

variation in the TV news since information was gathered mostly from the uniform

sources in the collective manner.

Recommendations:

• Capacity of the reporters should be developed further through training, workshops and

knowledge sharing on the electoral processes (electoral laws and policies, systems, roles

and functions of election commissions, election arrangement etc).

• The media should concentrate on depth reporting, i.e. investigative, interpretative and

follow-up reports rather than event-based coverage of an issue or affair.

• Media, from the social-responsibility perspectives’ should present the people’s voice in

their content rather than representing and projecting some identical and known faces.

• Media, especially the TV channels, should have their own planning of coverage.

Tendency of covering a ‘single issue in collective manner’ should be avoided.

• The media in general should be more specific about the use of sources.

• State-run BVT and BB should reflect public interest in their content rather than

portraying the ruling party and the government. These media should be run under an

independent autonomous body.

• Media should be more attentive to objective reporting. The media reports should be

devoid of ‘adjectives’ as much as possible. Use of multiple sources in a report should be

encouraged. Each of the media can form a small working team comprising the senior

journalists and media academics to coach the novice journalists.

• Media should develop a mechanism of sharing knowledge with the journalists of

developed countries covering election issues.

• Media should demonstrate professionalism in their electoral coverage rather than

showing inclination towards covering the issues suiting their political/ideological bias.

• Media should be facilitated to form an ‘election beat’ entrusted with responsibility of

covering the election issues significantly.

• Media should play proactive and advocacy role through their content presentation to

foster participation of the underprivileged groups i.e. the participation of women,

participation of religious minority and others.

Conclusion:

The study findings depict that the media in Bangladesh mostly show interest on event-based

coverage of the electoral issues rather than in-depth investigation, analysis and follow-ups. The

study reveals that the media in general mostly concentrate on covering statements of political

parties; reaction of different stakeholders on the non-inclusive election process outlined by the

ruling AL, election environment (violence, hartal and blockades etc), minority issues and other

events and incidents emerged surrounding the election. The findings show that the editorials and

post-editorial write-ups and articles possess stronger tone rather than the reports. Considering

significance of parliamentary election in a democratic society, media in Bangladesh did not have

uniform agenda, rather the media stances were diversified to some extent depending on the

owner’s leaning towards political ideologies. However, being the ‘watch-dog’, media should play

more balanced role in univocal manner. Media should plan and set agenda ‘to inform, educate

and persuade’ people to foster their participation in the democratic process. Media should

undertake the election issue as a ‘beat reporting’ rather than ‘event-coverage’.

-0-

Chapter: One

Background and Methodology of the Media Monitoring Study

• IRI Mission and the Media Monitoring Assignment

The International Republican Institute (IRI) desires a study of the print, electronic, and

internet media relating to Bangladesh’s 10th Parliamentary Elections. The International

Republican Institute (IRI) is a non-profit, non-governmental organization dedicated to

supporting democracy worldwide. The institution supports the efforts of civil society

organizations in Bangladesh to conduct election-related research, monitor campaigns,

provide citizens with information on candidates and monitor pre-election media coverage. To

help address these issues for a healthy democratic society, IRI works with journalists, civil

society, and election monitors to effectively monitor and publicize candidates’ compliance

with electoral process and democratic culture. IRI also aids locally-driven research initiatives

on the state of elections in Bangladesh, and works with local media monitoring groups to

observe and report on media coverage of elections. Through this work, the IRI mission is to

advocate for open and transparent elections.

This project was designed to implement a monitoring strategy for print, television radio and

internet media sources that tracks:

• frequency of electoral coverage of the selected media

• most frequently covered/referenced electoral themes

• extend of coverage on different political parties and

• quality of electoral coverage

Being entrusted by IRI, Free Election Movement Association (FEMA) and the Institute

of Innovative Media and E-Journalism (IIMEJ) carried out the media monitoring study

from December 15, 2013 to February 28, 2014. This timeline covered three phases: Pre

(15 December’13- January 3, 2014), During (January4-6, 2014) and Post (January 7-

February 2014) electoral period.

• Conceptual Underpinnings:

The process of democratization does not always move in a single direction. The move

towards democracy starts and stops, with alternating periods of regression and progress.

Bangladesh had similar experience in its democratic progress. There was an explosive growth

of media in the country since the democratic era began in 1991. The attitudes and policies of

four democratic governments between 1991 and 2008 helped the growth of media - both

electronic and print. Even during the 2007-2008 dictatorial regimes, the media played a

significant role in restoring democracy through dvocating for a free and fair election. The

media played an important role in advocating for, and ensuring the accountability and

transparency of the caretaker administration. The unprecedented participation of the voters in

the historic December 29, 2008 election is partly due to the media’s coverage of the process

and its ability to reach out to voters in remote areas of the country.

From the perspectives of ‘Social Responsibility Theory of the Press’, it is claimed that free

press is indispensable in reflecting the people’s voice in a state’s governance processes. The

press is expected to present the positive sides of a government and political parties, criticize

the negative aspects, and form public opinion that reflect the people’s interests and choices.

The argument that the media plays a role in democratization has been advanced by many in

political and communication science. According to Pippa Norris (2006), news media is most

effective in strengthening the process of democratization where they role as watchdog over

the abuse of power (ensuring accountability and transparency), as a civic forum for political

debate (facilitating informed electoral choices), and as an agenda-setter for policy makers

(strengthening government responsiveness to social problems).

Berman and Witzner (1997) argued that the free access and exchange of information is vital

to the notion of democracy. The very nature of democracy suggests that free and open

communication, through a variety of channels, is necessary to foster critical practices found

in democratic societies. Media outlets are also supposed to function as watchdogs,

expected to provide a monitoring checks and balances system on the government, various

industries, and society at large. Media, communication and political scholars as well as the

social scientist believe that the ‘Third Wave of Democratization’ as pointed out by famous

political scientist Samuel P. Huntington is one of the contributions of mass media since the

media advocates for democracy as the system of government where the participation of the

people and their opinion is a fundamental prerequisite.

However, another school of thought says that media freedom actually slows or even hinders

democratization, since it can serve as the voice of antidemocratic forces. According to

Herman and Chomsky, the ownership of the media controls the role of the media at large.

Media ownership is often linked to corporate houses and political ideologies which use the

media to promote their own agenda. The media can play an important role in different stages

of democratic development/practices. Or, the media may not play any meaningful role at all,

with democracy emerging quite independent of the press and other communication freedoms.

In an ideal situation, it is expected that media should work neutrally and without bias to any

political party. In our study, we will see whether the media is working neutrally and how

much coverage is being given to political parties.

• Media Landscape in Bangladesh

Media presence in Bangladesh was minimal preceding the 1990s, encompassing a

handful of newspapers and only state-owned TV channel and radio station. After the fall

of Bangladesh’s autocratic regime of Ershad, the media experienced a boom. The interim

government in 1991 paved the way for media expansion by amending the special power

act ‘The Printing Presses and Publications (Declaration and Registration) Act, 1973.

Media growth has continued steadily since the 1990s, with the most recent Department of

Film and Publication (DFP) showing that there are more than three hundred registered

dailies published in the country. The fast proliferation of news dailies has come at the

expense of journalistic practices and standards of reporting. The most popular and well-

circulated dailies are published in the capital city of Dhaka, but there are a number of

popular regional dailies.

One of the most spectacular changes in the media scenario in Bangladesh is the rise of

electronic media, i.e. the satellite television channels. Privatization policies under the

post-1990 democratic government administrations allowed TV channels to expand and

flourish. The first privatization measure was taken in March 1999, authorizing Ekushey

TV to go on air. At present, one state-owned and 24 private TV channels are on air in the

country.

TV entertainment was initiated by the ATN Bangla, which became the first entertainment-

based channel in the country, launched in 1997. With this trend of expansion of, BTV, the

sole state-run television station in the country also launched satellite channel, BTV World, in

2005. The sole Islamic satellite channel, Islamic TV, began operations during the caretaker

government in 2007. Channel -i ran 24 hours a day and launched the first digital Bangla

channel in 1999.

All the television channels, excluding BTV and BTV World, are privately owned. One of the

significant aspects that affect the management of a television station in Bangladesh is the

political ideology or specific ties to a political party of the ownership. Among the first

generation satellite channels, ATN Bangla and ETV were unofficially affiliated with the AL

while the top management of Channel-i had more ambiguous leanings. At present, ETV is

leaned towards BNP. The management of second-generation channels such as NTV, RTV,

the now defunct Channel One, Boishakhi TV, and Banglavision are perceived to have

affiliations with the BNP because they were licensed during the last BNP regime. Similarly,

third-generation channels like Desh TV, Somoy TV, Mohona TV, Gazi TV, Independent TV,

Ekattor Television, Bijoy TV, Channel 24, Channel 9, and Asian TV are thought to have pro-

AL leanings since they were licensed during the AL regime. Diganta TV and Islamic TV

have perceived political connections to the BNP and Jammat-e-Islam. Channels such as

SATV, Massranga TV and Mytv have unclear political affiliations.

Though the popularity of radio is on the decline in the face of rapid television growth,

there are currently 11 FM, 14 community radio, and three online radio stations operating.

Bangladesh Betar, being the sole state-run radio channel, has country-wide coverage,

while the BBC has international ownership but is popular radio channel in the country.

Online news portals are the latest additions to the media landscape in Bangladesh. This

medium was pioneered by Bdnews24.com in 2005 as the country’s first web-based news

agency. The government does not have strict monitoring controls on internet news sites.

As such, online media has been allowed to proliferate rapidly within the last few years.

Online media outlets are largely popular with Bangladeshi youth and more educated

sectors of the population. Currently, almost all the newspapers have committed to both

paper and online versions of their content. Online portals are particularly in urban areas.

During the early 1990s, access to the internet was mainly limited to the privately owned

cyber cafes, with little individual access. As a new interactive media, the internet has by

now become a source of great attraction especially to the young generation (i.e. the

college and university students), job seekers and businessmen. With the promise of

delivering fast and accurate news, bdnews24.com started its journey.

• Objectives of the monitoring study:

The study was carried out with the following four board objectives:

• To understand frequency of electoral coverage of the selected media

• To comprehend most frequently covered/referenced electoral themes

• To understand extend of coverage on different political parties and

• To understand quality of electoral coverage

• Methodology of Media Monitoring

The media monitoring study was carried out applying ‘Content Analysis Method’, the

commonly used methodology for analyzing the contents of the media. Content analysis is

a specific research approach used frequently in all areas of the media. The method is

popular with mass media researchers because it is an efficient way to investigate the

content of the media.

According to Kamhawi and Weaver , content analysis was the most popular data-

gathering method reported in major mass communication journals between 1995 and

1999. An informal content analysis of three journals that focus on mass communication

research (Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, Journalism and Mass

Communication Quarterly, and Mass Communication and Society) from 2007 to 2008

found that content analysis was still a popular method, used in about one-third of all

published articles.

Walizer and Wienir (1978) defined content analysis as any systematic procedure devised

to examine the content of recorded information. Krippendorf (2004) defined it as a

research technique for making replicable and valid references from data to their context.

Kerlinger’s (2000) defined it as: “Content analysis is a method of studying and analyzing

communication in a systematic, objective, and quantitative manner for the purpose of

measuring variables.

Based on aforesaid perspectives, it can be said the content analysis is a scholarly

approach of studying the content of communication materials or content. The essence of

the content analysis lies in the comment of Harold D. Lasswell who framed the base of

the content analysis by: ‘Who says what, to whom, why, to what extent and with what

effect?’

Selection of Media: Considering huge size of the media in the country, 24 individual

units from the print, electronic and online media were selected through sampling.

Selected Print Media: The recent report of Department of Film and Publication (DFP)

shows that there are more than three hundred daily newspapers in the country of which a

handful have gained popularity through a high standard of journalistic practice,

professionalism and influence. According to the DFP and the Bangladesh Hawkers’ Network

Association (BHNA), the most popular and widely-circulated dailies are predominantly

published from the capital city of Dhaka, though a small number are published from the

regions. Eight national dailies (6 Bangla and two English) published from Dhaka were

selected for the study while six regional dailies were selected from all the six divisions

(region) outside Dhaka. The table below shows the name of the 14 selected dailies:

Selected National Dailies Selected Regional Dailies

• The Daily Prothom Alo 1. The Daily Azadi, Chittagong

• The Daily Ittefaq 2. The Daily Purbanchal, Khulna

• The Daily Jugantor 3. The Daily Sylheter Dak, Sylhet

• The Daily Samokal 4. The Daily Juger Alo, Rangpur

• The Daily Nayadiganta 5. The Daily Karotoa, Rajshahi

• The Bangladesh Pratidin 6. The Daily Dakkhinanchal, Barisal

• The Daily Star

• The New Age

Selected Electronic Media:

Television Channels

Six television channels were selected for the study considering their:

• Television Rating Points (TRP)

• Pattern of ownership and the

• Nature of the channel

The selected channels included: state-owned Bangladesh Television; privately owned

ATN Bangla, Channel-i, Independent TV (news-based channel), ETV and NTV. The

primetime news bulletin (7 am-11am) of all the sample TV channels was surveyed during the

study period using content analysis format.

Sample TV Channel News Slot

ATN Bangla 10 pm.

BTV 8:00 pm.

Channel i 9:00 pm.

ETV 7:00 pm.

Independent TV 10:00 pm.

NTV 10 :30 pm.

Radio: Radio channels were selected based on national coverage and popularity and thus

BBC Bangla (international ownership) and state-run Bangladesh Betar (BB) were selected

since there were no other national radio stations in the country. BBC News at 70:30 pm and

BB news of 8:00 pm were analyzed using content analysis format.

Online Media: There are two popular online media outlets in Bangladesh. According to the

Alexa rating, BDnews24.com and banglanews24.com are the most popular ones. These two

web portals were selected for the study.

Methods and Technical Approaches against the Objectives

Objective Aspects Methods and Approaches Used

Understanding frequency of

electoral coverage of the

selected media

Content analysis (mainly counting) to figure out number of the

reports/contents; also used ‘column inch’ to quantify newspaper’s

space and ‘seconds’ to count duration of TV and Radio reports

Comprehending most Content and Analysis (mainly counting), measured ‘column inch’

frequently covered electoral

themes on election

to quantify space of the newspapers and measured ‘seconds’ to

count duration of TV and Radio reports

Understanding extend of

coverage on different

political parties

Content and Analysis (mainly counting), measured ‘column inch’

to quantify space of the newspapers and measured ‘seconds’ to

count duration of TV and Radio reports

Assessing quality of

electoral coverage A scale of 10 points was set for clarity of content, level of

interaction with sources, overall presentation of the content and

journalistic styles and principles followed in the content. Of the 10

point-scale, 8-10 were rated as ‘good’, 5-7 were as moderate and

below 5 as poor

News reports, features, editorials, post editorials, articles, news analysis and commentary

as well as relevant pictures on the election issues were extracted from the aforesaid media

and analyzed for understanding their overt and covert meaning, political stand/stance and

inclination.

The following aspects were reflected in the content analysis:

• Type of the content and classification of news (event based, issue based,

person/institution based)

• Nature of news (straight jacket, investigative, interpretative, follow-up, desk report

etc.)

• News treatment for the print media: (front page, back page and inner page, byline,

box, banner head, length of column, i.e. single , double, triple and more, color, only

picture, picture with news, news without picture)

• News treatment of the electronic media(video footage, rundown)

• Quality of information sources and quality of analysis, accuracy, objectivity and

fairness of the content exploration, preparation and presentation

• Quality of investigation and compilation of the gathered information

• Variation of topic(s) covered in the content on election issues

• Quality of content presentation in the aforesaid media

• Overt and covert meaning of the message communicated through the content

• Effectiveness and communicative competence of the content

Analysis of the Content

Unit of Analysis: The column inch was the unit of analysis for print media while the time

measurement unit was the ‘second’ for the electronic media, i.e. TV and radio channels.

Scope of Analysis: Following contents of the aforesaid news media were covered:

• News report

• Feature

• Editorials

• Post editorials

• Articles

• News analysis

• Commentary, etc.

Quality of Contents: With a view to assessing quality of content, a scale of 10 points

was set for clarity of content, level of interaction with sources, overall presentation of the

content and journalistic styles and principles followed in the content. Of the 10 point-

scale, 8-10 were rated as ‘good’; 5-7 were as moderate and below 5 as poor

• Study Management

Newsgathering Technique:

Set-up of Newsgathering Lab: A micro newsgathering lab with all required facilities was

set up. In order to cover six channels, six set devices were set-up including TV card, dish

connection, PC/Laptop, transferring software, UPS (uninterrupted power sources) and other

devices (plucks, cables, pen drive etc). Radio news was recorded automatically using digital

recorders. The hawker supplied copies of newspapers as per the project’s demand while the

internet connection was enough to receive the online news.

News Collection, Management and Analysis: The data was gathered using content analysis

format developed for different kinds of media. The associate researchers supervised data

gathering process of the content surveyors. For each type of media, one associate researcher

was appointed who worked under supervision of the Lead Researcher. Content surveyors

(three for print media, three for electronic media and one for online media) were appointed to

work with the associate researchers. An IT specialist was appointed to maintain the

newsgathering lab while a logistics and administrative manager facilitated the monitoring

team’s logistics. The gathered data was checked and verified on a day-to-day basis to avoid

human error. After polishing and checking the quality of data, they were analyzed using

tabulation format and software. Since the evaluation used both quantitative and qualitative

research methods, data clusterization was carried out for ease of analysis. A statistician with

data analysis experience in SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Science) was appointed to

tabulate data and help the lead monitoring researcher in compiling and synthesizing the data

gathered.

Quality Control: Quality control is an indispensable part of any monitoring study. In this

project, quality control was mainstreamed through each portion of the study. In order to do

so, the following steps were taken to control the quality of the work:

• The content analysis framework was prepared through brainstorming with the experts

working in the fields of media, democracy and elections, good governance, and

research.

• Forms were prepared in easy-to-understand, simple language so that the surveyors

could easily and accurately input the data.

• A rigorous pre-test was carried out on the forms to familiarize the surveyors with the

data requirements of the survey

• Surveyors were trained to monitor and capture news/content consistent to the project

objectives.

• Cross-checking was completed by the Lead Researcher, Statistician and Research

Associates to avoid error and complexity.

• After tabulating data, the Statistician monitored the Surveyor’s task and made

necessary corrections.

• Data were stored, managed, processed, and analyzed both by hand and electronically.

Data entry was done using SPSS software. The guidelines and codebook prepared by

the monitoring team was maintained during the data entry for quality assurance.

• A sample draft report was prepared first to disburse among the team members so that

all the members could provide necessary input/ information to improve quality of the

report.

Chapter-Two

Findings of the Media Monitoring Study

[The findings of the media monitoring study are discussed in terms of three phases: Pre

(15 December’13- January 3, 2014), During (January4-6, 2014) and Post (January 7-

February 2014) electoral period.]

2.1. Frequency of Electoral Coverage in Different Media

A. Newspapers

The newspapers have played a significant role in facilitating a democratic atmosphere,

and socio-economic and cultural advancement in Bangladesh. During the 2007-2008

emergency periods, newspapers aided in restoring democracy through advocacy for a free

and fair election. It is thought that the unprecedented participation of the voters in the 9th

parliamentary election was partly due to the media coverage of the process and their

commitment to reaching out to the voters in remote areas of the country. As such,

considering the importance and significance of the newspapers in Bangladesh’s political

participation context, 14 newspapers (8 national and 6 regional dailies) were monitored

for the 10th Parliamentary Election.

The study reveals that from 15 December 2013 to 28 February 2014, the monitored national

dailies published a total of 89593 news items of which the number of electoral news items

was 5568, only 6.21%. Of the national dailies, the daily Jugantor published 992 items,

highest amount of news items which was 17.81% of the total coverage made by all the

dailies. The Daily Star, the highest circulated English Daily (as per the DFP report)

published 371 news items, the least amount which was 6.66% of the total electoral

coverage of the national dailies underwent the study. Of the three phases (Pre, during

and Post), the national dailies put more emphasis to cover reports ‘during’ (4-6

January’14) election period. Only in the three days period, the dailies covered 980

reports, much more than covering the ‘Pre (15 December’13-3 January 2014)’ and the

‘Post (7 January-28 February 2014)’ election periods.

In terms of allocating space to publish electoral news items, the daily Samakal spent more,

13471 column inches (16% of the total spaces allocated by the dailies) than any other dailies

undergoing the monitoring. Though the daily Jugantor published more news items, the size

of the reports was smaller than Samakal. The Jugantor spent 12,522 column inches (14.83%),

the second largest amount of column inches. The daily Ittefaq, the oldest of all the dailies

monitored allocated the least amount, 7,635 column inches which was 9% of the total spaces

allocated by the dailies. Of the three phases, 18,063 column inches were allocated for the

electoral coverage of only 3 days (4-6 January’14) during the election period, the highest

allocation, 6,021 column inches per day.

The study reveals that from 15 December 2013 to 28 February 2014, the monitored regional

dailies published a total of 42,852 news items of which the number of electoral news items

was 2470, only 5.76%. Of the regional dailies, the daily Korotoa published 581 items,

the highest amount of news items which was 23.52% of the total coverage made by all

the regional dailies. The Dakkhinanchal published 295 news items, the least amount

which was about 12% of the total electoral coverage of the regional dailies. Of the three

phases (Pre, during and Post), the regional dailies, like the national ones put more

emphasis to cover reports ‘during’ (4-6 January’14) election period. Only in the three

days period, the dailies covered 479 reports, much more than covering the ‘Pre (15

December’13-3 January 2014)’ and the ‘Post (7 January-28 February 2014)’ election

periods.

In terms of allocating space to publish electoral news items, the daily Korotoa spent more,

6384 column inches (25.46% of the total spaces allocated by the dailies) than any other

dailies undergoing the monitoring. The daily Dakkhinanchal allocated the least amount,

2,843 column inches which was 11.33% of the total spaces allocated by the dailies. Of the

three phases, 5417 column inches were allocated for the electoral coverage of only 3 days

(4-6 January’14) during the election period, the highest allocation, 1,805 column inches

per day.

B. Television channels

All the six TV channels broadcast a total of 8760 news items throughout all three phases

of the study period of which 1402 items were on the election issues, 16 percent. NTV

emphasized more on election (25 %) than any other TV channel. Though BTV covered

highest number of news items (1681), it covered 169 news items, the least of all, 12% of

total coverage. Comparing all the three phases, the TV channels aired the highest number

of reports during 4-6 January 2014, 71 reports per day.

C. Radio Channels

In all three phases BB broadcast a total of 1486 news of which 177 were on election (11.9

%) while BBC broadcast 86 news on election out of its total 816 news items (10.5 %).

These two radio channels altogether covered election issues just over 11 percent of their

total news coverage which was 13 percent of their total time allocation. Though BBC

broadcast less news on election issues than that of BB in number, it allocated more time

on the same. BBC spent 23383 seconds for its 86 news on election (17.2% of total time)

where BB spent 14750 seconds for its 177 news items on the same (9.5% of total time).

BBC emphasized on election issues at election period as it allocated 75.8 percent of its

time to election issues where BB allocated 29.7 percent time on the same issue at the

same period. In other two phases, BB covered more news on election than that of BBC.

D. Online Portals:

Banglanews24.com published 815 news on election issues out of its total 15980 news

items (5%) while Bdnews24.com published 7 percent of its total news (7496) on election

(493). Altogether Bdnews24.com and Banglanews24.com published 1308 reports on

election issues (5 % of total news).

2.2. Most Frequently Covered Electoral Themes in Different Media

• Newspapers

The National Dailies: At the pre-election phase, major themes of the electoral coverage of

the dailies were publicity and campaign of the prospective candidates, election environemnt

(violence, blockade, hartal and other derogating situtaion sof law and orders triggered

surrounding the election), statelment of political parties, reaction (criticism, feedback and

opinion on the non-inclussive electoral process) of different stakeholders and the candidates

(prospective candidates, their particulars, wealth statements etc).

The national dailies published 483 reports on the election campaign where the Daily Ittefaq

published 169 reports and the Daily Jugantor published 166 reports on the same, 35 percent

and 34.36 percent respectively. Editors of both the dailies were competing in the race of the

election with tickets from JP; major ally of the AL led 18-party alliance. The daily Naya

Diganta published 8 reports, less than 2%. The daily owned by one of the influential leaders

of Jammat-e-Islam, the largest ally of BNP led 19 party alliance was thoroughly found

critical of the election process excluding BNP led alliance.

The national dailies in this phase cvered 381 reports on election environemnt (violence,

blockade, hartal and other derogating situtaion sof law and orders triggered surrounding the

election); 307 reports on the statement of political parties, 297 reports on reaction (criticism,

feedback and opinion on the non-inclussive electoral process) of different stakeholders and

149 reports on the candidates(prospective candidates, their particulars, wealth statements etc).

The daily Jugantor covered 86 reports on election environment which was 22.57 percent of

the total coverage of the dailies on the issue. The daily covered the highest amount of reports

on the statements of the political parties.

Coverage on some specific Issues: At this phase, 28 items were published by the national

dailies on women participation in the national election. Of the total reports, the Daily

Jugantor covered 21 of which most of them were on the ‘editor of the daily’ who was a

candidate from one of the constituencies of Dhaka. Only 06 reports on minority issues were

covered during the phase.

During the election period, election environment (violence, blockade and hartal) was the

prime concern of the media focus. The national dailies published 285 news items on the issue

during g the election period. The daily Jugantor published 19.29 percent of the total coverage

of the dailies on the issue while the coverage of the daily Star was 5 percent on the same.

The dailies covered 143 item on ‘reaction of different stakeholders’ of which the Bangladesh

Protidin covered the highest number (54) of items on the issue while the Daily Prothom Alo

and the Daily Star published 3 items each on the same. Voter’s issues (voter’s participation

and problems) were mostly covered by the Daily Prothom Alo. The Daily covered 40 news

items (40.40% of the total coverage of the dailies on the issue) while the New Age and the

Ittefaq published 4 items each on the same.

The national dailies published 95 reports on ‘Election result, rigging and quit from the

election’ of which the highest number of reports (21) were published by the Daily

Prothom Alo, 22% of the total coverage of the dailies on the issue. The daily Star

published 4 items on the same, 4 percent. Of the 70 reports published on the ‘Statements

of Political Parties’, 32 (45.71%) were published by the Ittefaq and Samakal with equal

fraction.

Coverage on some specific Issues: During the post-election period the most striking

incident was attack and intimidation on the religious minorities particularly on the ‘Hindu

Communities’ in some parts of the country like the previous elections held in 2001 and

2008. The national dailies published 283 reports on the issue, 12.56 percent of their total

electoral coverage. The minority issues were covered as the first lead with considerable

space and pictures in the front pages of the dailies. Coverage on Election environment:

violence, blockade etc in the national dailies during this phase was 12.52 percent of their

total electoral coverage, almost similar with the coverage on minority issues. ‘Reaction of

different stakeholders and foreign media on the process of the election’ was also covered

with importance which was 9.36 percent of the total electoral coverage of the national

dailies. A total of 188 reports were covered on the ‘formation process of new

government and 164 on ‘statements of political parties’ which were 8.34 percent and

7.28% of their total electoral coverage respectively.

Regional Dailies: In the course of pre-election period, major themes of electoral

coverage by the regional dailies went on ‘publicity of the candidates’, ‘statements of the

political parties’, ‘election environment (violence, blockade and hartals) and ‘reaction of

different stakeholders’ on the process of elections. A total of 361 reports were published

on the ‘publicity of the candidates’ and 183 reports on ‘election environment’

(blockades/hartals and violence). ‘Election environment’ (185) and ‘party statement’,

‘Election result’ and ‘activities of the law enforcement agencies’ were some of the major

themes covered by the regional dailies. A total of 185 reports were published on

‘election environment’ while 72 were on ‘party statement’ and 28 reports were on

‘Election result’ and 24 were covered on the ‘activities of law enforcement agencies’ in

the regional dailies. The regional dailies did not focus on the ‘minority issues’ in this

stage while the daily Purbanchal published 3 reports on ‘women participation’ in the

election. Election environment (blockade, hartal, violence etc), Reaction of different

stakeholders on the process of election, Party statements, ‘formation of new government’

and ‘attack on minority community’ were the major themes of electoral coverage of the

regional dailies at the post-election period. A total of 172, 162, 107, 96 and 68 reports

were published on the aforesaid themes respectively in the regional dailies. The daily

Juger Alo gave the highest coverage (31% of total coverage of the dailies on the issue) on

‘Attack on minority community while the Sylheter Dak covered two items on the same,

the lowest coverage. All the regional dailies published 47 reports on women participation

where Sylheter Dak published no report on the issue.

• TV Channels

Pre-election period: At pre-election period, all the six TV channels focused more on the

party statements, publicity of the candidates, reactions of different stakeholders,

government activities and blockades/hartals. A total of 231 reports were broadcast on the

statements of political parties at this phase of which NTV aired the most, 20.34% of the

total coverage of the channels on this issue. The channles aired 88 reports on the election

environment (violence, blocades, hartals etc) of which ETV covered the highest amount,

35.22 percent while BTV aired one report on the issue. On election publicity by the

candidates, a total of 83 reports were aired. BTV telecast the highest quantity (32.53%) of

reports on the same while NTV aired 6 percent, the least quantity on the same. All the

channels aired 60 reports on ‘reaction of different stakeholders on the process of

election’, of which NTV covered 31.66 percent.

During election: Election environment, party statements, activities of law enforcement

agencies and election results were the major focuses during the election period. A total of

68 reports on election environment (violence, blockades, hartals etc.) have been broadcast

by the channels where BTV covered the least number (6) and Ind covered the highest

number (15). Ind channel aired one report on minority issue while other five channels

were silent regarding it. All the channels broadcast 3 reports on women participation in

election during election period, 1.7 percent of their total coverage. Three channels out of

six broadcast three reports on women participation in the vote.

Post-election period: Statements of different political parties remained the most aired

issue (208) at post-election period where formation of new government was the second

highest focus (101) by the six TV channels. Other major focuses were government

activities, reactions of different stakeholders, mediation and movement of diplomats, and

attack on minority. NTV broadcast 22 reports on mediation and move by the diplomats,

46 percent of total coverage on the issue, while BTV aired no report on the same. At

post-election period, minority attack especially intimidation on Hindu community

speeded up in some of the places of the country. The six TV channels broadcast a total of

43 reports on this issue where Channel-i and Independent covered the most, 32 and 30

percent respectively.

• Radio Channels

Pre-election period: Activities and statements of government, statements of different

political parties, preparation of election, activities of law enforcement agencies and

election publicity were the major focuses by the two radio channels at pre-election

period. BB broadcast 24 reports on government activities (88.8% of the coverage of

channels on this issue) while BBC aired 3 such reports. BBC covered election

environment (violence, blockades, hartals) with 4 reports where BB aired one report on

the same. BB emphasized more on preparation of election issue (11 reports) than BBC (2

reports).

During election: On violence and blockades/hartals, BBC aired 7 reports, BB none

during election time. BB broadcast 6 reports on government activities and statements and

BBC aired 2 such reports. Out of its 18 reports during election period, BB emphasized on

overall election environment (8 reports), 44.44 percent of its total coverage where BB’s

focus was on government activities (6 reports), 42.85 percent of its total coverage.

Post-election period: Along with activities and statements of government, the two radio

channels emphasized on formation of new government and reactions of the different

stake holders including diplomats at post-election period. Out of total 29 reports on

government activities and statements, BB broadcast 25 reports (86.2%) and BBC aired 4

such reports. BB broadcast 4 reports on minority attack and BBC aired 5 such reports.

BB emphasized more on formation of new government (17 reports) than that of BBC (5

reports). Participation of women in the vote was a least emphasized issue as BB aired one

such report and BBC none. Out of its total 88 reports during election, BB allocated 47.72

percent coverage to the government activities and formation of new govt.

D. Online Portals

Pre-election period: At pre-election period, Bdnews24.com and Banglanews24.com

emphasized the issues like election environment, election publicity, party statements, and

government activities. A total of 109 reports on election environment including violence,

blockades/hartals have been webcast by Bdnews24.com and Banglanews24.com, 52.29

and 47.70 percent respectively. Banglanews24.com focused more in covering party

statements (60 reports) than that of Bdnews24.com (43 reports). The two news portals

webbed 47 reports on government activities and statements.

During election: Election-related violence, election environment, government statements

and election results were the major focuses by the online portals during election. A total

of 51 reports on election environment (violence, blockades, hartals) have been webbed of

which Banglanews24.com published 34 reports (66.66%) and Bdnews24.com published

the remaining, 17 reports (33.33%).In publishing party statements and election results,

Banglanews24.com covered more news (13 and 19 respectively) than that of

Bdnews24.com (5 and 9). Banglanews24.com published 9 reports on rigging election and

boycotting it while Bdnews24.com webbed 2 reports on the same. Out of their 191

reports during election period, both the news portals published a total of 4 reports on

voters, 2 percent of total coverage.

Post Election: Activities and statements of government, formation of new government,

party statements, attack on minority, and reactions of different political parties were the

major focuses at post-election period by the online portals. Banglanews24.com published

56 reports on government activities (59.57%) and Bdnews24.com published 38 such

reports (40.42%) though in covering election related violence and blockades,

Banglanews24.com (11 reports) emphasized less than that of Bdnews24.com (14 reports).

A total of 37 reports on minority attack have been published by the two portals where

Bdnews24.com carried 54.05 percent of coverage and Banglanews24.com the remaining,

45.94 percent.

2.3. Extend of coverage on different political parties in different media

• Newspapers

The National Dailies:

In terms of coverage on the political parties, the national dailies covered AL more

frequently than others. In all the phases, a total of 2091 reports were published on AL

activities, 62 percent of the total coverage of the dailies on the political parties. The

national dailies undergoing the study published 803 reports on BNP, 24 percent of the

total coverage on the political parties. The JP received 11 percent coverage with 357

reports while the number of reports on Jammat and leftist parties were 2% and 1%

respectively.

During the pre-election period (15 December, 2013 to 3 January, 2014), of the national

dailies the daily Jugantor allocated 2901 column inches on AL, the highest quantity of the

party coverage made by the dailies monitored. The daily Bangladesh Pratidin published

1041 column inches on AL, the least coverage. Among the dailies, the Samakal gave

maximum coverage on BNP by spending 1199 column inches.

The daily Ittefaq spent 310 column inches on BNP, the minimum coverage. Of the AL-

led 18 party alliance, JP got more coverage. Similarly, Jammat got more coverage than

any other ally of BNP-led 19 party alliances. Coverage on other political parties (either as

a member of the alliances or as an individual party) was insignificant.

During the election period (4-6 January, 2014), the daily Prothom Alo gave AL the

highest coverage with 1389 column inches while the party was least covered by the daily

Naya Diganta with 279 column inches. BNP got the maximum coverage, 565 column

inches from the daily Samakal while got 147 column inches, the least from the daily

Naya Diganta in this phase. Other than JP, Jamat and Leftist parties got trifle coverage.

During the post-election period (7 January-28 February, 2014), the daily Prothom Alo,

Jugantor and Samakal covered AL with 1895, 1748 and 1551 column inches respectively.

Like the previous phase, the daily Samakal spent 1201 column inches on BNP, the

maximum coverage on the party while the daily Ittefaq spent 320 column inches for the

party, the minimum.

Regarding the party coverage, the regional dailies also showed similar inclination. AL

was mostly covered by the dailies with 59 percent reporting while BNP received 28

percent coverage in the regional dailies. Like the national dailies, the regional ones also

gave 11% coverage on JP which was con-incidentally same. Jammat and Leftist party had

equal share in the coverage of the regional dailies with 1 percent reporting.

B. Television channels

The TV Channels covered more reports on AL than other political parties. In all the

phases throughout the election, a total of 596 reports were aired on the activities of AL,

56 percent of the total party coverage of the channels. In terms of TV coverage BNP’s

share was 33 percent (with 353 reports) while 9 percent coverage (with 91 reports) was

made for JP and 1 percent for each of the Jammat (with 14 reports) and Leftist (7

reports).

At pre-election phase, all the six channels broadcast a total of 554 news items on political

parties of which 235 on AL, 143 on BNP and the remaining ones on other political

parties. NTV covered more news items on BNP (37) than AL (26). Total of its 91 news,

BTV broadcast 71 on AL and 3 on BNP while ETV covered 36 items on AL and 34 on

BNP showing a tendency of balance in terms of quantity.

After BTV, ATN was more inclined in covering AL with 44 news items where the

channel aired 24 items on BNP. During the coverage of election period, BTV gave no

time to BNP while it broadcast 28 items on AL. In aggregate calculation, BNP got less

than half of coverage (44 news items) than that of AL (102) by the channels during this

phase. BTV continued its poor coverage on BNP at post election phase too. The channel

aired 1 report on BNP while covered 34 news items on AL at that time. ETV emphasized

BNP activities and covered 25 items on the party comparing 11 reports on 11. JP got

more attention of the channels with 49 news items aired at post-election period

comparing to other two phases.

C. Radio Channels

The Radio Channels aired 125 reports (82% of total party coverage) on AL in all the

phases, the maximum coverage with 3 hours length while coverage on BNP was 12

percent with 18 reports (1 hour 19 minutes length) and coverage on JP was 5 percent.

There was no report aired on Jammat while 1 percent report was aired on the Leftist.

At pre-election phase BB aired 52 reports on AL (1 hour 16 minutes) and 1 on BNP (68

seconds) while BBC aired 13 reports on AL and 7 on BNP with almost equal time

allocation, 57 seconds more on AL. BB did not air any report on BNP during election and

post-election period where news items on AL were 6 and 45 respectively by the channel.

During election BBC covered more reports on BNP (5 news items) than AL (2 news

items) with almost double time allocation to BNP than AL. BB allocated 214 seconds for

JP at post-election period though both the channels did not air any report on the party

during election period.

D. Online Portals

Both the portals published more news on AL than on BNP at all the three phases of the

study.

In all the three phases, a total of 457 reports (61% of the total party coverage) were

published on AL by the portals while the BNP had 26% of share (with 198 reports) in the

total coverage.

JP got 10 percent coverage while Jammat and the leftist got 1percent and 2 percent

respectively.

At pre-election period, Banglanews24.com published 146 reports on AL and 56 on BNP

while Bdnews24.com webbed 70 reports on AL and 41 on BNP. Out of total 192 reports

during election period, 48 were on AL and 20 on BNP while 106 reports were on others.

At post-election period, Banglanews24.com emphasized AL (with 110 reports) more than

double of BNP (with 43 reports) where Bdnews24.com published 83 and 38 reports on

AL and BNP respectively. In all the three phases, Bdnews24.com published 34 percent of

its reports on AL and 17 percent on BNP while Banglanews24.com published 35 percent

news on AL and 14 percent on BNP.

2.4. Quality of electoral coverage in Different Media

The ranking reveals that 72% reports of the national dailies were good, 20% were

moderate and the remaining 8% were poor. The percentages for the regional dailies were

68%, 22% and 10% for good, moderate and poor respectively. Of the TV reports, 76%

reports were ranked as good, 14% were moderate and 10% were poor while BBC stood

the highest in ranking with 80 percent reports as good. BB and BTV reports were finally

excluded ranking since these state-run channels were extremely biased towards

government and the ruling party without demonstrating minimum professionalism and

commitment to the audience and the society. Of the online portal’s 66 percent reports

were good, 19 percent were moderate and 15 percent poor. However, 94 percent reports

of media (all the types) were based on surface information. It means the audiences were

deprived of knowing the detailed aspects of an issue. For example, most of the reports on

attack and oppression on the minority communities lacked detailed information on the

attackers and government initiatives to control the situation. Moreover, most of the

reports depended on the official sources like police stations and statements of the local

political leaders. Some of the media reports directly contained ‘opinion and judgment’ of

the reporters that went against the journalistic principles. For example, the Prothom Alo,

the highest circulated Bangla daily and the daily Star, the highest circulated English daily

used adjectives (deadliest, farcical, stigmatized election etc) in many of their ‘news

headlines’. The Daily Star published some ‘news analyses on the election issue but they

mostly reflected the reporter’s own opinion and judgment rather than capturing

interviews and explanation of the experts accordingly.

Chapter-Three:

Analysis of the Findings

• General Analysis:

Tendency of Media Coverage: Overall tone of the media content, with a little exception,

was in favour of holding an inclusive election with participation of all the major political

parties. Media’s attention was directed towards covering election environment (violence,

hartal, blockade etc), reaction of different stakeholders on the electoral process, dialogue

and diplomatic initiatives facilitating inclusive election, political statements and

activities, minority issues and formation of the new government.

Nature of Coverage: Media mostly covered event-based reports (for example, political

activities and statements, violence, reaction of different stakeholders etc) with surface

information. Investigative and interpretative reports on the election issues were not

significantly covered. For example, the national dailies (The Daily Star and Prothom Alo

played pioneering role in this regard) covered reports on the ‘wealth statement’ of the

candidates submitted to the Election Commission. The reports in most of the cases failed

to deliver detailed information on the wealth of the candidates going beyond their

submitted statements. Being investigative in nature, the reports were not complete

‘investigative reports’ since they were mostly based on the secondary information.

Media Interests on ‘Follow-up’: The dailies both the national and regional put less

emphasis on covering ‘follow-up’ reports on election issues since the number of the

reports was gradually declining after the election held on 05 January 2014. Between 07

January to 28 February 2014, the number of news items on the election issues was

declining since the events related to election was also declining. It means that the

newspapers mostly covered reports based on the events. They have no inclination of

their own to cover the issues related to election in depth manner. For, example, the

reports on rigging in some of the pools centres which were reported with importance

during the election were lost after some days since the newspapers did not take interests

on the same to cover ‘follow-up’ stories.

Party Coverage: Media coverage was visible on only five political parties: AL, BNP, JP

(both fractions), Jammat and Leftsist. AL received the maximum media coverage but the

overall tone of the reporting was critical to the party, its activities and policies regarding

the process of election. Apart from AL, coverage on BNP and JP was moderately

significant while coverage on Jammat and leftists was negligible. The media coverage

was politically biased to some extent. The media content were sympathetic to the

activities of the political ideology the owners inclined to.

Media ownership and bias: Marshal McLuhan’s ‘medium is the message’ is also a reality

for the Bangladesh media. Ownership and its ‘perceived’ political affiliation is becoming

one of the major determinants of news coverage. It is said in journalism that news is what

the editor/publisher says it is. In the election coverage, the media could not cross the

boundary of political affiliation of their owners. For instance, the owner of NTV is one of

the advisors of BNP Chairperson and the channel got license when the BNP was in

power. In its electoral coverage, the news items on BNP were presented with much care

rather than others. On the other hand, the daily Ittefaq is owned by an influential leader of

JP (Monju), one of the allies of AL who became the ‘Member of the Parliament’ in the last

election with ticket from AL-led alliance. Analysis of the daily’s overall coverage showed

that it supported the election process, as announced by the Awami League.

Covering Minority Issues: Experiences show that the religious minorities, particularly

the Hindu communities come under attack after the national elections in Bangladesh. The

8th and 9th parliamentary elections held in 2001 and 2008 respectively bear the worst

examples of such violence across the country. There was no exception in the 10th national

parliamentary election too. Media though could not provide with effective investigative

reports forecasting of the situation preceding the election, covered the issues with due

importance after the incidents took place immediately after the polling day. However,

media coverage on the issue was mostly incident-based rather than investigation and

interpretation. Media coverage on minority issues mostly depended on the official

sources, i.e. police, local leaders rather than digging out detailed aspects on the same.

This is one of the major reasons for what the audience could not know about the

masterminds, their missions and targets.

Quality of Reporting: Some reports directly contained ‘opinion and judgment’ of the

reporters which went against the journalistic principles. For example, the Prothom Alo,

the highest circulated Bangla daily and the daily Star, the highest circulated English daily

used adjectives (deadliest, farcical, stigmatized election etc) in many of their ‘news

headlines’. The Daily Star published some ‘news analyses on the election issue but they

mostly reflected the reporter’s own opinion and judgment rather than capturing

interviews and explanation of the experts accordingly.

Media Stances: Media in general is overcoming the public perception of bias by

providing wider coverage on the statements of different political parties, diplomatic

efforts and members of the civil society to create an environment conducive to holding an

inclusive general election. The fear of retaliation from political leadership led a sort of

forced balance in coverage. Some of the media’s stances shifted due to changing political

situations around the election. Corporate ownership is also a factor in covering different

political parties with importance since credible and balanced coverage fosters circulation

and revenue.

Projection of TV Media: In general, the TV channels frequently projected political

figures, ministers, bureaucrats, diplomats, intellectuals, civil society members and

business elites in their news content. The ‘expert’s opinion’ were mainly male-dominated

since the female experts were seen rarely in the news interviews. The larger segment of

the society is deprived of presenting their voices in television.

State-owned media: The state-owned media (BTV and BB) functioned as the mouthpiece

of the government and the ruling party throughout the election period avoiding the voice

of the then main opposition, BNP.

Capacity of Regional Dailies: The regional dailies were found ‘imitating’ the national

newspapers as a whole in terms of content selection and presentation. They took little

interest on presenting local electoral problems, women’s participations, people’s interest

on and expectation from the candidates as well as the election commission. In the cases

of minority attacks at the village and regional level, the regional dailies covered the issue

with less emphasis. Even though, the regional dailies could not forecast attacks on the

minority communities.

Recurrent projection and sudden closure: One of the common trends of the media

coverage was that, some of the incidents/issues were covered recurrently for a certain

period of time. The issues were suddenly dropped with rare follow-ups. For example,

media covered the minority issues with emphasis for a certain period after the Election

Day and dropped that. It was due to tendency of event-based coverage of the news rather

than investigation.

Tendency of Syndication: All the channels aired almost similar news items. In some

cases, ‘run-downs (sequences)’ of the ‘lead news’ of the TV channels matched each

other. There was no mentionable variation in the TV news since information was

gathered mostly from the uniform sources in the collective manner.

Use of sources: The media in general depended on the official sources and in many cases

did not cross check a fact with multiple sources, for example, media reports on the

minority attacks were mostly based on the sources of local political leaders and the police

stations.

• Relationship between Ownership and Coverage

According to Herman and Chomsky's ‘propaganda model’, media contents are controlled

by the pattern of the ownership. In an article ‘Mass Media: Political Economy and

Power’, the author states that there is a link between Herman and Chomsky’s

‘propaganda model’ and the ownership control of Bangladesh media. It is mentioned in

the article that political affiliations of the media owners function as one of the dominant

factors that control content of the media. Due to the nature of the media monitoring

study, findings are analyzed to explore the relationship between the political affiliation of

the media monitored and their coverage bias. It revealed that political affiliation of the

media is reflected in their coverage stance.

The National Dailies

The Daily Ittefaq: The Daily Ittefaq is owned by one of the influential leaders of JP

(Monju), one of the allies of AL who became the ‘Member of the Parliament’ in the last

election with ticket from AL-led alliance. Analysis of the daily’s overall coverage showed

that it supported the election process, as announced by the Awami League. As Election Day

neared, The Daily Ittefaq tried to provide balanced coverage, with tones both favoring and

disfavoring the election. Most of the important reports on elections published on December

30, 2013, were on the front page, above the fold. It was also observed that coverage that was

critical of the election process and the ruling party’s treatment appeared below the fold and in

less prominent section of the paper. At times, some of The Daily Ittefaq reports seemed to

display partisanship towards the decision to hold elections despite the protest of BNP. The

paper attempted to adopt a tone of normalcy to the coverage, refusing to acknowledge the

popular protest against a non-inclusive election. In another report published on December

16, 2013, the tone of the ‘lead news’ showed that Jatiya Party head Hossain Muhammad

Ershad was standing with the AL and its alliance. His cheerful photo with one of the PM’s

advisors was also published. The report was published at a time when there was controversy

as to whether or not Ershad would be supporting the AL and participating in the election.

The Daily Jugantor: The Daily Jugantor is owned by an influential leader of JP, one of the

allies of AL. The Leader became the ‘Member of the Parliament’ in the last election with

ticket from AL-led alliance. Overall, coverage in Jugantor during the election period

supported the election process as outlined by the Awami League government. However, the

Jugantor also published a number of post-editorials that were characterized as criticisms of

the election process. While the Jugantor made a concerted effort to balance its opinion

coverage on the election process, the paper demonstrated coverage bias in its reporting of

candidates, specifically in its coverage of a constituency race in which daily’s editor was

running. Some of the reports (for example, on January 6, 2013) contained a myriad of

negative adjectives (corrupt, allegedly involved with terrorism, rigging, miserable etc) against

the editor’s opponent while some of the reports contained a barrage of positive adjectives

(honorably, against the massive victory etc) to describe the editor’s qualifications as a

candidate. The daily published reports that seemed to have a specific bias against AL

candidate, Abdul Mannan Khan. Most of the dailies monitored published news on Abdul

Mannan Khan’s wealth. But, Jugantor published the highest number of reports on the issue

accusing him of accumulating a large number of ‘illegal properties’ but never sought a

contrarian opinion or even the statement from Khan in the report.

The Daily Samakal: The owner of the daily is affiliated with political ideology of AL.

However, views in the media community showed that there was some squabble between the

owner of the daily and the AL policy makers. The owner did not win to get ticket from AL in

the race of election. The Daily Samakal was consistently critical of the election process. For

example, the daily published a four-column report under the bold, red headline ‘No AL

leaders in locality’ on December 23, 2013 on the first page, making the article the lead story

of the day. The daily also published a number of reports criticizing the wealth statements of

the AL candidates. The daily published reports on the BNP and 18-party alliance’s ‘March to

Democracy’ program with huge treatment (all the headlines were bold and red in color).

The Daily Prothom Alo: The daily is owned by one of the country’s leading business

company Transcom Ltd. The political affiliation of the owner is not clear however, the editor

of the daily was leaning towards the leftist ideology previously. Analysis of reports, editorials

and post-editorials published in the daily showed that Prothom Alo was vocal against the

election process. The reports of the daily on election issues during January 4-6, 2014 strongly

opposed the election. Some of the headlines, particularly on the day after the election,

contained negative adjectives about the polls while some of the reports contained the

reporter’s subjective comments. As per the ethics and principles of standard journalism,

reporters are not entitled to insert their own comments in news reports. Moreover, adjectives

are also not acceptable in the headlines or in the body of the reports. On December 15, 2013,

Prothom Alo published the views of three ‘eminent persons,’ in order to further their stance;

Barrister Rafique-ul-Haque, Dr. Hossain Zillur Rahman, and Ms. Rasheda K. Chowdhury all

received attention, with each person allotted a single column on the front page of alongside

their pictures. Headlines based on the comments of the three were published as follows:

• A mockery going to be staged in the name of election – Rafique-ul-Haque

• Its (election) like dividing tenders based on consensus- Hossain Zillur Rahman

• People don’t want such funny election- Rasheda K. Chowdhury

Headlines of two major reports published on the January 06, were: ‘Fake polls, stigmatized

election’ and ‘ EC fails to conduct acceptable polls’.

The Daily Naya Diganta : The daily is owned by an influential leader of Jammat-e-Islam

Bangladesh, one of the dominant allies of BNP. Naya Diganta’s tone reflects its stance

against the 10th Parliamentary election process. Through content presentation, the daily tried

to express holding the elections as unjustifiable and touted the possible adverse impact of the

elections on the nation. Terming the election ‘illegal,’ the daily exploited the stances of

different national and international bodies that had expressed concern, including international

media outlets. For example, headlines of a few reports published on December 15, 2013 in

the daily were: ‘Such Voter-less election rare in world history’ (in 3 column inch treatment);

‘Farcical election, disgraceful chapter’ (in 2 column inch treatment in the 2nd page); ‘Public

do not want this farcical election’. On December 17, 2013 Naya Diganta quoted The

Guardian: ‘Bangladesh is a prison now.’ On December 19, 2013 it quoted British Minister

Sayeeda Waresi, ‘I did not see such violence in Bangladesh before.’ Another report was

published on the same day with the headline: ‘Violence in Bangladesh can go out of control’-

Reuters’. The daily published a report on December 21, 2013 with 4 column treatment in the

front page titled ‘International community stands against the one-sided election.’ On January

4, 2014 a report of the daily quoted ‘Odhikar’ saying, ‘The election will put the country in

serious danger.’ The same issue published another report referring to a survey by The Dhaka

Tribune; national English daily, that 77% of the population is against the election.’

The daily emphasized on covering reactions of different stakeholders on the acceptability of

the election process as well as covered the incidents of violence around the elections with

importance. Besides reporting, the daily’s editorial and post-editorial coverage was also

against the process of election and extremely critical towards the government and the election

commission. A few of the editorials of the daily include: ‘No alternative to postpone the

election for avoiding violence’ (December 15, 2013); ‘Voter-less election, no chance to be

recognized by the national or international community’; ‘10th parliamentary elections-the

future of democracy at stake;’ and ‘Bangladesh is going to be a bottomless basket again, the

process of destruction must be stopped right now’ (December 25, 2013); ‘Much a

controversial election – there is no way it will be legitimate’ (January 6, 2014); ‘Result

unacceptable – cancel and initiate dialogue’ (January 7, 2014).

A few of the post-editorials of the daily said: ‘Farce of voter-less election’ (December, 15,

2013); ‘What sort of an election is that’ (December 21, 2013); ‘Dhaka and Delhi continue to

make mistakes regarding elections’ (December 27, 2013); ‘The nation shackled by evil

power’ (December, 29, 2013); ‘A strange election in Bangladesh’ (January 5, 2014).

Bangladesh Protidin: Bangladesh Protidin was critical of the electoral processes in its

content. It set a new trend of publishing report based on TV talk-shows and almost all the

reports were against either the government or election commission and gave conclusion

against holding of January 5 election. On the Election Day, the daily dedicated front page

coverage to BNP leader Khaleda Zia’s son, Tareq Zia’s video message calling the people to

boycott the election. The daily showed its anti-election stand immediately after the

announcement of the election schedule on November 25, 2013. It published a series of news

stories against participating political parties as well as contesting candidates. Prime

Minister’s speech on the announcement of Awami League’s election manifesto on December

29, 2013 was given less coverage compared to the coverage of the BNP’s ‘March to

Democracy. As Election Day approached, Bangladesh Protidin started publishing opinion

columns and news articles referring to various professionals and civil society members, along

with politicians. One of the headlines of the daily on January 1, 2014 was `Democracy

doesn’t prevail without contesting election.’. Another headline was “Nasty politics engraved

democracy’; ‘‘Prime Minister will lose bag and badges’. On the 6th January, the statement of

UN, Japan and Australia on quick dialogue was published. On January 4, 2014, the daily

published a report based on the discussions of TV talk with headline `there is no democracy

in the country’. The editorials, op-eds and articles published in the daily showed a clear stand

against the process of election and the government activities. The daily published an op-ed on

the day of election titled, ‘Today is the one sided Awami election without BNP’…further

reinforcing its anti-government perspective.

The Daily Star: The daily is owned by one of the country’s leading business company

Transcom Ltd. The political affiliation of the owner is not clear however, the editor of the

daily is regarded as one of the known faces of the civil society. The Daily Star’s coverage

during the study period did not support the election process. At one point, on December 27,

2013, the editor of the daily wrote a commentary entitled ‘An Appeal to the EC and the PM,

Please do not hold January 5 elections.’ The article was published in the prominent upper

fold of the front page with three columns allotted. Additionally, The Daily Star first

published a report on December 19, 2013 on the wealth statements of eight heavyweight AL

candidates. The paper allocated eight columns (one column for each of the candidates) on the

first page. One of the subsequent reports with the headline ‘Love for Land knows no bounds,

Eight AL lawmakers, leaders own land equivalent to one-tenth of Dhaka’ was published on

January 2, 2014. The follow-up reports were some of the only news items seen as

investigative in nature, depicting a comparative picture of the leaders’ income during the 9th

and the 10th parliamentary elections. However, the reports were primarily based on secondary

information submitted to the EC and available on its website. Some of the major

reports/analysis was done in the newspapers under the headlines: “Fight or Farce? 147 JS

seats await formality in one-sided Jan 5 elections”, published on Jan 03, 2014 as one of the

lead news in the first page; ‘Turnout test for one-sided polls, AL top brass desperate to get

figure better, grassroots see no hope’, published on Jan 04, 2014 as the lead news. On

January 6, 2014, the daily published a number of reports on the elections of which the report

titled ‘Turn out low in deadliest polls, AL Clinches two-third majority in virtually one party

election’ reinforces the daily’s stance.

New Age: The editor of the daily is known as a former supporter of the Leftists ideology.

News Age’s coverage focused predominantly on the violence surrounding the elections. The

paper published news on the ramifications of the blockades and hartals called by the BNP-

led 18-party alliance, showcasing importance with the placement on the upper fold of the

front page. Some of the paper’s headlines were: ‘Indefinite blockade begins today’ on

January 1, 2014 as lead news; ‘Blockade amid stray violence’ published on December 23,

2013; ‘Stray incidents mark opposition blockade’ on December 24, 2013; and ‘Cop killed in

arson attack’ the day after. Reports on violent activities were prominently published on the

front page of newspaper on the eve of the elections, Election Day, and the following day. The

lead news stories on January 4-6, 2014 all pointed to the violence that was taking place: ‘Two

killed as blockade turns violent’ published on January 4; ‘JS election today amid boycott,

violence’ on January 5; and ‘Violence, low turnout mark polls’ published on January 6, 2014.

The newspaper published a few interpretative and analytical reports on the Awami League

government’s activities over the past five years. The articles highlighted the AL’s missteps

and painted a negative picture of the AL government. Some of the headlines in the paper on

the AL’s activities referenced the repercussions of the consequences of the AL’s policies:

‘Looking back: 5 years of AL govt., Living cost soar by 80 pc,’ published on January 2014;

‘Judiciary: not fully independent yet’ published on January 2, 2014; ‘Good governance:

Some work on paper, abject failure in spirit’ published on January 3, 2014; ‘Bureaucracy

politicized, poll pledges breached’ published on December 31, 3013; ‘Govt. undermines

EC’s role’ published on January 4, 2014 .

One of the paper’s most noteworthy reports was on the abnormal rise MP income of over the

last five years. The headline on December 21, 2013 read ‘Swelling rise in MP’s income,

politics viewed as tools to make wealth’; another article published on the front page of the

newspaper on December 28, 2013 was ‘Income of ruling party men up by maximum 32985

pc’.

TV Channels:

ATN Bangla: It is perceived that the Chairman of the channel is leaned towards AL

ideology. He produced a special documentary on Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

ATN Bangla covered election issues and affairs well but it was not like a ‘beat coverage.’

Some of the contents of ATN Bangla were slightly biased towards the ruling party, AL.

The channel mostly covered daily events involving violence and other political activities

surrounding the elections rather than capturing women’s voices, special items on election or

candidates, election debates, election campaigns, and the like. The channel aired a four

minute special item on January 1, 2014 interviewing a number of AL candidates. Though the

channel covered the incidents of minority attack with high importance, the reports lacked

detailed information like the names and identification of the attackers. Instead of seeking the

perpetrators of the violence, the reports refocused the angle on the plight of the victims and

the suffering they had been enduring. Additionally, reports focusing on women face/voice

was absent from the narrative. During the election period (January 04-06), the channel

seemed carrying out almost balance coverage with equal importance on both the major

political alliances (AL and BNP alliances).

Bangladesh Television (BTV): BTV, the sole state-run TV has terrestrial (“terrestrial”-

earthbound, as opposed to satellite) facilities and nation-wide coverage. The study revealed

that BTV thoroughly covered speeches made by AL leaders. Being controlled by the

government, BTV always functioned as the mouthpiece of the ruling party. The 10th

Parliamentary Elections were no exception. Almost all the reports related to the

parliamentary elections covered and reflected government activities, speeches, and

perspectives, as well as the activities of the AL-alliance leaders. Opposing civil society views

were almost absent in the BTV reports. The majority of the BNP’s activities, including its

demands for a caretaker government and the ‘March for Democracy, were not covered at all.

ETV: It is viewed in the media community that ETV was leaned towards ideology of AL

in the beginning but the channel moved towards BNP’s ideology for not availing

terrestrial facilities from the AL government. The coverage stance of ETV seemed

favoring BNP and critical towards AL and the government. ETV aired reports on violence

and other political and election activities. There were very little capturing women’s voices,

minorities, election debates, or campaigns. A noteworthy incident was ETV’s decision to

cover a BNP leader’s speech instead of an event documenting Bangladesh’s efforts to create

the world’s largest human flag for Victory Day. The BNP senior leader called for blockade

demanding a caretaker government and the cancellation of election. As such, the channel’s

overall tone opposed the ruling party, the government, and the Election Commission, as well

as the election itself. For example, on December 20 and 21, 2013 there were a number of

ETV where BNP leaders were the lead items, the AL leaders were second to the BNP in

terms of coverage. Even the Prime Minister received less coverage than the BNP leaders. On

December 29, 2013, the BNP Chairperson was the lead story while the Prime Minister was

fifth in the run-down.

Independent TV: This is one of the newly set-up TV channels in Bangladesh availing

license during the regime of AL. The Channel is owned by one of the influential business

personality of the country having affiliation with AL ideology. The channel is a news-based

and was found to air balanced election coverage of both major political parties. The channel

also placed importance on covering events related to election and activities of the political

parties.

Channel –i: The owner’s political affiliation of the channel is not clear though it got license

during the regime of AL (in 1999). Channel-i mostly exhibited balanced election coverage of

the two major political parties. Like other TV channels, Channel-i prioritized the political

speeches and event-based reporting.

NTV: The Chairman of NTV is one of the advisors of the BNP Chairperson. Although

the channel covered the news items on AL and BNP in almost similar manner, it showed

bias towards BNP. The reports on the activities of BNP leaders were prominently covered

with much concentration and care than others. Even ward and local (upazila) level BNP

activities received NTV coverage. However, the channel was also careful about covering the

ruling party, the existing situation, and activities of the government and the EC.

Radio Channels: Most of the BBC reports on the election were based on daily events or

affairs on the political situation of the country. However, the BBC reports were free from

subjectivity. The channel had a tendency towards balanced coverage on both the alliances.

The reports included interviews electoral stakeholders and the authorities. However, it is of

note that there were no mentionable specialized and investigative reports on the election.

Bangladesh Betar’s reports were mostly based on events and specific issues related to the

ruling party and the government’s activities. There were no investigative or interpretative

reports in BB too. The radio emphasized the Prime Minister’s and government officials’

speeches. There were no reports on the public opinion or the leaders of the opposition party.

The BB played as the mouthpiece of the ruling party.

Online Portal: Both the online portals, Banglanews24.com and Bdnews24.com, covered

more news on AL than other political parties. The editorial policy of Banglanews24.com

seemed favoring the ruling party AL, as its owner is one of the leading business

conglomerates. Moreover, the owner of bdnews24.com is affiliated with AL ideology.

Chapter-Four

Recommendations and Conclusion

• Capacity Building: Capacity of the reporters should be developed further

through training, workshops and knowledge sharing on the electoral processes

(electoral laws and policies, systems, roles and functions of election commissions,

election arrangement etc).

• Depth Reporting: The media should concentrate on depth reporting, i.e.

investigative, interpretative and follow-up reports rather than event-based

coverage of an issue or affair.

• People’s Voice: Media, from the social-responsibility perspectives’ should

present the people’s voice in their content rather than representing and projecting

some identical and known faces.

• Media Syndication: Media, especially the TV channels, should try to bring

diversity in their coverage. All the TV channels should have their distinct

planning of coverage. Tendency of covering a ‘single issue in collective manner’

should be avoided.

• Use of sources: The media in general should be more specific about the use of

sources. The TV channels, due to visualization capacity, can more efficiently

present the sources. The newspapers should be more careful about presenting

sources.

• State-owned media: BVT and BB, run by the public fund, should reflect public

interest in their content rather than portraying the ruling party and the

government. These media should be run under an independent autonomous body.

• Objective reporting: Media should be more attentive to objective reporting. The

media reports should be devoid of ‘adjectives’ as much as possible. Use of

multiple sources in a report should be encouraged. Each of the media can form a

small working team comprising the senior journalists and media academics to

coach the novice journalists.

• Knowledge Sharing: Media should develop a mechanism of sharing knowledge

with the journalists of developed countries covering election issues. Such sharing

would facilitate quality of electoral coverage.

• Media Professionalism: Media should demonstrate their professionalism in their

electoral coverage rather than showing inclination towards covering the issues

suiting their political/ideological bias.

• Election Beat: Media should be facilitated to form an ‘election beat’ entrusted

with responsibility of covering the election issues significantly.

• Participation of underprivileged groups: media should play proactive and

advocacy role through their content presentation to foster participation of the

underprivileged groups i.e. the participation of women, participation of religious

minority and others.

Conclusion:

The study findings depict that the media in Bangladesh mostly show interest on event-

based coverage of the electoral issues rather than in-depth investigation, analysis and

follow-ups. The study reveals that the media in general mostly concentrate on covering

statements of political parties; reaction of different stakeholders on the non-inclusive

election process outlined by the ruling AL, election environment (violence, hartal and

blockades etc), minority issues and other events and incidents emerged surrounding the

election. The findings show that the editorials and post-editorial write-ups and articles

possess stronger tone rather than the reports. Considering significance of parliamentary

election in a democratic society, media in Bangladesh did not have uniform agenda,

rather the media stances were diversified to some extent depending on the owner’s

leaning towards political ideologies. However, being the ‘watch-dog’, media should play

more balanced role in univocal manner. Media should plan and set agenda ‘to inform,

educate and persuade’ people to foster their participation in the democratic process.

Media should undertake the election issue as a ‘beat reporting’ rather than ‘event-

coverage’.

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