Independent Media
Media
monitoring /2005 Presidential election/
FINAL MONITORING REPORT 2005 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION
FIVE: MEDIA MONITORING
Globe International sought to evaluate the mass media provision of objective and balanced coverage of the candidates and their platforms so the citizens of Mongolia could make well-informed choices at the ballot box. The project findings were arrived at by a well-defined and rigorous methodology; they were not intended to support any candidate or political party, but rather looked at the integrity of the media environment as a whole during the campaign season.
The monitoring was in four stages: April 4-22; April 23–May 6; May 7-14; and May 15-21.
SCOPE OF MONITORING
The monitoring concentrated on 11 media outlets: 6 TV channels, one national radio station and 4 daily newspapers, studying quantitive and qualitative analysis and media effect.
Criteria for selection of media outlets
The 2004 media monitoring by the Mongolian Press Institute covered 220 broadcast and 115 print media outlets out of a total of 325 in Mongolia : 6 national daily and 25 weekly newspapers, 63 newspapers appearing at intervals of 10-14 days and 37 monthly journals.
This media monitoring project involved media outlets operating in Ulaanbaatar , capital of Mongolia , where two-thirds of voters reside.
The monitoring team selected media outlets on the following criteria:
- Use of public resources.
- Accessibility (national coverage, circulation, effectiveness).
Broadcast media
There were 73 radio and 42 TV broadcast media (including cable stations and FM radio). Five TV channels operate in Ulaanbaatar in addition to Mongolian National Radio and TV (MRTV).
- MRTV is the state-owned national broadcaster; 90.4% of provincial residents and 95.7% of Ulaanbaatar residents use MNRTV as their main information source.
- Privately-owned TV and radio channels hold licenses for the airwaves, which are public property; 83.1-94% of the public in Ulaanbaatar watch US-based TV.
- The most-used cable TV provider is Sansar (38%); the newscasts of EBC (Eagle TV), which use Sansar, are the most popular.
Daily newspapers
Two of the 6 daily newspapers are affiliated with political parties, while 20.9% of provincial residents and 17.6% of Ulaanbaatar residents read newspapers. The main selection criteria were circulation and national distribution. The most-read newspapers are Odriin Sonin, Onoodor and Zuuny Medee. Ardyn Erkh is a new newspaper, but was selected for monitoring because its circulation has been increasing rapidly and it has quickly become popular.
The 5 tabloid weeklies are in the top 10 most-read newspapers, though their monthly circulation does not exceed that of the daily newspapers.
Media outlets selected for monitoring:
No |
Media outlets/ownership |
Scope of coverage |
Weekly broadcast time (hours) |
1 |
Mongolian National Radio - state-owned |
National |
120 |
2 |
Mongolian National TV - private |
National |
89 |
3 |
UBS - state-owned |
Local, UB |
112 |
4 |
Channel 25 - private |
Local, UB |
49 |
5 |
TV5 - private |
Local, UB |
116 |
6 |
TV9 - private |
Local, UB |
92 |
7 |
Eagle TV (EBC) – US investment, private |
Cable, local, UB |
42 |
No |
Newspapers |
Ownership |
Frequency |
Distribution |
Daily circulation |
1 |
Odriin Sonin (Daily News) |
Private |
Daily |
National |
12,413 |
2 |
Zuuny Medee (Century News) |
Private |
Daily |
National |
10,360 |
3 |
Onoodor (Today) |
Private |
Daily |
National |
9,038 |
4 |
Adyn Erkh (People's Right) |
Private |
Daily |
National |
5,000 |
MONITORING METHODOLOGY
Monitoring team
The monitoring was carried out by a team of 12: 3 for analysis, 6 in data gathering, 2 in data entry and one consultant. Two had monitoring experience in the 2004 parliamentary elections and 6 were selected from 20 students in the faculties of journalism, socio-sociology and politics at the Mongolian National University . The team was given intensive training and accepted the Code of Conduct as part of their contract.
Monitoring facility
GI rented a monitoring room and equipped it with 6 TV sets/video recorders and a computer. Two new TV sets/videos recorders were purchased as suggested by the NDI trainer and 3 others were rented. GI contributed one computer and a TV/video. One radio was purchased for radio monitoring. For good quality recording, a cable network was installed.
Daily newspaper subscriptions were taken out for the period to May 22, 2005, and some were bought for test monitoring.
A total of 40 audio and 380 video tapes were used for recording broadcast news and programs.
Time of monitoring
Television news and current affairs programs broadcast between 6pm and midnight were recorded by 2 persons, while data gathered by 6 monitors was processed and analyzed. Radio newscasts at 6am, 11am, 1pm, 7pm, and 10pm were recorded and analyzed. The whole content of 4 newspapers (news, articles, interviews and other material) was monitored by 2 staff .
Methodology
The monitoring tried to quantify and qualify time dedicated to candidates and political parties by the media. However, not all forms of media coverage could be evaluated either quantitatively or qualitatively. Therefore, a special category was established for events of manipulation and bias by the media, called media effects . Results of quantitative and qualitative analysis and specific examples of media effects on the general public were used to determine whether the information about a political contestant in the media was fair and balanced.
Media monitors were specially trained to conduct qualitative and quantitative analysis of electronic and print media coverage, to see whether it fell within the basic parameters of balanced and fair journalism. The monitors filled out specially-designed monitoring forms; a data collector then fed all this monitored data into a computer. All recorded data and newspapers were stored in archives for future checks or controls should the results should be questioned. As the data collector controlled monitoring sheets and fed them into a computer, it was important that monitors wrote clearly and agreed on acronyms for selected political subjects in advance, to avoid misunderstanding or incomplete results.
Quantitative analysis
Quantitative analysis measured the total amount of space and time devoted to coverage of selected monitored subjects or topics (eg elections) by the media. In broadcast media, monitors used stopwatches (or the VCR timer) to measure the actual time of appearance of selected political subjects on camera as well as when they are mentioned or quoted by someone else. In newspapers, the area dedicated to political entities was measured in cm 2 . The monitoring also covered all instances when various relevant subjects were referred to by someone else (eg by a news presenter or political opponent). These were recorded as reference or remark (per cm 2 ), also included in both quantitative and qualitative charts.
Qualitative analysis
Qualitative analysis evaluated whether information about selected monitored subjects was positive, negative or neutral in content. An evaluation mark was also attached to all subjects, in addition to space and reference, which provided information on how the subject was portrayed. This was attached to all monitored subjects to determine whether the subject was presented in negative, positive or neutral light. The evaluation scale had 5 grades: grade 1 or 2 meant that a certain political subject was presented in a very positive (1) or positive (2) light and the news coverage was favourable. This meant that the subject was praised or admired and the presentation included positive feeling and emotions. Grade 3 was a neutral mark, implying that the coverage of a political entity was matter-of-fact, without expressive or emotional charge. Coverage marked 4 or 5 meant that a political entity was presented in a negative (4) or very negative (5) light. This meant that negative emotions, accusations or one-sided criticisms dominated the item. This five-grade scale provided monitors with a large choice range in evaluating presentation of political entities. Balanced news coverage meant that a media outlet attempted to cover events in a balanced, fair and objective manner, offering time or space to all subjects of a certain item to present their views. Such a news item was purely informative and did not contain any one-sided evaluating standpoints or criticism.
Media effects: this was a special category used for occasions that were not possible to monitor quantitatively or qualitatively, as they simply did not fall into any of the categories. In other words, these were stories or items presented with the specific intent of manipulating or affecting the public. The reason for this category was the obvious absence of basic journalistic principles and standards. Each story which did not meet the basic requirements for a non-biased story fell into the category of media effects. The main criteria for such evaluation were what the stories lacked: relevance, exactness, transparency, matter-of-fact, balance, variety, timely and clarity.
PUBLICITY
The project staff, with NDI experts Scott Keirin and Rastislav Kuzel, held their first press conference on March 22, 2005, to announce the goals, needs and methodology of the media monitoring.
Four separate press conferences were held on April 25, May 9, 18 and 25 to announce the findings of the 4 monitoring periods, attended by an average of 40 journalists, media leaders, civil society groups, foreign embassies and internatioal organisations. Journalists covered these events widely. Project leader H. Naranjargal, project coordinator J. Tuul and project consultant S. Bayaraa, were interviewed by TV and radio; Eagle TV twice invited project staff onto its nightly news program.
To evaluate the media monitoring, project staff held a round table on July 7, 2005, inviting a wide representation of media, NGOs, political parties and international organisations. The ...…attendees discussed the general conclusions of the media monitoring. Project leader H. Naranjargal gave a presentation on how to cover elections, and spoke on the main international principles and standards of election reporting. Partricipants also discussed and adopted the draft recommendations from project staff. Journalists at the round table expressed their support and cooperation for implementation of the action recommended to parliament, government and international donor organisations. |