Online media dug deeper during 2007 elections

ONLINE media provided comprehensive coverage of the 2007 elections and served as a “perfect complement” to traditional media by providing a thorough discussion of important issues that were not given enough information by the latter.

This was a key finding of the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR) in its final report on the 2007 elections coverage. From February to May, CMFR monitored the coverage of the three major dailies — Philippine Daily Inquirer, Philippine Star, and Manila Bulletin — and six television news programs on ABS-CBN 2, GMA 7, ABC 5, and NBN 4.

It also conducted a supplemental study of the election coverage of public affairs programs on ABS-CBN 2, GMA 7, and ANC, as well as political advertisements in three leading broadsheets and seven television news programs. CMFR also monitored four tabloids and three radio programs.

Online media was not a main focus of the study, which tackled this topic in an annex after the main report. CMFR lauded many online publications for using “new web tools to give readers a holistic look at the Philippine elections.” These publications “capitalized on the interactive and multimedia features of the medium to trace the roots of current issues,” CMFR added.

Compared to other news websites, PCIJ produced more in-depth articles about the elections on all levels, said CMFR. It cited a PCIJ analysis on the contrasting fates of administration candidates in the two chambers of Congress (An Abnormal Return to Normality) and an in-depth report on the effectiveness of senatorial campaign advertisements (Missing the Message) as examples of stories that focused on issues instead of personalities.

PCIJ was also commended for educating readers about the party-list system and issues surrounding it, along with Bulatlat and Davao Today.

Other news websites utilized new media tools to create features that helped guide readers around the election process and assist them in voting for the right candidate.

GMANews.tv and abs-cbnNEWS.com uploaded news videos, photo essays and webcasts in addition to publishing the usual running accounts.

Inquirer.net presented comprehensive data in an elections map, as did GMANews.tv and abs-cbnNEWS.com

Newsbreak put up a series of special sections on elections.

CMFR said that what remains a challenge for the online medium “is to have an impact on the electorate despite its limited reach.” The Philippines has one of the lowest Internet penetration rates in Asia at only nine percent as of May 2005, according to Internet World Stats.

Despite this, “Filipinos’ increasing interest on what the online medium has to offer — especially during the elections — has given news websites a reason to be optimistic that they will continue to play a role in future elections.”