EU, UNDP election media monitoring report: media polarization growing in run-up to elections
The research covers 43 different media outlets, including 12 television stations, 10 radio stations, eight print newspapers and 13 online editions. Photo: livepress.ge.
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Media polarisation is growing in Georgia and reporting is becoming less balanced as voting day for the parliamentary elections approaches, says the second interim election media monitoring report of the European Union (EU) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
The monitoring revealed that the polarisation of TV news programmes is even more intense than during the first reporting period; that instances of negative coverage and defamation of the opposition by pro-government TV channels increased sharply; and that TV stations that are critical of the Government increased their negative tone towards the ruling team and the government,“ says the report.
EU+UN election media monitoring results for 1 Sept - 15 Oct are out.
— Carl Hartzell (@CarlHartzellEU) October 29, 2020
Interesting read. Increasing polarisation of TV landscape, incl. uncritical, one-sided content. Reassuring that hate speech & misinfo attempts don’t get traction, esp on social media!
➡️https://t.co/gMHRm5GIyL pic.twitter.com/MlUMANaRZX
The report says that accuracy remains problematic in newspapers as they often rely on unverified sources.
Polarisation is spreading to social media, including Facebook pages associated with political parties, officials and politicians,” reads the report.
The report says that all TV stations are following the role of foreign actors in the Georgian elections, with a focus on the European Union, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the Russian Federation, and the United States.
Photo: mediamonitor.ge.
The report on media coverage serves as a critical tool for both journalists and the public in fulfilling their civic duties during elections…While we hope to see more in-depth analysis in the future, we see progress in that these elections have featured a calmer tone and more diverse party options,” said UNDP Head Louisa Vinton.
Photo: mediamonitor.ge.
The second report of election media monitoring published today finds increasing polarisation and a remaining scarcity of in-depth reporting,” notes Asunción Sánchez Ruiz, Deputy Head of Delegation, Head of Political, Press and Information Section at the Delegation of the European Union to Georgia.
The EU-funded monitoring of media coverage of parliamentary elections in Georgia is implemented by the UNDP with support of three Georgian civil society organizations including the Georgian Charter of Journalistic Ethics, Internews Georgia and CRRC-Georgia. The research covers 43 different media outlets, including 12 television stations, 10 radio stations, eight print newspapers and 13 online editions.