Examining Print Media Coverage Leading Into New Zealand And
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Examining Print Media Coverage Leading into New Zealand and British Columbia’s Respective November 6, 1993 and May 12, 2009 Electoral Reform Referendums by Abdullah Sinan Alzubaidi A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Department of Political Science University of Alberta © Abdullah Sinan Alzubaidi, 2018 ii Abstract This thesis examined whether the print media of New Zealand and British Columbia, in the immediate month campaign period leading into their respective November 6, 1993 and May 12, 2009 electoral reform referendums, provided a deliberative environment for citizens to make informed ballot choices. This is vital on such a vote. Grounded in theories of deliberative democracy, I evaluate the print media of NZ and B.C., specifically the New Zealand Herald, the Evening Post, the Vancouver Sun, and the Victoria Times Colonist broadsheets, against three indicators: quantity of coverage, balance of coverage, and presence and type of reasoning to support taken positions. Based on the gathered results, I conclude that both NZ and B.C.’s print media attempted to provide a deliberative environment so that citizens could make informed ballot decisions on competing electoral system options. However, New Zealand’s was stronger based on displaying a high quantity of coverage on their country’s referendum between FPTP and MMP, while British Columbia’s coverage was moderate on their province’s FPTP vs. STV vote. iii Preface This thesis is an original work by Abdullah Sinan Alzubaidi. No part of this thesis has been previously published. iv Acknowledgements There are many people who have helped me along the way as I have put this thesis together, taking it from just an idea and curiosity, to a completed piece of work. First, I would like to thank my family for all the support and encouragement they provided me in this journey. They are without question the backbone of my life. I would also like to thank those in the University of Alberta’s Department of Political Science, beginning with my supervisor, Dr. Lori Thorlakson for her guidance and knowledge as I put together this thesis. I also would like to thank other professors in the department like Dr. Linda Trimble, Dr. Jared Wesley, Dr. Yasmeen Abu-Laban, Dr. Nisha Nath, and Dr. Steve Patten for their advice and assistance they provided to me along this journey with my thesis. Furthermore, I also would like to acknowledge those in the University of Alberta’s Interlibrary Loan Department in Edmonton Alberta, Canada, the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand, and the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., United States, who provided me with any literature that I needed on my two case studies, and microfilm reels which were pivotal in examining the coverage from New Zealand’s print media. v Table of Contents Abstract ........................................................................................................................................... ii Preface ............................................................................................................................................ iii Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................................ iv Table of Contents ........................................................................................................................... v List of Tables .................................................................................................................................. vi List of Figures ............................................................................................................................... vii List of Abbreviations ..................................................................................................................... ix Chapter 1- Introduction................................................................................................................. 1 Chapter 2- Electoral Reform Referendums in NZ and B.C. .................................................... 10 Chapter 3- Deliberative Democracy and Mediated Deliberation ............................................ 22 Chapter 4- Corpus and Methodology ......................................................................................... 29 Chapter 5- Results ........................................................................................................................ 42 Chapter 6- Discussion and Conclusion ....................................................................................... 70 References ..................................................................................................................................... 77 Appendix A ................................................................................................................................. 115 vi List of Tables Table 4.1- Search Words Entered on ProQuest’s Canadian Newstream Database 31 Table 4.2- Initial Corpus for each Print Media Publication 32 Table 4.3- Omitted Articles for each Print Media Publication 33 Table 4.4- Classification and Benchmarks for Quantity of Coverage 36 Table 4.5- Examples of In Favor and Against Articles 37 Table 4.6- Examples of Neutral Articles 37 Table 4.7- Classification and Benchmarks for Balance of Coverage 38 Table 4.8- Examples of Articles with Each Type of Reasoning 39 Table 4.9- Classification and Benchmarks for Diversity of Reasoning 41 vii List of Figures Figure 5.1- The New Zealand Herald- October 6 to November 6, 1993 Articles 42 Figure 5.2- The Evening Post- October 6 to November 6, 1993 Articles 42 Figure 5.3- The New Zealand Herald Articles Published Per Week 43 Figure 5.4- The Evening Post Articles Published Per Week 44 Figure 5.5- The Vancouver Sun- April 12 to May 12, 2009 Articles 46 Figure 5.6- The Victoria Times Colonist- April 12 to May 12, 2009 Articles 47 Figure 5.7- The Vancouver Sun Articles Published Per Week 48 Figure 5.8- The Victoria Times Colonist Articles Published Per Week 48 Figure 5.9- Positional Stance of Articles in the New Zealand Herald 50 Figure 5.10- Positional Stance of Articles in the Evening Post 51 Figure 5.11- Positional Stance of Articles in the Vancouver Sun 54 Figure 5.12- Positional Stance of Articles in the Victoria Times Colonist 54 Figure 5.13- The New Zealand Herald Articles With/Without Reasons 57 Figure 5.14- The Evening Post Articles With/Without Reasons 58 Figure 5.15- Type of Reasoning in the New Zealand Herald’s Editorials 59 Figure 5.16- Type of Reasoning in the Evening Post’s Editorials 59 Figure 5.17- Type of Reasoning in the New Zealand Herald’s Op-ed/Opinion Columns 60 Figure 5.18- Type of Reasoning in the Evening Post’s Op-ed/Opinion Columns 60 Figure 5.19- Type of Reasoning in the New Zealand Herald’s Letters to the Editor 62 Figure 5.20- Type of Reasoning in the Evening Post’s Letters to the Editor 62 Figure 5.21- The Vancouver Sun Articles With/Without Reasons 64 Figure 5.22- The Victoria Times Colonist Articles With/Without Reasons 64 viii Figure 5.23- Type of Reasoning in the Victoria Times Colonist’s Editorials 65 Figure 5.24- Type of Reasoning in the Vancouver Sun’s Op-ed/Opinion Columns 66 Figure 5.25- Type of Reasoning in the Victoria Times Colonist’s Op-ed/Opinion Columns 66 Figure 5.26- Type of Reasoning in the Vancouver Sun’s Letters to the Editor 68 Figure 5.27- Type of Reasoning in the Victoria Times Colonist’s Letters to the Editor 68 ix List of Abbreviations AV .......................................................................................................................... Alternative Vote B.C. ...................................................................................................................... British Columbia BCCA .................................................................................. British Columbia Citizens’ Assembly FPTP ................................................................................................................ First-Past-The-Post MMP ................................................................................................ Mixed-Member Proportional NZ ............................................................................................................................... New Zealand RCES ....................................................................... Royal Commission on the Electoral System STV ......................................................................................................... Single-Transferable Vote 1 CHAPTER 1- Introduction There has been a great deal of interest in the academic literature regarding the theory of deliberative democracy, and whether the mass media can provide a deliberative environment leading into an electoral reform referendum. This is an important question because an electoral system, while a key part of any democracy, is something that citizens do not regularly think of and concern themselves with, or even possess basic knowledge of (Dutil, 2016; Garnett, 2014; LeDuc, 2011; Pal, 2012). Thus, deliberation in the mass media, a communication form able to reach entire societies, is needed ahead of such a vote so that citizens can make informed ballot choices from competing electoral system options (Craig, 2004; Gibson, 2003). Such an inquiry revolves around deliberative democratic theory, a normative theory which scholars began writing about starting in the later portion of the 20th and carrying into the 21st century (Chambers,