INVISIBILITY IN THE MEDIA: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE COVERAGE GIVEN TO FEMALE ELECTION CANDIDATES IN THE 1999 AND 2006 ELECTIONS BY THE FIJI TIMES AND FIJI SUN
by
Shazia Shareen Bi Usman
A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts
Copyright © 2012 by Shazia Shareen Bi Usman
School of Language Arts and Media Faculty of Arts and Law The University of the South Pacific
July, 2012 DECLARATION
Statement by Author I, Shazia Shareen Bi Usman, declare that this thesis is my own work and that, to the best of my knowledge, it contains no material previously published, or substantially overlapping with material submitted for the award of any other degree at any institution, except where due acknowledgment is made in the text.
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Statement by Supervisor The research in this thesis was performed under my supervision and to my knowledge is the sole work of Ms. Shazia Shareen Bi Usman.
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For Usman and Anisha, the best parents a feminist could have
For Tabrez and Hamza, always keeping me grounded ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
This thesis is dedicated to my family for the unconditional love, support and understanding they have always given me. My father and mother, in particular, have been my driving force. No daughter is more blessed than one, whose parents put her education as their number one priority.
I have never had a sister but the two I found in the USP journalism newsroom during my undergraduate years were surely meant to be mine. I will forever be in the debt of Katrina Ma’u and Tiri Naulivou for their enduring faith in me and for the many wonderful ‘M’ moments we continue to share.
My deepest acknowledgement goes to my supervisors, Mr. Shailendra Singh and Dr. Rae Nicholl, for their guidance and the many hours they devoted to refining my work.
I would also like to acknowledge the School of Language Arts and Media in the Faculty of Arts and Law at the University of the South Pacific for awarding me with a Graduate Assistant Scholarship that funded the first three years of my postgraduate studies.
I also acknowledge with affection my chacha Abdul Khalil and his family for their love and support
And lastly, to the wonderful feminists and my friends and colleagues at the Fiji Women’s Rights Movement (FWRM) – thank you for taking me on as an intern during the 2006 general elections. My experience with FWRM over the years has made a strong feminist out of me and inspired this research.
I hope to see the day when women and men are equally represented in the media and work side by side in all areas of decision-making. ABSTRACT
The main objective of the research was to determine the visibility of female election candidates and females in general in the Fiji Times and Fiji Sun during the 1999 and 2006 elections. The research also investigated whether the coverage that was accorded to women was stereotyped. After analysing the data collected quantitatively and qualitatively it can be concluded that female election candidates and females in general were virtually invisible in both newspapers and in both time periods. The few articles there were on women or quoted women were mostly clichéd, lacked critical analysis and stereotyped women. It can thus be said that by covering male and female candidates differently, Fiji’s two most prominent and widely read newspapers may have influenced the success or failure of female candidates in their bid to hold public office.
An unexpected but equally important finding of the research sheds some light on why there may be a lack of visibility of female election candidate (as well as other development related issues) in the dailies during election times. The data shows the extensive prominence Fiji’s print media gives to race and coup-related issues as elections draw near, crowding out reportage of other major issues. For instance, the lack of women at the highest-level of decision-making is rarely ever covered in any in-depth and informed manner. The media have been so preoccupied with the supposed tension between the two major ethnicities (the indigenous Fijians, now known officially as i- Taukei, and the Indo-Fijians - Fijians of Indian origin) that they have overlooked the fact that in all elections since independence, women have only managed to secure less than 12 percent of the 71 seats in Parliament - yet women make-up nearly half of the total population of the country. The literature review shows that when racial and ethnic tensions and national security issues are at the forefront of discussions during election times, it is men who tend to dominate the news. Subsequently, studies have concluded that voters may vote a male into power (over a female) because they feel that a male might be able to handle a race-related issue or a national security issue better than a woman.
i ABBREVIATIONS
AV - Alternative Vote CEDAW - Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women FLP - Fiji Labour Party FWRM - Fiji Women’s Rights Movement GMMP - Global Media Monitoring Project IPU - Inter-Parliamentary Union MDG - Millennium Development Goal MMD - Multi-Member District MP - Member of Parliament NGO - Non-governmental Organisations PANU - Party of National Unity PER - Public Emergency Regulation PINA - Pacific Island News Association PNG - Papua New Guinea PR - Proportional Representation RFMF - Republic of the Fiji Military Forces SDL - Soqosoqo Duavata ni Lewanivanua Party SMD - Single Members District SPC - Secretariat of the Pacific Community WAC - Women’s Action for Change WISDM - Women in Shared Decision Making
ii TABLE OF CONTENTS
Abstract ...... i Abbreviations ...... ii Introduction ...... vi Chapter 1 ...... 1 What is the role of media in a democracy....1 The relationship between news media and politics ...1 Establishing if news media have an effect – the origins . . 8 Media and Elections...... 10 Ideological Bias...... 14 The Media and the Democratic Process ....15 Summary...... 18 Chapter 2 ...... 19 Fiji: a historical background, racism, media & the Government . . 19 Politics of race ...... 20 1999-2001 ...... 21 2003-2006 ...... 22 2008 ...... 23 2009 ...... 24 2010-2011 ...... 25 Summary...... 26 Chapter 3 ...... 28 Literature Review- Mass Communication Research on Politics . . 28 Examining effects of Agenda-setting: historical back ground . 29 The Different Stages of Agenda-setting ....31 Traditional Agenda-setting and Attribute Agenda-setting . 31 Framing...... 32 Priming ...... 34 Framing Gender Politics ...... 36 Some agenda-setting criticisms ....39 Gender and the News Media ...... 40 Symbolic Annihilation .....43 Stereotyping in newsrooms.....45 Stereotypes and leadership .....48 News sources...... 51 Female Election Candidates and the Media ....51 Visibility of Female Election Candidates...52 How the news media portray female election candidates . 54 To be (feminine) or not to be.....55 Summary...... 58 Status of Women in Fiji...... 59 Electoral System...... 59 Candidate Selection ...... 66 State Obligations ...... 67 CEDAW...... 67 iii Beijing Platform for Action ....68 Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) ...69 History of Women in Parliament....71 The Role of NGOs during the 1999 and 2006 General Elections 72 Possible Reasons for Lack of Women in Fiji Parliament . 73 Cultural environment.....73 Nature of political parties ....74 Invisibilityin the media....75 Summary...... 76 Chapter 4 ...... 77 Methodology ...... 77 Analysis Framework: The Global Media Monitoring Project (GMMP) 77 Medium analysed...... 78 Time period...... 78 Quantitative analysis method ...... 79 Qualitative analysis method ...... 81 Chapter 5 ...... 86 Findings...... 86 Quantitative analysis ...... 86 Qualitative analysis ...... 102 Chapter 6 ...... 139 Developmentof gender equality in Parliament....139 Visibility of women...... 139 Professional women...... 141 Stereotyped women...... 142 Race, coup and development ...... 144 Conclusion...... 145 Suggestions for future research.....147 References ...... 167
iv Tables Table 1 - House of Representatives ...... 61 Table 2 - Percentage of Women MPs Across 24 National Legislatures, 1945–2004 Plurality/majority (SMD) Systems vs PR/Mixed, Multi-member District Systems...... 64 Table 3 - Regional Average ...... 66
Figures Figure 1.0 – Four Worlds news values matrix....7 Figure 2.0 - Elements of Political Communication between Political Organisations and the Citizens via the Media ...13 Figure 3.0 - Media and the Public Sphere .....16
Graphs Graph 1 – Percentage of total items analysed...... 87 Graph 2 - Number of items analysed in different categories ...... 88 Graph 3 - Percentage of different subjects...... 89 Graph 4 - Female and male election candidates quoted in all 471 items...... 90 Graph 5 - Election candidates quoted in the Fiji Times and Fiji Sun ...... 91 Graph 6 – Males and females directly quoted...... 92 Graph 7 - Males and females directly quoted – breakdown ...... 93 Graph 8 - Function of male and females in election-related items ...... 93 Graph 9 – Females and males whose occupations were stated in election-related items 94 Graph 10 - Females whose occupations were stated in items in the Fiji Times and Fiji Sun...... 95 Graph 11 - Candidates that had their age mentioned in election-related items ...... 97 Graph 12 - Percentage of election-related items that deal specifically with either race or coup issues in both newspapers ...... 98 Graph 13 - Percentage of items that deal specifically with either race or coup issues in Fiji Times and Fiji Sun...... 100
Appendices ...... 149 A. Senior Officers (chief administrator level and above) . . 149 B. Fiji general elections: women candidates and MPS 1992-2006 . 151 C. Elections 1999 Results: Name and Party of Female Candidates . 152 D. Elections 2006 Results: Name and Party of Female Candidates . 154 E.Research Questions...... 156 F. Newspaper coding system methodology ....158
v INTRODUCTION
All countries want to be at the forefront of development. For a country to progress, it first needs to acknowledge the areas in which it is lagging behind in. Fiji is one such country that is considered the leader of the developing countries in the Pacific Islands region in terms of its economy, infrastructure and telecommunications. But even with its leader status, half of Fiji’s population - the women - still remain underrepresented in the highest level of decision-making - Parliament.
History shows that Fiji’s leadership has always been male dominated. Does the news media play any part in the success or failure of women being elected into Parliament? This research aims to seek answers to that question by examining the role of the print news media in general elections to determine if there is a relationship between media coverage and the eventual election of candidates into Parliament. Visibility of election candidates provided to the electorate by the media is important as news media coverage during campaigns have important consequences for evaluations of the electoral visibility of women and men candidates (Norris 1997, 12). In order to determine the role of print news media in Fiji during election times, we will examine how much visibility newspapers accord female election candidates and females in general. Visibility, in this instance, will be determined by how often female election candidates are quoted as opposed to male candidates; how often they are subjects of news items; and how often females in general are quoted in their professional capacity, as opposed to males. Aside from visibility, research will also be conducted to find out if the coverage accorded to female election candidates and females in general is stereotyped. Examples of stereotypes may include female election candidates having their age mentioned more often than male election candidates without relevance, or being described using a familial relationship or a sexist term. And finally, the research also aims to discover whether there are any issues that newspapers usually focus on that may actually hinder the development of gender equality in Parliament.
vi Chapter 1 examines the role of media in a democracy. Among other things it looks at the relationship between news media and politics, media and elections and media and the democratic process. It also reviews the origins of studies that attempt to establish if news media have an effect on the thoughts and actions of the audience.
Chapter 2 looks at Fiji’s media history in terms of politics and race. It gives a comprehensive account of significant race and politics-related debate involving the print media, politicians and successive governments from 1999 to 2009.
The literature review is covered in Chapter 3. In this chapter theoretical aspects of the research are examined. Included are the theory of agenda-setting and the concept of framing, which explain how the news media have the power to influence what is on the public’s mind. This chapter also examines the important relationship between gender and news media and the visibility of female election candidates in the media during election campaigns. How Fiji’s political system works is also explained in detail in Chapter 3. This chapter also gives an account of international conventions that Fiji has signed as well as the national framework it has formulated and committed to in advancing gender equality. It chronicles the history of women in Parliament and the general local discourse surrounding the possible reasons for their underrepresentation within the government and Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) community.
Chapter 4 relates to the methodology of the research. Since data collected is analysed both quantitatively and qualitatively, this section clearly explains the framework used.
Chapter 5 gives the results of both the quantitative and qualitative research conducted. A total of 471 elections related news stories were coded for content analysis and results discussed using graphs and tables. In the qualitative analysis section a total of 13 stories were analysed to determine if they stereotyped female election candidates or females in general who were given coverage in them.
vii The final chapter, Chapter 6, examined the implications of the results. Conclusions were drawn to determine if female election candidates were visible in the print media during the 1999 and 2006 election campaigning period and if there were any other issues that received more prominence.
viii CHAPTER ONE
WHAT IS THE ROLE OF MEDIA IN A DEMOCRACY?
The relationship between news media and politics
As political events occur, societies try to communicate, share and understand the affects and implications of it through the mass media. More often than not, it is the news media that individuals turn to for information. At the same time, most news consumers are not aware of the series of filters in place that shape the relationship between politics and the news media (Oates 2008, 9).
In some countries such as the United States (US), the news media are at times more commercially-driven, focusing more on light news and entertainment. In other places, such as China, state-run or public media dictate a greater emphasis on the needs of society and state concerns rather than the demands of commercialism. Quite often viewers, listeners, and readers are fairly satisfied about what they learn from the news media. Yet, at times of change and crisis – ranging from national elections, to natural disasters, to civic uprising, to coups resulting in the collapse of a government – citizens find themselves in great need of comfort, information, and even direction from the news media (Oates 2008, 9 and Street 2001, 80).
The relationship that exists between the news media and politics has been a topic of interest and debate for many years. Many media scholars and practitioners have attempted to conceptualise this relationship: the following dominant paradigms or models discuss these relationships in brief. These paradigms are by no means complete because, as mentioned above, different countries have different types of media environments, content and audience. It is prudent to acknowledge that the creators of these models had certain countries in mind while developing the models.
1 Siebert, Peterson, & Schramm (1956), in their seminal work Four Theories of the Press, instituted the dominant paradigm in analysing global media systems and, in particular, in assessing levels of press freedom in countries and regions throughout the world. Other theories on press systems followed, such as development journalism in developing countries, revolutionary media (Hachten, 1999), and democratic-participant media (McQuail, 1994). However, the newer theories were mostly complementary to the established four theories of the press (Yin 2008, 4).
Siebert et al., (1956) divided the world’s news media into four theories: libertarian, socially responsible, authoritarian and Soviet. In the libertarian or commercial model (paralleling the US media) the news media publish opinions freely. According Siebert et al., (1956) the libertarian theory held that man was rational and an end in himself. The happiness and the well-being of the individual was the goal of society. Attacks on the government are allowed and even encouraged in the interest of bettering society (Oates 2008, 9). For McQuail, the libertarian theory would seem to need no elaboration beyond a simple statement such as that contained in the First Amendment in the US constitution, to the effect that “Congress shall make no law…abridging the freedom of speech or of the press” (1994, 129). It is thus simply an absolute right of the citizen but McQuail concedes that in practice the application of press freedom has been far from straightforward. This theory finds it difficult to cope with extreme situations of war and revolution, when the overthrow of the state can be interpreted as the end of liberty. For the most part, in societies which have recognised press freedom, the solution has been to free the press from advanced censorship but to leave it answerable to the law for any consequences of its activities that infringe other individual rights. An example is the US. The protection (of their reputation, property, privacy and moral development) of individuals, of groups and minorities and the security or even dignity of the state have at times been given preference by the legal fraternity over the absolute value of freedom to publish (McQuail 1994, 129).
The socially responsible theory is based on the United Kingdom’s (UK) British Broadcasting Corporation (there are also commercial broadcasters in the UK. The BBC
2 is government-owned and funded by licence fees). Under this theory the news media are not completely free to publish what they like as they have certain obligations to society to provide information and balance. The BBC works proactively to include all segments of society in their coverage. The socially responsible model provides a level of protection to society, from everything ranging from bad taste to information that could incite panic or violence. This is directly linked to the gatekeeping role of the media – where the media, as gatekeepers of information, decides what information can be disseminated to the audience. In the socially responsible model, the media protect the public from damaging, distorted or dangerous information. On the other hand, by not fully showing what is happening around them, the media may also deprive citizens of the right to act on full information – even if that could lead to injustice or violence – and gives news media organisations great power over the distribution of information in society. If the news media takes on a greater gatekeeping role, they are more at risk of either information manipulation or control by forces such as the government (Oates 2008, 8). According to Oates the social responsibility model of the media should address some of these problems by having a more considered policy about the use of information in society. The media should not broadcast undesirable viewpoints and questionable accusations, even if they are sensational. However, if the media believes that the government is hiding information vital to the public interest, journalists should seek that information out and make it public (Oates 2008, 8).
Currently reflected in countries such as Iran and Burma, the authoritarian system serves the needs of the state through direct government control. The media (news or otherwise) are not allowed to publish anything that could undermine the established authority or give offence to the existing political values. Control is by censorship and punishment for those caught breaking the rules (Oates 2008, 6 and McQuail 1994, 127). It must also be noted that media does not need to be owned by the government to be under its control. Under this model, both private and state-owned media are placed under the same censorship rules. According to Werner Severin and James Tankard, Jr. the authoritarian concept was based on the sixteenth and seventeenth century English history and philosophy of the absolute power of the monarch (as quoted in Yin 2008, 5).
3 According to Siebert et al., (1956) of the four theories:
The authoritarian system has been most pervasive both historically and geographically. The goal of the media under such a system was to support and advance the policies of the government so that it could achieve its objectives (as quoted in Yin 2008, 5).
The Soviet model is the last category. Even though the terminology is out-of- date, it remains useful in understanding the poor performance of the media as a pillar of civil society in many post-Soviet states, where media are controlled by the state (Oates 2008, 6). According to McQuail this model held an influential position in the post-WWII era and assigned the media a role as “collective agitator, propagandist and educator” (1994, 128). The model was extended to most of Eastern Europe after the WWII and the main principles were the subordination of the media to the Communist Party. The theory did not favour free expression, but it did propose a positive role for the media in society and in the world, with a strong emphasis on culture and information and on the task of economic and social development. In many respects, the Soviet model was totalitarian in the way it was exercised, but it could claim a popular legitimacy as long as the political ideology of communism could also be maintained. The media were expected to be responsible and serious and to reflect the diversity of social structure and culture. According to McQuail, the results “did not always compare badly with the performance of free-market media” (1994, 128) and has been largely abandoned in its homeland since the fall of communism.
As stated previously, these models are not reflective of all media-politics relationships existing in different societies. As a result they have been criticised as being too simplistic and rejected to some extent. Rather, as Oates (2008, 8) explains, it is more useful to think about the news media’s relationship with politics when assessing the impact of news media on societies. Oates claims that the typology of political power is such that in society people either “accept political actions that affect them as legitimate; or they resist them; or they resign themselves to being powerless about these actions”
4 (2008, 8). The news media then feed into these ideas in three ways. First, news media can outline or frame coercive power within societies in ways that can “encourage, discourage, hide, or expose it” (Oates 2008, 8). In addition, the media can be selective in their formal political coverage, reporting on some politicians and their activities while ignoring others (for example, reporting more on prominent male election candidates, while ignoring the females). Finally, media are important for “transmitting values, problem definitions and images of people in society that provide resources for people in thinking about their lives and their relations to government, politics and society” (Oates 2008, 9).
Beyond these four theories or models of the press (which were invoked as a framework for discussion in this thesis), theorist Denis McQuail developed two – development and democratic-participant theories which claim to take into account of other realities and models. The development media theory recognised the fact that societies undergoing a transition from underdevelopment and colonialism to interdependence and better material conditions often lack the infrastructure, the money, the traditions, the professional skills and even the audiences needed to sustain the media institutions. The media of many developing countries are subject to economic dependence, foreign domination and arbitrary authoritarianism. The media theory for development emphasises the following goals: the dominance of the national development task (economic, social, cultural and political); the pursuit of cultural and informational autonomy; support for democracy; and solidarity with other developing countries. Because of the priority given to these goals, limited resources available for media can legitimately be allocated by government and journalistic freedom can also be restricted. The responsibilities of the media are emphasised above their rights and freedoms. According New Zealand journalist and educator Dr. David Robie “development journalism is not well understood in the South Pacific, even though most media often adopt such an approach without realising this is the case”.
It means a form of journalism contributing to the progress of a country - economic and social development, education and cultural. Journalists need to identify key issues and explore their relationship to the poor, middle class and rich sectors of the nation. It also means a lot more
5 community reporting in the villages - far from the faxed and e-mailed press releases of the Pacific urban newsrooms. University education has the capacity to provide the analytical skills to successfully report real development (2008, 113).
A democratic-participant type of media model was proposed in recognition of new media developments and of increasing criticism of the dominance of the mass media by private or public monopolies. The theory supports the right to relevant local information, the right to answer back and the right to use the new means of communication for interaction and social action in small-scale settings of community, interest group or subculture (McQuail 1994, 131).
According to Jiafei Yin in Beyond the Four Theories of the Press: A New Model for the Asian & the World Press, “of the new theoretical concepts, development journalism has caused more controversies because the degree of press freedom varies greatly from society to society, and the very concept may imply a role for the government” (2008, 35). She further added:
The controversy also seems to stem from the fact that the deciding factor in creating the four press theories was the presence or absence of press freedom, which was defined mainly in terms of government control. Based on such a criterion, how can one type of press system allow vastly different degrees of press freedom in different societies? When a new concept cannot be fit into the established paradigm, it becomes “controversial” (Yin 2008, 35).
6 Figure 1.0: Four Worlds news values matrix
Source: Adapted from Robie (2001, 13). The Pacific Journalist: A Practical Guide. Suva: USP.
7 Robie’s Four Worlds news values matrix (above) critiques the Siebert model from a Pacific perspective with an emphasis on the indigenous fourth world that he developed at the University of the South Pacific. According to Robie:
While the winds of change swept through the Third World nations in the post-Second World War rush to decolonisation in the 1960s and 1970s, similar transitional ideological shifts later applied to the “Fourth World” nations in the 1980s and 1990s. First World nations are the industrialised Western countries and the Second World nations are the totalitarian remnants of the Soviet-era Marxist bloc – such as China, Cuba and Vietnam. According to Russell, Fourth World nations are defined as “indigenous peoples residing in developed nations but living in Third World conditions” (as quoted in Robie, 2008, 104).
Robie adds that:
Unlike Third World nations, Fourth World communities “cannot separate from imperial power because of their location within the boundaries of the imperialist nation”. This means that the indigenous peoples must either obtain equal access to the political and economic opportunities of the democratic society, or continue to struggle for political autonomy (Robie 2008, 104).
Establishing if news media have an effect on audience opinions - the origins
To focus on the political content of news, media have to consider only one term in the news media-politics equation. “Content matters only because it has an effect” (Street 2001, 80). According to Oates (2008, 10) voters rely on cues from their sociological background, party identification, stand on issues and even conversations with families and friends before listing media as a key influence. This understanding of the role of the media in voting behaviour influenced much of the scholarship on measuring possible political manipulation by the media in the second half of the twentieth century. The role of the media was just one factor nested in a range of other influences (Oates 2008, 10).
8 It is clear that there is some effect from media usage. It is not like the theory of the hypodermic needle, in which the information is injected into individuals and the audience is automatically convinced. Levels of usage and trust by individuals and audience vary among different media outlets, both between countries and within countries. Varying segments of the audience have quite distinct relationships with the news media. For instance, Street (2001, 82) found that some users are empowered by the information they acquire, some are indifferent to it, while others are even alienated from the political sphere altogether by what they see, hear, or read.
Understanding these nuances and comparing them across country boundaries will allow us to gain a better understanding of the general relationship between the media and the audience. According to Oates people do not think in a certain way just because a newspaper, a broadcast or an online news site has told them to think in that manner. Rather, individuals choose their favourite media outlets because they parallel their political beliefs. However, as social scientists like to emphasise, correlation is not causality (meaning, when a decrease in X results in an increase in Y, we can only say that X and Y have a relationship and not that X caused Y to increase, unless otherwise proven. It just proves that X and Y have a relationship). It is within these particular boundaries of understanding news reception (that there is a relationship between news provided and the formation of audience opinions) that some of the most interesting work on understanding the audience can be found. For example, if people tend to select a media outlet that supports their world view, then they are less likely to hear opposing or challenging viewpoints. This can make it difficult for a society to find solutions to problems that must involve an entire community, such as reaching peace agreements. Overall, an examination of the media audience illuminates the interactive and complex nature of the relationship between news producer and news receiver (Oates 2008, 11).
To gain a sense of the broader perspective of news media content having an effect, consider a famous incident from US broadcasting history. In 1938, an American radio station transmitted a report that the Martians had landed. Some listeners panicked and started to flee their homes. The report was, in fact, part of a dramatisation of H.G.
9 Wells’ War of the Worlds. The programme’s creator, Orson Welles, deliberately gave the broadcast the air of a real event. The belief by some people that there had been an alien landing was taken by some observers to be proof of the power of mass media. For them, the panicking listeners were evidence that modern society was a mass society in which new forms of communication could be used to manipulate and control whole populations (Street 2001, 82).
It is, of course, not this simple. Even the example of War of the Worlds is open to other interpretations. When it was broadcast, radio had established itself as an authoritative source of information and people had begun to rely upon it, to believe it. What they lacked was the sophistication needed to separate the spoof from the real thing, to tell drama from authenticity. They trusted the radio, and this trust was encouraged by responsible news reporting and by the absence, until this time, of spoof broadcasts. Their naivety was exploited by Welles, who borrowed the rhetoric of the news to create his drama. To this extent they had reason to believe what they heard. There was a climate of concern that made US listeners susceptible to the suggestions contained in the War of the Worlds. It is this focus on the context in which people engage with mass media that adds a further dimension to the way we think about the media’s influence (Street 2001, 82).
Media and Elections
During election campaigns, three of the most important political components in a country – the media, candidates, and the voters – all intersect as public representatives are chosen through voting. In many countries around the world, elections are times when politics become defined as an exchange of insults among political candidates (Fiji is a good example of this, as well as the US), and the proverbial horse-race, reduced to a collection of winners and losers, rather than as a way of organising political institutions for the long-term good of society. As a result, election coverage is more often focused on the short-term elements of the campaign rather than the deeper issues confronting a
10 nation, such as achieving gender equality in Parliament, the highest level of national decision-making.
In Fiji in particular, the issue of racial differences has always been a controversial topic but becomes more prominent in the media during elections. In every election the country has had since independence from the British in 1970, the tension between the majority indigenous Fijian population (referred to by a 2011 State decree as i-Taukei) and the slightly smaller Indo-Fijian community becomes more pronounced1. Fiji news media’s role, especially in the print media, in allegedly giving undue prominence to racial issues during elections, will be discussed in detail later in Chapter 2.
Do news media users decide who they are going to vote for after getting their information from the media? Do the news media have an effect on their audience in that way? No such studies have been done in Fiji but several studies on voting behaviour since the WWII in the US and the UK suggest that many citizens are not particularly influenced by the scenes and drama of the election campaign itself. “Rather, they rely on long-term political affinity and identification, which are formed from political socialisation in their early years” (Oates 2008, 90 and Heywood 2002, 242). According to Heywood (2002, 45) the meaning of elections is closely linked to the factors that shape voting.
1 “Indians were brought to Fiji as a direct consequence of the cession of the islands to the United Kingdom on October 10, 1874. Negotiations for indentured labourers were completed in 1878 and the first group of 479 Indians arrived from India aboard the Leonidas on May 14 1879. By 1916, when importation ceased, some 60,963 men, women and children had been transported to Fiji. Like indentured migrants in other countries, Fiji migrants came under an agreement which stipulated the terms and service of contract. Labourers could return to India at the end of five years at their own expenses, or at the government’s after a second five-year period. Altogether 24,000 Indians and their families returned to India after spending various periods in the colony” (Encyclopedia of Indian Diaspora, 2006, s.v. “Fiji”).
11 Yet, as the 2004 US presidential elections between George W. Bush, Jr. and John Kerry have shown, close elections often can hinge on the persuasion of a relatively small number of voters. According to Latimer, (1987, 805) successful political communication starts with a realistic definition of the target audience. At election time, the unstable voter who changes his/her decision is often the crucial component. In 2004 Bush won a second term in office with 51.0 percent of the electoral votes, while Kerry had 48.0 percent (CNN.com Election Results 2004). How are unstable or ‘floating’ or ‘swing’ voters created? According to Heywood, partisan de-alignment could be one of the reasons. Partisan de-alignment is a decline in the extent to which people align themselves with a party by identifying with it. As party loyalties weaken, electoral behaviour becomes more volatile leading to greater uncertainty and perhaps the rise of new parties or the decline of old ones. The principal reasons for partisan de-alignment are the “expansion of education, an increase in geographical and social mobility, and growing reliance on television as a source of political information” (Heywood 2002, 42).
In the 2006 Fiji national election between the country’s two dominant political parties – the Fiji Labour Party (FLP) and the Soqosoqo Duavata ni Lewanivanua Party (SDL) – the SDL beat FLP with a majority of only five seats (Summary of seats won so far, 2006). During this election, various candidates won by a small margin in their respective constituencies. Such results have brought the importance of the campaign - and the study of the role of the news media in influencing voters – into sharp focus in modern politics.
Even with the broad understanding that voters are not easily swayed into large ideological shifts by the media in election campaigns, the media matter because:
They provide information to allow voters to match their preferences with particular candidates or parties; they give long-term political information that helps to socialise voters into particular party preferences; and in close elections or in critical issues when voters are confused or even angry, media coverage can sway an election (Oates 2008, 92).
12 Although there may be some grumbling about media performance from time to time, there remain no better alternatives to disseminating messages about candidates and parties during elections (McQuail 1994, 67). In Fiji, while political parties do pursue direct contact with their potential voters, especially through political rallies and by campaigning in their relevant constituencies, news coverage remains a particularly influential part of an election effort when it comes to reaching out to the masses.
Figure 2.0: Elements of Political Communication between Political Organisations and the Citizens via the Media
Political Organisations
- Parties - Public organisations - Pressure groups Reportage - Terrorist organisations Editorials - Governments Commentary Analysis
Appeals Programmes Advertising Media Public relations
Opinion polls Letter Blogs Citizen journalism Reportage Editorials Commentary Analysis Citizens
Source: McNair 2007, p. 6
Figure 2 Elements of Political Communication by McNair (2007, 6) above depicts some of the elements of political communication. It explains the relationship that
13 exists between the media and the citizens and the media and political organisations. A key point to note is the important role the media plays in the exchange of ideas and information between political organisations and citizens. Political organisation which may consist of political parties, public organisation, pressure groups terrorist groups and governments may try to inform/persuade citizens via the media through appeals, programmes, advertising and so on. The citizens in turn may articulate their views through the media by participating in opinion polls, writing letters and blogs. Aside from acting as an information portal between political organisations and the citizens, media also imparts the information that has been gathered through reports, editorials, commentary and analysis. In short, in a democratic political system, the media functions both as transmitters of political communication which originates outside the media organisations itself, and as senders of political messages constructed by journalists and other producers such as bloggers (McNair (2007, 11).
Ideological Bias in the Media
Incorporated in all news reporting is some version of the norm: of what usually happens or how people usually behave. These norms are based on the assumption that something is newsworthy; that is, it is both out of the ordinary and also part of the general framework of expectations (that is, it is a typical news story). These assumptions are grounded in ideologies which seek to explain the way the world works, and these are themselves biased. Norris suggests that we need to think of the way in which women are represented in newspapers. Firstly, their activities receive less coverage than men’s; secondly, descriptions of them refer to their appearance or to the men in their lives (that is, they are not accorded an independent existence). Such representations articulate a particular ideological view about men and women (Norris 1997, 167).
Norris (1997, 167) explored the narratives that frame accounts of women in politics. Her concern has been to examine the conventional wisdom that women leaders receive less attention than their male equivalents and that the coverage they receive is based on female stereotypes. Norris’s research examined the treatment of twenty world
14 leaders, of whom 10 were women (including Britain’s Margaret Thatcher, Pakistan’s Benazir Bhutto and India’s Indira Gandhi). The coverage included both print and broadcast media, and was analysed both quantitatively and qualitatively. Over 130,000 stories were examined. The evidence revealed that men leaders did indeed receive more coverage (1600 stories per year) than women leaders (1400 stories per year). She also noted that even when women leaders were given coverage they were usually framed or angled “as breakthrough (as if they have done something extraordinary), outsiders, and as agents of change, most especially in sweeping away corruption” (Norris 1997, 163).
The Media and the Democratic Process
The public sphere refers to a social dominion in which citizens come together to discuss matters of common concern to form public opinions. Members in the public sphere orient their opinions towards the activities and policies of governing bodies (Herman and McChesney 1997, 2).The term public sphere is a space created through dialogue and does not necessarily directly refer to space as in the physical sense. Discourse in the public sphere may occur in spaces such as homes, clubs, and workplaces etc. (Herman and McChesney 1997, 2).
Cultural theorist and conceiver of this theory, Jurgen Habermas, believed it was important for the civil society and the government to be separate entities. Civil society includes all forms of voluntary participation, whether in the public or private sector, political or apolitical. The public sphere, according to him, needs to be totally independent of the state and military (Habermas 1971, 20)
Figure 3 Media and the Public Sphere (McNair 2007, 19) below shows the groups that normally make up the public sphere in a democratic society.
15 Figure 3.0: Media and the Public Sphere
The State/Government/Political Establishment
Trade Unions Public Opinion
Blogs, websites, etc.
Editorials Features Pressure Political Groups Media Parties News
TV debates Current Affairs Business
Public Organisations Terrorist Organisations
Citizens
Source: McNair 2007, p.19
In Figure 3.0 McNair (2007, 19) explained that the public sphere comprises, in essence, the communicative institutions of society, through which facts and opinions circulate and by means of which a common stock of knowledge is built up as the basis for collective political action.
16 According to McNair (2007) there are five functions of communication media in ideal-type democratic societies in the public sphere: firstly, they must inform citizens of what is happening around them (this is called the surveillance or monitoring functions of the media). Secondly, they must educate as to the meaning and significance of the facts (the importance of this function explains the seriousness with which journalists protect their objectivity, since their value as educators presumes a professional detachment from the issues being analysed). Third, the media must provide a platform for public political discourse, facilitating the formation of public opinion, and feeding that opinion back to the public from whence it came. This must include the provision of space for the expression of dissent, without which the notion of democratic consensus would be meaningless.
The media’s fourth function is to scrutinise governmental and political institutions – the watchdog role of journalism. Public opinion can only matter – that is, have an influence on objective political reality – to the extent that the acts of whoever holds supreme power are made available for public scrutiny, meaning how far they are visible, ascertainable, accessible, and hence accountable. There must be a degree of openness surrounding the activities of the political class if the public opinions of the people are to have any bearing on decision-making (McNair 2007, 20).
Finally, the media in democratic societies serves as a channel for the advocacy of political viewpoints. Parties require an outlet for the articulation of their policies and programmes to a mass audience, and thus the media must be open to them. Furthermore, some media, mainly in the print sector, will actively endorse one or other of the parties at sensitive times such as elections. The print media in Fiji claimed to be non-partisan even though the chairperson of the Fiji Media Council had endorsed media’s right to be partisan (Radio New Zealand International 2009). In the UK, the two British newspapers owned by Rupert Murdoch - The Sun and London’s Times – endorsed the Labour Party in 2005 but changed its allegiance to the Conservative Party in 2010 (Mackey and Lyall 2010). In this latter sense, the media’s advocacy function may also be viewed as one of persuasion.
17 For these functions to be performed adequately, and thus for a real public sphere to exist (and, by extension, real democracy), a number of conditions have to be met. For Habermas, the political discourse circulated by the media must be comprehensible to citizens. It must also be truthful, in so far as it reflects the genuine and sincere intentions of speakers. It also presumes, “an audience sufficiently educated and knowledgeable to make rational and effective use of the information circulating in the public sphere” (Habermas 1971, 80).
Summary
One of the main points to consider in this chapter is the power of the media, especially during election times. While it cannot be said that it is through coverage in the media that voters decide who they will eventually endorse, as research has proven that party identification and habitual attachments play a crucial part in determining that. It can however, be concluded that during election time, it is the undecided voter who can often be the crucial component (as was the case of the US elections in 2004 and Fiji’s in 2006) in determining the election results. The media may, therefore, play an important part in shaping the success/failure of a candidate as the unstable voter may seek information from the news coverage when trying to decide who he/she will vote for. Giving adequate coverage to both males and females in the media becomes especially important as this may in some way influence the voter to give equal consideration to both male and female candidates for his/her vote.
18 CHAPTER TWO
FIJI: A HISTORICAL BACKGROUND, RACISM, MEDIA & THE GOVERNMENT
With a highly literate population, where the female literacy rate is 91.0 percent and the male 95.0 percent (Nicholl 2006), Fiji’s print media (predominantly, its newspapers) plays a crucial part in informing the public on the day to day events occurring in the country.
As the country’s oldest operating newspaper celebrating its 143rd anniversary in 2012, the Fiji Times was published first on September 4th, 1869. Established in Levuka, Fiji’s former capital, it relocated its head office in 1881 to the current capital city, Suva. In the recent past, the Fiji Times used to be wholly owned by Sydney-based News Limited, a subsidiary of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation. In September 2010 the newspaper was bought by a locally owned business - the Motibhai Group2. It is the biggest newspaper in terms of circulation (with an independently audited sales figure in 2008 of 20,630 on weekdays and 41,602 on weekends) and staff, and also publishes a Hindi weekly, Shanti Dut, a Fijian language weekly, Nai Lalakai Rai Vou and Kaila! – a weekly magazine-style newspaper for youths.
Fiji Sun, the newspaper owned by Sun (Fiji) News Ltd was launched in September 1999, four months after the May 1999 general elections. It is owned and operated by C.J. Patel. Since 2008, the Fiji Sun has become the main competitor of the Fiji Times and has developed a reputation for breaking news stories important to the State. Although this daily does not have independently audited sales, by its own claims
2 On June 25th 2010, the State passed the Media Industry Development Decree 2010. As stated under this decree, under Part 7: Special Features of Media Organisations, Section 38(1) (b) a foreign person can only have 10 percent ownership in a media organisation. The remaining 90 percent must be locally owned. As decreed, the foreign owned Fiji Times was given three months to divest itself of ownership which it did in September 2010. 19 estimates to have a daily weekday circulation of about 20,000. Both Fiji Times and Fiji Sun publish seven days a week.
The Fiji Daily Post was the country’s third newspaper and was at one time 46.6 percent owned by the Fiji Government. The small newspaper struggled financially for many years before closing down in 2010. Before its closure, it claimed to be “the independent newspaper media reporting accurate and unbiased news” (Nicholl 2007a, 62). It often resorted to publishing editorial comments and letters to the editor from international news media.
The Fiji Times has what it calls Fiji’s “most visited websites” - Fiji Times Online (the online version of the newspaper), Rugby Times, Classifieds Online and My Fiji Guide. The Fiji Sun also has an online version of its newspapers, which is updated daily. Both newspapers also have online archives, although the time-frame within which they are available is different for each newspaper. Both are published in the English language.
When discussing the low levels of women’s representation in Parliament, as well the virtually invisibility of women in the media, especially during election times, it is important to understand the historical background of the particular country. It is also important to identify the framework within which the media in that country works. As such, this chapter discusses the issue of racial politics within the Fijian society since politics dominates issues covered by media in Fiji. It also discusses whether the media’s preoccupation with racial politics may have crowded out other important issues such as the urgent need to address the lack of women in decision-making.
Politics of Race
In Fiji, both indigenous Fijian and Indo-Fijian politicians use race as a major strategy in their election campaigns. This is because the race-based political system forces candidates to appeal to voters belonging to their race. An Indo-Fijian candidate
20 standing in an Indian communal seat will tell his or her voters how they are being marginalised or treated unfairly by the indigenous Fijian government in power. An indigenous Fijian candidate may tell the indigenous Fijian voters in his or her constituency that Indo-Fijians will take over the country if they do not vote for indigenous Fijian candidates. This form of fear-mongering during election time often dominates media discourse while other issues often take a back stage.
The Fiji Times, which on many occasions has been accused of fuelling racial politics in Fiji through its allegedly biased reporting, said in an editorial on Barack Obama’s election as US President that there were “lessons to be learned”. It claimed:
Fiji’s politics has always been about two things – race and political parties. In every election from 1972 to 2006 there were two major political parties with supporters from one of the two larger racial groups. Of course, each party publicly espoused multiculturism and equality. But behind the scenes and on election flyers the parties fanned the fires of racial mistrust in the attempt to gain a few more votes (Fiji Times 2008d, 6).
The media have been preoccupied with issues of race, especially during election times. The coverage is so pervasive that issues such as the representation of women in Parliament and other decision-making bodies is often overlooked in the coverage. There have been few attempts at a media campaign to educate people about the need to have more women in decision-making positions as the space is filled up by reporting of political and racial rhetoric, which is perceived as more newsworthy.
1999-2001
In May 1999, the Fiji Labour Party (FLP), an Indo-Fijian led and dominated political party, won the elections with a landslide victory. Mahendra Chaudhry was the first Indo-Fijian to become the country’s Prime Minister. According to Robie (2001, 151), Chaudhry and his People’s Coalition Government “got off on the wrong foot with the media industry virtually from the day he took office” as the “appointment of Chaudhry’s son, Rajendra, as his Private Secretary deeply damaged his credibility with
21 the media and the public”. In the first few months after being elected “the Fiji Times appeared to wage a campaign against the fledgling government.” According to political scientist Sitiveni Ratuva, the “media portrayed Chaudhry as arrogant and anti-Fijian” (as quoted in Robie 2001, 152).
Chaudhry and his ministers were forcibly removed from power in a coup by a rebel group led by George Speight, an indigenous Fijian businessman. Speight claimed that he wanted to safeguard land owned by the indigenous Fijian from the Indo-Fijians. The People’s Coalition government never came back into power even after their removal by the rebels was declared illegal by the courts.
2003-2006
In a bid to regulate the media industry in 2003, Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase proposed a Media Council of Fiji Bill. Caretaker Minster for Information Marieta Rigamoto, said:
Politics was a fact of life and in some instances, the media has [sic] served to harden racial differences between the two races and that was how some people perceived the political situation in the country (Fiji Times 2006, 4).
She further said the media should “not be allowed to be left to the unregulated initiative of the few who manage it” (Fiji Times 2006, 4).
In response the Fiji Times Editorial and Training Manager, Steve McCully, said Rigamoto did not understand the role of the media or the constraints that already existed on media operations in the country. He stated:
The media is [sic] controlled by the Fiji Media Council’s code of ethics of practice and ethics which binds it to a high standard of ethical behaviour. Editorially, the media is [sic] also constrained by the laws of defamation that allow anyone who feels they have been wronged, to take legal action (Fiji Times 2006, 4).
22 Aside from the Fiji Media Council’s Code of Ethics, Article Four under the Bill of Rights in the 1997 Constitution establishes the parameters of media freedom in Fiji.
In December 2006, the commander of the Republic of the Fiji Military Forces (RFMF) Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama overthrew the elected Laisenia Qarase-led multiparty government by claiming to invoke the ‘doctrine of necessity’ (Buadromo 2009, 405). Self-appointed President Bainimarama declared a state of emergency in Fiji, arguing that this was the only way that the army could fulfil the aims of its campaign to eliminate the government of corruption and racism.
2008
In 2008 when Chaudhry became the Minister for Finance in the interim government led by Prime Minister and Military Commander Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama, he was again critical of media reporting. He said that the Fiji media should be licensed because “it” was “divisive, racist” and was “biased” (Radio Fiji 2008). He claimed that “media outlets in the last 19 months have shown blatant political bias against the interim Government and the FLP” (Fiji Times 2008c, 4). Chaudhry claimed that the Fiji Media Council was so ineffective and inefficient in processing complaints that the interim government was forced to deport expatriate publishers Evan Hannah of the Fiji Times, and Fiji Sun’s Russell Hunter, on the grounds of them being threats to national security.
The Fiji Times editor-in-chief Netani Rika defended his paper, saying they had consistently run news articles critical of the current administration. According to him they gave the same critical coverage when “Qarase, Chaudhry and Rabuka governments were in power”.
The Fiji Media Council’s actions were also critiqued by Robie (2004, 34):
While media council and self-regulation have become a new mantra in the Pacific, questions of credibility remain. Fiji’s self-regulatory body, the Media
23 Council (Fiji) Ltd, was eager to defend the media against attacks such as the senators’ ‘preposterous’ criticisms yet it had remained fairly muted about both the Scott murder case reporting3 and the Speight political crisis.
2009
On Thursday April 9, 2009, Fiji Court of Appeal ruled the removal of former PM Laisenia Qarase in 2006 by the military, illegal. Furthermore, the Court of Appeal ruled that Fiji's interim government (installed after the 2006 removal of a democratically elected government led by Qarase) was also illegal under the 1997 Constitution. The court ordered President Ratu Josefa Iloilo to “appoint a caretaker prime minister to lead Fiji to democratic elections within a suitable time frame” (Stuff 2009). Hours after the judgment, interim PM Bainimarama “agreed on national television to abide by the ruling and uphold the law” (Stuff 2009). But this did not happen. The next day (April 10, 2009, following the Court of Appeal ruling on Qarase’s case) the President purportedly abrogated the 1997 Constitution and reappointed Bainimarama to head an interim government of the same Cabinet members who had led Fiji prior to the declarations of the court. Immediately, a Public Emergency Regulation (PER) was put in place “to ensure that there was no opposition” (Stuff 2009). Amongst other things the regulation prohibited public gatherings for the purpose of political meetings and – under Section 16 – stops the media from broadcasting or printing material which may incite the people.
According to Rika (2009), on the afternoon of Bainimarama’s return to power, the Permanent Secretary for Information told news editors that as part of the regulation, each media organisation would be allocated a censor and that each censor would be accompanied by a police officer in plain clothes.
Bainimarama publicly stated that “freedom of speech causes trouble and is to be blamed for the country’s political turmoil” (Australian Broadcasting Corporation 2009).
3The Fiji news media and police faced harsh criticism over the treatment of the Fiji Red Cross Director John Scott and his long-time partner Greg Scrivener’s murder case in 2001. A lot of the news coverage by the media was widely condemned as ‘sensational’ and ‘homophobic’ (as quoted in Robie 2004, 48).
24 In the weeks that followed the abrogation of the constitution and censorship of the media, only positive stories about the interim government were permitted to be published.
As part of the reforms foreign media were banned from entering the country and three journalists were deported, including veteran Australian journalist Sean Dorney (who has worked for decades in the Pacific and reports on Pacific affairs) (Australian Broadcasting Corporation 2009).
In response to the new regulations, some media outlets tried to fight back. On April 12, 2009, Fiji Television, in defiance, did not broadcast its 6pm main news bulletin after censors had asked them to remove an item that was to be broadcast on the previous day (Pacific Media Centre 2009). Normal broadcasting of news bulletins resumed on the 13th but with a time span of half an hour, reduced from one hour. The Fiji Times took the strongest stance against the censorship. On Sunday, April 12, the third day of censorship, it published the paper with white space in place of stories “which the censors – both trained journalists and one of whom had worked in the mainstream media - had culled” (Rika 2009).The white spaces carried notices which said the newspaper had been prevented from publishing the stories under PER.
2010 - 2012
On June 25th 2010, the State passed the Media Industry Development Decree 2010, which regulates all media outlets and maintains strong censorship control.
While the country is no longer under the PER4 a cursory glance at both Fiji Times and Fiji Sun newspapers show pages full of human interest stories. The reporting of one event by a journalist generates between three to four stories, with one source per
4 The Public Emergency Regulations were repealed on January 7, 2012. On the same day, a “modernized” Public Order (Amendment) Decree was issued. According to the State: “this modernization is necessary to effectively address terrorism, offenses against public order and safety, racial and religious vilification, hate speech, and economic sabotage”. Source: http://fiji.gov.fj/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5381:fact-sheet-public-order- amendment-decree-2012&catid=71:press-releases&Itemid=155 (accessed on June 20, 2012). 25 story, when before each story would publish quotes from at least three sources. There is little critical comment or analysis of national affairs and no criticism of the State are published.
Under their Pacific Freedom Media Freedom Matrix, authors Perrottet and Robie (2011, 6-7) have documented one case of assault against a journalist as well as the arrest of two journalists in relation to their reporting. Amongst the 16 Pacific Island Forum member nations listed (including Fiji, although it was suspended from the Forum as a result of the coup), as well as the French territories in the South Pacific and the current and former Indonesian Pacific colonies, Fiji is the only region, aside from West Papua that has formal censorship of its media5. Also in 2011, alongside countries such as Bhutan and Ecuador, Fiji was ranked 58 under Freedom of the Press 2012 Global Press Freedom Rankings6.
Summary
At the beginning of Chapter 1, a brief summary was given of the four models of news media systems that were thought to exist in the world. While the models do not capture all news media around the world, it can be used a guide to see how free or restricted the Fiji media are. As this chapter has shown, the print media in Fiji were liberal in their method of reporting before April 2009. They were liberal in the sense that they published opinions freely and did not hesitate in questioning the government. They have publicly stated that they do not hold partisan views (Radio New Zealand International 2009) but all government since the country’s first coup of May 1987 seemed to think that the Fiji media were too liberal, thus the constant threats of regulation. The threats became reality in 2010 when the Media Industry Development Decree was passed.
5 As quoted in Robie and Perrottet (2011, 6-7) – original source Pacific Media Centre, August 2011. 6 Source: http://www.freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-press/2011/fiji (accessed on January 2, 2012)
26 Another conclusion that can be drawn from this chapter is that the print media prioritised political news and had been giving much prominence to politics. Political parties were guilty of racialising elections due to the race based electoral system. The result has been that issues such as the urgent need to address the lack of women at the highest level of decision making are never at the forefront of discussion but are crowded out. For instance, the media reported extensively about the supposed tension between the two major ethnicities, but hardly anything about the fact that in all elections since independence, women have only managed to secure less than 12 percent of the 71 seats in Parliament, even though women make up nearly half of the total population of the country. The implications of this under-representation are rarely, if ever, explored by the media. It should not be a case of either/or; reporting racialised politics but not women’s involvement in politics, but a matter of balance, as in all coverage.
27 CHAPTER THREE
LITERATURE REVIEW MASS COMMUNICATION RESEARCH ON POLITICS
For more than a century, the press (the print news media or newspapers) has been an essential condition for the operation of the political system in democratic societies. The important role of news media lies in the fact that they are common carriers of the messages of political leaders to a country’s citizens (Ha 2003, 1). With a developing country such as Fiji, the infiltration of mass media (the means of public communication reaching a large audience) is relatively small. Fijians mostly receive political information through the news media (that is, newspapers and television, but principally radio news). There are many who are unable to listen to and analyse the speeches and debates of election candidates or Members of Parliament for themselves and thus rely on the media to do this for them. For this reason, the news media have been at the centre of modern political communication interacting with policymakers and the public.
News media’s role of informing the public about politics, however, has further implications. Studies in the field of political communication have shown that the public relies on news media not only for information about political agendas but for the ways of thinking about political issues and actors as well (McCombs and Shaw 1972; Ha 2003; and Tanner 2008.) No matter what format it takes, the mediated news has become the biggest and substantially the only accessible window of information about politics in modern democratic societies. As journalist and author Walter Lippman articulated in his classic 1922 Public Opinion, the news media provides the materials with which the electorate “draws the picture of the political world” (as quoted in McCombs 2001, 1). Without news media, both the voters and political actors cannot even imagine how to participate in and maintain the democratic process (Ha 2003, 1).
28 In addition to informing the public, however, media coverage of politics have consistently been shown to have a wide range of more subtle influences on what or how citizens think about political issues. More specifically, three related models of cognitive political effects of mass media can be differentiated – agenda-setting function, framing, and priming (McCombs 2005)
Examining the effects of agenda-setting – historical background
One of the media’s most powerful effects is setting the agenda by choosing what to emphasise and what to ignore or suppress - in effect, organising much of the political world for us (Heldman, Carroll and Olson 2005 and Boyle 2001). This power of the news media to set a nation’s agenda and to focus public attention on a few key public issues is well-documented. Not only do people acquire factual information about public affairs from the news media, readers and viewers also learn how much importance to attach to a topic on the basis of the emphasis placed on it in the news. Newspapers provide a host of cues about the salience of the topics in the daily news – lead story on page one, other front page displays, large headlines (McCombs 2001). Television news also offers many cues about salience – the opening story on the newscast, length of time devoted to the story. These cues repeated day after day effectively communicate the importance of each topic. In other words, the news media can set the agenda for the public’s attention to that small group of issues around which public opinion forms.
Social scientists examining this agenda-setting influence of the news media on the public have usually focused on public issues (issues that concern and affect the public). The agenda of a news organisation is found in its pattern of coverage of public issues over some period of time, a week, a month, an entire year. Over this period of time, whatever it might be, a few issues are emphasised, some receive light coverage, and many are seldom or never mentioned. In Fiji, for instance, the politics of race is given more coverage and commentary in the news media during election (as discussed in Chapter 2). Gender and politics, on the other hand, receives scant attention. So much so, that it is almost a non-issue.
29 The principal outline of such influence was drafted by Lippman’s Public Opinion, which began with a chapter titled “The World Outside and the Pictures in Our Heads”. As he noted, the news media are a primary source of the pictures in our heads about the larger world of public affairs, a world that for most citizens is “out of reach, out of sight, out of mind” (as quoted in McCombs 2001, 1). What we know about the world is largely based on what the media decide to tell us. More specifically, the result of this mediated view of the world is that the priorities of the media strongly influence the priorities of the public. Elements prominent on the media agenda become prominent in the public mind. Lippman’s considerations were refined by Bernard Cohen who stated:
The press is significantly more than a purveyor of information and opinion. It may not be successful much of the time in telling people what to think, but it is stunningly successful in telling its readers what to think about (as quoted in McCombs 2001, 1).
Cohen’s writing became the basis for what is now known as the agenda-setting function of the mass media. This perspective, however, might have lingered in the shadows had it not been empirically confirmed in research conducted by Maxwell E. McCombs and Donald Shaw. In 1972, after conducting the ground-breaking Chapel Hill study in North Carolina (the first empirical study on the agenda-setting effect), McCombs and Shaw concluded:
In choosing and displaying news, editors, newsroom staff, and broadcasters play an important part in shaping political reality. Readers learn not only about a given issue, but also how much importance to attach to that issue from the amount of information in a news story and its position. In reflecting what candidate’s are saying during a campaign, the mass media may well determine the important issues – that is, the media may set the “agenda” of the campaign (1971, 179).
They concluded that since election candidates more frequently appeared before potential voters through the news media rather than in person, the information that appears in the news becomes the only contact many have with politics. The pledges,
30 promises, and rhetoric encapsulated in news stories, columns, and editorials constitute much of the information upon which a voting decision has to be made. Most of what people know comes to them “second” or “third” hand from the news media or from other people (Wolfram 2000, 176).
Since McCombs and Shaw’s initial study of the 1968 US presidential election, more than 300 published studies worldwide have documented agenda-setting by the news media. It should be noted that this evidence encompasses a wide variety of research designs, including numerous panel studies; time-series analyses, and controlled laboratory experiments (McCombs 2001, 3).
The Different Stages of Agenda-setting
Although its development into five distinct stages is the major historical hallmark of agenda-setting theory, these are not stages in the normal sense that the opening of a new stage marks the closing of an earlier one. All five stages remain active arenas for research and offer many opportunities for further research (McCombs 2005, 544).
Traditional Agenda-setting and Attribute Agenda-setting Effects
The initial stage of agenda-setting theory focused on the salience of objects, usually public issues, but sometimes other objects (McCombs 2005, 544). The term object is used here in the same way that social psychologists use the phrase ‘attitude object’ to designate the thing that an individual has an attitude or opinion about. McCombs (2005, 255) adds that these objects have attributes, a variety of characteristics and traits that describe them. When the news media talk about an object - and when members of the public talk and think about an object - some attributes are emphasised while others are mentioned only in passing. For each object on the agenda, there is an agenda of attributes that influences the audience understanding of the object.
31 Both traditional agenda-setting effects and attribute agenda-setting effects involve the transfer of salience. The core intention for these two stages, sometimes called the first and second stages of agenda-setting, is that elements prominent on the media agenda become prominent over time on the public agenda. As mentioned earlier, the media not only can be successful in telling us “what to think about”, they also can be successful in telling us “how to think about it” (McCombs 2005, 546). In the evolution of the agenda-setting theory much of the research conducted follows in the style of the Chapel Hill study, comparing the range of attributes in the media with the range of attributes in the public’s pictures of the world. But some studies (McCombs 2005) have focused on a single attribute and noted how in order to have a high-level of salience for that particular object news stories reporting the attribute are compelling arguments.
Under what conditions does the salience of the full array of attributes of the media agenda influence the ways in which the public thinks and talks about these objects? Under what conditions do particular attributes - particular ways of framing (this will be discussed later) an object - dominate the way in which the public thinks and talks about these objects? It is here that attribute agenda setting and framing unite - a convergence that remains controversial for some scholars and media practitioners. In its evolution, agenda-setting theory has incorporated or converged with a variety of other established communication concepts and theories. Attribute agenda setting links the theory with framing (McCombs 2005, 546).
Framing
A model of cognitive political effects of mass media is framing, which concerns the process by which some aspects of reality are emphasised and others downplayed in the reporting of issues (Byerly and Walker 2000).
Framing provides a way to think about how information is presented to the public. News frames, typically unobtrusive, are persistent patterns of selection, interpretation, and presentation, routinely used by journalists, that lend order and
32 meaning to complex issues, processes, and events (Ashley and Olson 1998). They have been described as pegs that organise the world for both journalists and their audience. Communications scholars emphasise the value of news frames for journalists: They enable journalists to process and package information quickly and routinely. Because the organisational imperatives of the news business make framing an inevitable feature of reporting on politics, evaluations of media performance should consider several questions about news frames. What is the frame for a particular story? Which alternative frames might have been employed? How does the frame for one story reinforce or undermine frames for other stories? What factors explain the choice of a specific frame? What are the consequences of using one frame rather than another? (Rhodebeck 1998, 712)
Robert Entman’s frequently cited definition contains language that is complementary to agenda-setting theory in its use of the term salient:
[To frame is to] select some aspects of a perceived reality and make them more salient in a communicating text, in such a way as to promote a particular problem definition, causal interpretation, moral evaluation and/or treatment recommendation [for the item described] (as quoted in McCombs 2005, 546).
Both framing and attribute agenda setting call attention to the viewpoints of communicators and their audiences, how they picture topics in the news and, in particular, to the special status that certain attributes or frames have in the content of a message (Aday 2006, 767). Although a frame is an attribute of the object under consideration because it describes the object, not all attributes are frames. If a frame is defined as a dominant perspective on the object – that is, an all-encompassing description and categorisation of the object - then a frame is usefully delimited as a special case of attributes. (McCombs 2005, 546-547). In other words, attributes defining a central theme are frames. Operationally, this distinction is readily apparent in the way that media messages are analysed in content analysis: identifying the attribute defining the major theme of each news story versus a tally of the various attributes that appear throughout the sentences and paragraphs of each news story (McCombs 2005, 546-547).
33 Beyond the fact that a dominant perspective in the news coverage of a topic is likely to become particularly salient among the public, McCombs noted that some attributes are more likely than others to be noticed and remembered by the audience quite apart from their frequency of appearance or dominance in the message. In the interpretation of a message some attributes also will be considered more pertinent than others. Certain characteristics of an object may resonate with the public in such a way that they become especially compelling arguments for the salience of the issue, person or topic under consideration (McCombs 2005).
Priming
Another model of cognitive political effects of mass media is called priming. The transmission of object and attribute salience from the news media to the public about issues, political figures and other topics have significant consequences for people’s attitudes and opinions. This stage of agenda-setting theory has identified three distinct consequences of agenda setting for attitudes and opinions: forming an opinion, priming opinions about public figures through an emphasis on particular issues and shaping an opinion through an emphasis on particular attributes (McCombs 2005, 549).
Influencing the focus of public attention is a powerful role, but, arguably, influencing the agenda of attributes for an issue or political figure is the essence of political power. Determining the way that an issue is framed – setting the ground rules for deliberation could, for instance, significantly influence the final outcome of an election (McCombs 2001, 8).
By far the best documented consequence of object and issue salience is the priming of perspectives that guide the public’s opinions about public figures. According to scholars Iyengar and Kinder, by calling attention to some matters while ignoring others, television news as well as the other news media influence the standards by which
34 governments, members of Parliament, policies, and candidates for public office are judged (McCombs 2001, 8).
The psychological basis of priming is the selective attention of the public. People do not, and, cannot, pay attention to everything. Moreover, in making judgments – whether in casting a ballot during polling or simply in responding to a pollster’s question – people use information that they can quickly remember. Rather than engaging in a comprehensive analysis based on their total store of information, citizens habitually draw upon those bits of information that are chiefly salient at the time judgements must be made. In other words, citizens rely upon the agenda of salient objects and attributes in their minds, the agenda that is shaped to a considerable degree by the news media (McCombs 2001).
Since the early 1980s, scholars have broadened their understanding of agenda setting to study a second level of effects (the first being the transfer of issue salience from the news media to the public) that takes into account the qualitative aspects of a story. The study of second-level agenda setting examines how the news media might make certain object attributes, such as a political candidate’s qualifications or biography, more salient through their emphasis in coverage, possibly influencing public opinion (Sheafer 2006, 2).
Transfer of issue salience from the media to the minds of the public is what gives credibility to both the concepts of agenda-setting and framing. The convergence of attribute agenda setting with the concept of framing offers new insights on how the public thinks about public affairs topics. These influences on the public range from broad sets of attributes picturing the various aspects of an object to a single attribute defining a dominant frame that sometimes functions as a compelling argument (McCombs 2005, 556). When newspapers publish stories during election time with the attribute of race defining the dominant frame, it might give an impression to the reader that race is the most important issue.
35 Scholar Salma Ghanem (1996) examined a situation in Texas during the early 1990s when intensive crime coverage in the news generated high levels of public concern about crime as the most important problem facing the country. However, during this same period of time actual crime rates in Texas were declining and had been for several years. Her examination of the various ways in which crime was framed in the news revealed that the salience of crime on the public agenda was related especially to the frequency of news stories about crime in which the average person would feel personally threatened. This frame in crime coverage explained the salience of crime even better than the total coverage of crime during this time.
It is clear that there is some effect on the audience from media usage. It is however, not at all like the theory of the hypodermic syringe, (as discussed in Chapter 1) in which the information is injected into the individuals and the audience is automatically convinced. Levels of usage and trust by the audience vary for different media outlets both between countries and within countries themselves. Varying segments of the audience have quite distinct relationships with the news media. Some are empowered by the information, some are indifferent, while others are even alienated from the political sphere altogether by what they see, hear, or read (Oates 2008).
Framing Gender Politics
Previous research suggests that an analysis of frames can reveal differences in political coverage (Devitt 2005, 446). Norris describes the objective as an attempt to “see whether the media frame [sic] gender politics ‘with a different eye’, which hinders women's participation in public life” (Norris 1997, 5).
Norris argues that the heightened salience of gender in American politics, manifested by such phenomena as the gender gap in voting and the increasing number of women running for public office, provides the basis for explicitly gendered news frames. Gender has become a common peg for news stories about certain voters, candidates,
36 leaders, and issues, prompting Norris to question whether a gendered frame advances or retards women's participation in public life (Norris, 1997).
Since news frames tend to reflect the dominant cultural perspective, groups challenging this perspective often criticise the manner in which the mainstream news media portray their interests and actions. Criticisms of gendered framing focus on the stereotypical presentations of women, the neglect of issues important to women, and the lukewarm evaluations of women's achievements.
Researchers at the Women’s Leadership Fund (1999) reviewed 311 newspaper stories and found, among other things, that journalists focused on personal characteristics of female candidates in 17 percent of the paragraphs written about them, compared to 12 percent for men. Reporters’ highlighted male candidates positions or records on the issues in 31 percent of the paragraphs written about them, compared to 27 for women. Also, approximately 62 per cent of the quotations made by male candidates included facts, evidence or reasoning behind their statements, compared with 56 per cent for women (Women’s Leadership Fund 1999).
According to Marie Wilson of the Women’s Leadership Fund, the way the media frames stories about female candidates may create obstacles to women seeking leadership positions. In a study conducted by the Women’s Leadership Fund, it was discovered that female election candidates were framed to project a certain image. References included comments on Arizona Governor Jane Hull as a “grandmotherly redhead” and on a former presidential candidate Elizabeth Dole’s clothing choice of a “red suit and matching red pumps” (Women’s Leadership Fund 1999).
During the 2008 US presidential campaign, the news media made a fuss about Republican Vice-Presidential candidate Sarah Palin’s wardrobe bills, while practically nothing was said about the expensive suits that were worn by Presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain. This may have contributed to Palin’s unpopularity with the voters (Rhee, 2008).
37 The problem with assessing media performance is that some stories involve clear and simple “facts” about which there is little disagreement7. The standards of “accuracy” and “truth” are self-evident. But few issues are clear-cut. Basic “facts” require a news narrative or frame, to make sense as a coherent story (Norris 1997, 2). Journalists commonly work with gendered frames to simplify, prioritise, and structure the narrative flow of events when covering women and men in public life. That is to say, gender can be one central element relevant to the way the story is presented and interpreted. Frames can be gender-neutral or gender-relevant: for example “middle-class problems with childcare facilities” or “women’s problems with childcare facilities” (Norris 1997, 6).
Frames are located within a particular culture and are the product of the complex interaction between sources, media, and audience. This determines the overall values and norms in society, such as attitudes toward the role of women within family, the workplace, and public life. Since news is a product of a particular time and place, we can expect coverage of gender politics to reflect broader social attitudes (Norris 1997, 7). Frames are also produced by the way media routinely handle stories. Once frames are established, they are institutionalised by news organisations, including news “beats” and “pack” journalism (Norris 1997, 7 and Tanner 2008, 128-129). Frames can be reinforced by professional training, journalistic practices, and news cultures which strengthen a common interpretation of events. The background and experience which journalists bring to newsrooms also have the potential to shape the way stories are interpreted. If voters hold strong views about the strengths and weaknesses of women and men politicians, candidates may seek to reinforce or neutralise these through their campaign communications, and in turn the media coverage may reflect the candidate’s messages (Norris 1997, 7).
7 Media performance, as defined by Denis McQuail (1993), is the “setting out and examining the record of a particular, though very broad, tradition of inquiry in the working of the mass media in their potential ‘public interest’ capacity”. 38 Some agenda-setting criticisms
Since the 1990s, the development of digital communication technology – cable and satellite technology and especially the internet – in combination with the spread of privatisation and deregulation policies, has been changing the news media environment. News outlets have rapidly grown in number and variety. According to Takeshita:
Citizens are obtaining news and public affairs information from many different and varied websites. The mass audience is fragmenting, with fewer and fewer people dependent on traditional mass media such as terrestrial television networks or newspapers (2006, 285).
According to Takeshita (2006), recent studies comparing the print and online versions of national newspapers reveal that online news readers are less likely than print news readers to recognise and recall facts about international, national, and political news topics. Further, the studies found that online news readers were more likely to avoid hard news and to prefer soft news than print news readers. Takeshita believes this tendency arises because the online news version has fewer means to communicate story salience cues than the print news version does and also because online news readers can take greater control in selecting news stories to read than can print news readers8. He concludes:
Therefore, if more and more people quit reading the print version and switch to online news, the agenda-setting power of the press will gradually wither (2006, 288).
8 A good example of this is the use of various online filters such as Google Alerts. Google Alerts are email updates of the latest relevant Google results (web, news, etc.) based on the user’s choice of query or topic. The user just has to enter the topic s/he wishes to monitor, and then clicks preview to see the type of results s/he will receive. Some handy uses of Google Alerts include: monitoring a developing news story; keeping current on a competitor or industry; getting the latest on a celebrity or event; and keeping tabs on your favorite sports teams.
39 Gender and the News Media
Feminist media scholars since the early 1970s have had an interest in whether and how major news media cover women’s experiences, issues and events (Byerly and Walker 2000). News has been the major focus because it is the major source of information, facts, ideas and opinion for people throughout the world. In today’s 24-hour news environment, it matters who and what is selected to appear in news coverage, and how individuals and events are portrayed. Equally, it matters who is left out and what is not covered (World Association for Christian Communication 2005). The most extensive indicator of women’s place in the news (McGregor and Comrie 2002) is the 2010 Global Media Monitoring Project (GMMP), a world-wide effort by 108 countries, including Fiji, to document news media coverage of women on one particular day – November 10, 2009. The results show that the status of women in the world’s news media have changed little since 1995, when the initial project took place. Worldwide, women comprise just 24 percent news subjects and men 76 percent (in 2005, women were 21 percent and men 79 percent; in 2000, women were 18 percent and men 82 percent; in 1995, women were 17 percent and men 83 percent). In 2010 the proportion of female news subjects in politics was 19 percent (to 14 percent in 2005; 12 percent in 2000; and 7 percent in 1995) (World Association for Christian Communication 2010 and 2005, 22) and McGregor and Comrie 2002, 250).
While Australia, Fiji and New Zealand had been participating in the monitoring since its inception, in 2009, Papua New Guinea and Tonga joined the Pacific island countries. On October 31, 2009 the Fiji Media Watch, national coordinator for the event, confirmed 22 local agencies to participate in the monitoring. The participants were representatives from a diverse background including students from the University of the South Pacific’s and the Fiji National University’s Department of Journalism; Fiji’s Ministry of Information and NGOs Fiji Media Watch, femLINKPACIFIC: Media Initiatives for Women and the Ecumenical Centre for Research Education and Advocacy.
40 In 2009, the two daily newspapers in Fiji - the Fiji Times and the Fiji Sun –the radio news bulletin of the Fiji Broadcasting Corporation’s Radio Fiji Gold station and the Communications Fiji Ltd’s Legend FM News; and Fiji Television’s One National News, were monitored (Fiji Media Watch 2010).
In 2005, the Fiji Times,the Fiji Sun and the Fiji Daily Post were monitored, along with the 1-pm English language radio news bulletin of the Fiji Broadcasting Corporation, Fijian language news bulletin of Viti FM (Communications Fiji Ltd) and the 6-pm and 10-pm newscasts on Fiji Television were monitored (Pacific Media Watch Fiji, 2006).
In 2009, in Fiji, 18 percent of all news subjects were women on television, 14 percent on radio and 40 percent in newspapers. When breaking the figures into topics, none of the news subjects were women in political and government related stories. Fiji women as news subjects figured below men in all topics (politics, government - 0 percent; crime, violence - 22 percent; social, legal - 20 percent; celebrity, arts, sport - 40 percent and the Girl-Child - 0 percent). Global figures were essentially similar (World Association for Christian Communication 2010).
In 2005, 11 percent of all news subjects in Fiji were women on television (global average: 22 percent), 27 percent on radio (global average: 17 percent) and 20 percent in newspapers (global average: 21 percent). When breaking the figures into topics, only 18 percent of all news subjects were women in political and government related stories. Fiji women as news subjects figured below men in all topics (politics, government - 18 percent; economy, business - 6 percent; crime, violence - 30 percent; social, legal - 27 percent; celebrity, arts, sport - 13 percent and science, health - 42 percent). Global figures were essentially similar (World Association for Christian Communication 2005 124).
Even when women were the subjects of news, their function (in the stories) was also not up to par with men. No woman’s opinion served as the popular opinion in news stories and no woman gave her personal experience in a story. Sixty-seven per cent of
41 women served as eye witnesses in stories; while only 10 percent of the women were subjects of the story, that is, the story were about them. Forty per cent gave their expert opinions; and 39 percent of women served as spokespersons (World Association for Christian Communication 2005, 129). Overall the global figures were not as dismal as Fiji’s, but even then, women were below men in all categories. When appearing as subjects in newspapers, only five percent of all people actually asked to give their opinions (that is, they were quoted), were women. The global average was much better where 50 percent of all people quoted were women (voicing their opinions). And in terms of being central to the news, the majority of the women were central in stories relating to crime and violence (World Association for Christian Communication 2005, 38).
According to the then Fiji Media Watch vice-president Peter Emberson, who co- monitored the Fiji project in 2005:
In Fiji, 49 percent of the population is women, but only 20 percent of the people featured in the news are women. And it is the same the world over. Twenty percent includes those who work in the news, those who present the news and the subjects of the news. It is predominantly a male scenario that you are looking at. We are telling stories about men in the news; we see the predominant role that men play for expert commentary, as eye-witnesses, as news subjects it is predominantly male. It is pretty much a slice of what happens every day in the news (Pacific Media Watch Fiji 2006).
Media expert Julie Middleton (2008, 43) challenged Pacific journalists “to provide genuine space for women’s voices and involvement in all types of coverage, a provision built on the conviction that women are equal partners in development and in the media”. She further added:
The media – newspapers, radio, television, the advertising industry and the internet – are a crucial part of the development equation, with the power to set agendas, hold governments to account, and influence the way women, their rights and interests are represented (2008, 43).
42 Symbolic Annihilation
It is often said that news provides a mirror on the world but the GMMP 2010 and 2005 shows that it does not. The world we see in the news is a world in which women are virtually invisible.
While teaching a women and media course, a teacher at the University of Kentucky in the US took a practical approach to showing her students the near invisibility of women in the media. In each of the courses that she taught (American Government, Introduction to Political Science, Political Behaviour, Campaigns and Media, Women and Politics and State and Local Politics), she made the students execute an exercise that had an enormous impact on them, as they were consistently stunned by the results. Armed with the section front pages of the Lexington Herald-Leader, the Louisville Courier-Journal, the New York Times and the University of Kentucky Kernel, the teacher distributed the 90 newspapers randomly to 45 students (along with two different coloured markers to each student). The students were instructed to highlight in one colour every textual reference to persons (noting proper names, not nouns), byline, or photo of a woman and, using the other highlighter, to do the same for men. They were asked to tabulate male and female totals for different categories (Miller 1996, 513).
The conclusion in every class was clear; when it came to front page reporting, Kentucky’s major newspapers, the New York Times, and the college daily significantly under-represented coverage of women and were often unflattering in the coverage they did provide (Miller 1996, 513).
The most extreme result had to do with textual references to females. On average, females were the subject of only 10 percent of front-page references. Some students had front-pages that contained no female bylines, photographs, or reference to women. Stories about females were often about victimisation. Female candidates for political office were described in terms of their physical attire, personal feminine
43 attributes, and family relationships. Men seldom were described in this fashion. In fact it was rare that a male’s marital or parental status was mentioned (Miller 1996, 513).
What difference do these coverage patterns make? Nancy Woodhull, founding editor of USA Today, believes it makes a tremendous difference:
There is an act called symbolic annihilation. It means that if the press does not report existence, for all perception purposes, you do not exist. It’s called feeling invisible. (Miller 1996, 513)
Feminist scholars have long been critical of the prevailing portrayal of women as powerless (Norris 1997, 10). So the question arises: Why should more women be in public life? What difference does it make if they are invisible in the media and public life?
Norris puts forward two ideas; one, she believes is perceived more credible and the other, although harder to argue, is the one that holds most merit (Norris and Lovenduski 1981, 108). The first argument is simply that there should be more women in politics on the grounds of symbolic equity. This symbolic argument is based on a theory of representation in which Parliament can only function democratically if it acts as a public forum for all points of view, reflecting the major divisions in society. The second, or substantive, argument - meaning the substantive difference women would make - is perceived to be stronger. It claims that more women in Parliament would make a substantive difference. From this perspective more women should be elected because they represent a ‘woman’s point of view’, with distinctive values, attitudes and concerns which may have an impact on legislative behaviour and the content of public policy. Whatever the explanation for wanting women in power, there is strong evidence that once elected; women politicians behave similarly to their male counterparts, which imply that the case for more women in Parliament must be argued on the grounds of symbolic equity rather substantive effect (Norris and Lovenduski 1981, 108).
44 It is also argued that gender differences could transform public policy if enough women were elected to reach a critical mass (critical mass is based on the belief that the form of a public body will shape the processes and policies of that organisation. In political science literature the concept of critical mass infers that the election of an adequate number of female politicians will result in legislative changes being more responsive to women) in Parliament. According to the United Nations, research demonstrates that if women’s participation reaches 30 to 35 percent (generally termed a “critical mass”), there is a real impact on political style and the content of decisions, and political life is revitalized (CEDAW, Womenwatch). It is debated that if women remain below 10 percent of the legislature, gender differences in attitudes will fail to make a major impact. Those women who manage to enter the Parliament will feel that they have to play by the ‘rules of the game’ to succeed. If they have different priorities or values they will not feel free to articulate them. Once women candidates are more successful, as in the European and Nordic countries where 21.5 and 42.5 percent respectively (IPU 2009) of the legislature is female, women may be able to transform the policy agenda. Until that critical mass is reached the odds against women politicians having a measurable influence are high (CEDAW, Womenwatch). The media in this regard can play a part in highlighting the need for a critical mass of women in Parliament. Unfortunately when media actually do give coverage on issues such as the lack of women in Parliament, it usually takes a stereotypical approach. The discussion below gives an insight as to how and why stereotypes in stories occur.
Stereotyping of stories in newsrooms
Media should be pluralist, reflecting the diversity of society, giving access to various points of view, and avoiding giving offence to minority groups (Norris 1997, 1). Most importantly, media should avoid stereotyping. Stereotyping in news has long been of interest to communication scholars, an interest rooted in concerns that stereotyping contributes to distorted perceptions. Stereotypes are category-based reactions to people from groups perceived to differ significantly from one’s own. A variety of theoretical
45 perspectives has guided the study of why reporters’ stereotype stories (Lasorsa and Dai 2007, 281).
Stereotypes arise from the public’s need for a positive social identity with an ‘in- group’ which identifies an ‘out-group’ with a relatively devalued contrast. Before children are able to evaluate a stereotype, they learn it from authority figures, peers, and mass media, whose acceptance of the stereotype reinforces it (Lasorsa and Dai 2007, 281). Often, gender stereotypes develop by observing the distribution of men and women in occupations (Armstrong and Nelson 2005, 821). When a child constantly sees the image of a female nurse in storybooks, she or she will most likely grow up thinking that only females can be nurses. The result of this is that information processing in favorable conditions and through extensive practice becomes automatic for the public. That is, without intention or conscious awareness. Repeated encounters in different contexts allow a stereotype to become activated automatically (like in the nurse example) (Lasorsa and Dai 2007, 281).
A sociological (the study of human societies) perspective suggests that journalists characterise events both to decide how to carry out their work and how to expect which characters and plots are likely to be involved. A cultural perspective suggests that reporters’ tend to use stereotypes for three reasons: (1) when events are unfamiliar to them and are hard to comprehend, and (2) to make stories echo with audience expectations. The third reason, from the psychological perspective, suggests that demands of the job sometimes impose on journalists’ ability to process information. With this happens, the journalist resorts to sorting a story into a particular genre and then developing a theory about it to explore (Lasorsa and Dai 2007, 281).
Lippman called the attempt to see all things freshly and in detail rather than as types and generalities exhausting, meaning it takes too much effort and time for the media to look at things from different angles. Also as mentioned earlier, it is also something journalists cannot help doing, especially with the large number of stories they
46 are allocated to write in a day. Relying on stereotypes which our culture has defined for us is economical. Stereotypes are “energy-saving devices” (Lasorsa and Dai 2007, 282).
When analysing stories for stereotypes in the 2005 GMMP report, the authors noted that the overwhelming majority of stories (91 percent) were deemed to neither clearly challenge nor clearly reinforce gender stereotypes. However, it was also noted that stories were twice as likely to reinforce stereotypes (6 percent) than to challenge them (3 percent). The report does not say clearly if the 6 percent and 3 percent are the remainder of the 91 percent or from a different calculation altogether (World Association for Christian Communication 2005, 75).
Many feminists have long been critical of the usual stereotypical portrayal of political women, arguing that this encourages sex role stereotyping, and thereby perpetuates women’s powerlessness. Women are seen as less credible by the media, especially when they are being interviewed about traditionally sex-typed issues such as defence or crime, although at the same time they may be perceived as more credible on “compassion” issues such as the family, welfare, and education.
There is a need to be careful when clarifying the relationship between the concept of “gender framing” (which was discussed earlier in the chapter) and the concept of “sex stereotypes”. These are related, since gendered news frames may combine and thereby reinforce a range of sex stereotypes. But “frames” can be understood as the broader narrative within which sex stereotype may be located. For example, a woman candidate may be perceived by voters as more knowledgeable about childcare policy than a man. Journalists may assume that a feminist is anti-family. A woman Senator may be seen as a less experienced politician, and more honest, than her male colleague. Voters might expect a female prime minister to be more reluctant to deploy military force than a male leader. Yet these may be wholly erroneous and inaccurate judgments about individuals. A woman candidate for Parliament may have more interest in the military and defence expenditure than in childcare policy. For
47 example, Margaret Thatcher, Golda Meir, and Indira Gandhi displayed little hesitation in using force where necessary (Norris 1997, 8).
Stereotypes and leadership
Stereotypes affect attitudes about leadership. Stereotypes about traits (for example, women are more compassionate), stereotypes about political ideology (for example, women are more liberal), and stereotypes about emotional strength (for example, women are weaker) may all contribute to the attitude that women would not perform as well as men in handling issues of terrorism and national security (Falk and Kenski 2006, 4). For instance in Fiji, the possibilities of a coup and racial tension may influence the voters to choose male leaders who in their mind may deal better with the coup situation should it come to that. In a patriarchal society such as Fiji, culture is such that the males are mandated to protect the family. In times of crisis, the same ideology may influence voting behaviour (Heldman, Carroll and Olson 2005, 315).
Another example is in Thailand, where gendered news narratives strengthen the stereotypical images of women as passive and decorative (Mukda-anan, Kusakabe and Komolsevin 2006, 153). Majority of Thai media still lacks gender sensitivity in news reporting (Mukda-anan, Kusakabe and Komolsevin 2006, 153). In Thailand, women are described as less credible than men by media, especially in traditionally male-dominated issues such as politics. Despite the effort to encourage more female participation in Thai politics, the number of women politicians in high level positions is relatively low (in the 2007 elections 13.3 percent of the lower house were women; in 2008, 16.0 percent of the upper house were women (IPU, 2010) . Politicians and the media in Thailand have an interdependent, love-hate relationship. A woman politician faces the brunt of this from two angles: managing the already-hostile relationship with the media as a professional politician while conforming to traditional representations of women in Thailand (Mukda-anan, Kusakabe and Komolsevin 2006, 153).
48 The central argument of Kahn’s Political Consequences of Being a Woman: How Stereotypes Influence the Conduct and Consequences of Political Campaigns (1999) is that stereotypical images of male and female candidates influence election campaigns (and in particular the US. senatorial and gubernatorial races). Kahn explains how sex stereotypes lead people to view women as possessing expressive strengths: emotion, understanding, gentleness, warmth and compassion. Men are viewed as possessing instrumental strengths: independence, objectivity, ambition, aggression, and competence. Kahn theorizes that stereotypical beliefs such as these influence the actions of the candidate, the news coverage of the campaign, and the view of the voter (as quoted in Simien 1999, 616).
First Kahn looks systematically at campaign tactics and appeals made by the candidates. In order to do this, she analyses the content of candidates’ televised political advertisements. She examines a sample of campaign advertisements for senatorial and gubernatorial races held between 1983 and 1988. Results suggest that sex stereotypes influences how men and women campaign. Apparently, men and women candidates choose to emphasise issues and traits that correspond with their stereotypical strengths. For instance, women spend more time emphasising social issues and men spend more time stressing economic issues (as quoted in Simien 1999, 616).
Second, Kahn examines how male and female candidates are treated by the news media in senatorial and gubernatorial elections. Results from this study indicate that female candidates do not receive that same press treatment as men. In general, female candidates receive less news coverage than men. In senatorial campaigns, the press tends to focus more upon the female candidate’s chances of electoral success and less on her issue positions. Besides this, the press coverage regarding the candidate’s viability is more negative for female candidates than for males. In gubernatorial campaigns, the press is more likely to focus on the female candidate’s personality characteristics than the candidate’s political concerns. This analysis demonstrates that while the press differentiates between male and female candidates in its coverage of them, the
49 differences are less dramatic in gubernatorial campaigns than in senatorial campaigns (as quoted in Simien 1999, 616-617).
Third, Kahn explores the impact of differences in news coverage on people’s impressions of male and female candidates. She conducts an experiment that recreates the gender differences in coverage based upon the content analysis of the newspapers featuring the various campaigns. With this experiment, she also looks at whether voters think about candidate’s sex in forming impressions and whether gender differences in coverage and voters’ sex stereotypes cumulatively influence the voters’ views of candidates. Results from this study indicate that respondents consider women to be more competent than men at dealing with education and health policy even though their ability to do so is not mentioned in their press coverage (as quoted in Simien 1999, 617).
Fourth, Kahn examines how changes in the context of the campaign influence the electoral fortunes of female candidates. The results from this study demonstrates that, compared to its coverage of senate races, the press treats gender differences more equitably in gubernatorial races, so that there are not impressive differences in evaluations of male and female candidates. Apparently, citizens’ reliance upon sex stereotypes produces more positive evaluations of female gubernatorial candidates because the important campaign issues in gubernatorial elections complement women’s stereotypical strengths. In Senate campaigns, prominent issues tent to correspond with women’s perceived weaknesses. For this reason, Kahn concludes that typical notions of “male” and “female” traits create significant obstacles for female candidates in some electoral environments, but distinct advantages for women in others (as quoted in Simien 1999, 617).
In the end, Kahn recommends that female candidates emphasise their leadership ability demonstrate their competence in dealing with traditional “male’ issues. Since incumbents receive more media attention, female incumbents might act in a non- stereotypical fashion and encourage the modification of sex stereotypes among the electorates (as quoted in Simien 1999, 616).
50 News sources
For journalists, some of the most exciting and challenging moments are when they are witnesses to the news, when they are personally seeing or hearing an event as it unfolds. Unfortunately, this is not the case with most of the news they report. By and large, journalists rely on other people to tell them the news. These people are often representatives of major institutions: government officials, corporate spokespersons, academics, experts and authorities on particular events or subjects. These kinds of sources have come to be known as elite sources (Mason 2007, 109).
When examining news content, scholars have found that elite official sources appearing in the media are most often male. If media are one of the key elements involved in gender socialisation, and men are the key newsmakers, it follows that men, because they are viewed as official sources more frequently than women, may be perceived as more important than women9 (Armstrong and Nelson 2005, 821).
Source information usually contains names and titles, both of which may act as triggers for implicit stereotypes. For example, individuals may assume that authority figures are males and may place more confidence in a typically quoted authority figure, such as a male police chief, compared to a female police chief. As such, occupations offer trait information – that is the kind of person needed to do the job - which may guide information processing (Armstrong and Nelson 2005, 821).
Female Election Candidates and the Media
A wide variety of demographic and political characteristics have been shown to affect attitudes about women in office. Among the variables demonstrated to predict
9 According to the United Nations Fund for Children (UNICEF 2007) “gender socialisation is a process by which people learn to behave in a certain way, as directed by societal beliefs, values, attitudes and examples. Gender socialisation begins as early as when a woman becomes pregnant and people start making judgements about the value of males over females”. 51 attitudes about women candidates, sex has been the best documented (Falk and Kenski 2006). Recent studies clarify the powerful role the news media can play in campaigns; the media can influence what voters learn about candidates as well as the criteria voters use when evaluating candidates (Kahn and Goldenberg 1991). By covering male and female candidates differently, the news media may influence the success or failure of female candidates for public office (Kahn and Goldenberg 1991). There are four ways in which the news media can contribute in shaping the attitudes of voters towards candidates. Firstly, by influencing both the amount and type of information the voters acquire about the elected officials. Secondly, they may persuade voters to support or oppose certain candidates. Thirdly, they may set the agenda for a political campaign by deciding which issues people will consider most important and finally, by altering the criteria people use to evaluate public officials by emphasising certain issues over others (as quoted in Maytal 2005, 7). If women are, in fact, being unfairly portrayed by news media sources (if they are stereotyped), then it can be inferred that the media may be hindering the ability of women to obtain political office, retain political positions, and be promoted in politics (Kahn and Goldenberg 1991, 180 and Maytal 2005, 7). As Kahn explained:
By differentiating between male and female candidates in their coverage, the press may encourage voters to develop more favourable impression of certain candidates and less favourable images of others. The media representation of a candidate’s campaign may therefore influence the electability of candidates (as quoted in Maytal 2007, 7).
Visibility of Female Election Candidates
Since name recognition is an important resource for any election candidate, it is imperative for female candidates to be highly visible in the media because “voters will rarely support a candidate they do not recognise” (Kahn and Goldenberg 1991, 184). Since the amount of coverage a candidate receives is related to the voters’ recognition of the candidate, gender differences in press attention may be consequential. Standard definitions of news may lead reporters and editors to see female candidates as especially
52 newsworthy and female candidates may therefore receive more attention in the news (Norris 1997). On the other hand, if reporters and editors regard female candidates as less viable and thus less important than their male counterparts, then female candidates may receive less news exposure (Kahn and Goldenberg 1991).
The number and placement of newspaper articles on female election candidates indicate the seriousness with which the media consider this group and may send a potentially powerful message to readers. If female election candidates are included more frequently and on the front pages, this may signal that women are significant and important political players; if they are covered infrequently and relegated to the fashion section, readers may well get the impression that the presence of these potential Members of Parliament are unimportant and their contributions are marginal (Norris 1997). It is also important that female election candidates not only get adequate coverage in the media to secure voter recognition but also that the substance of their campaign coverage be adequate as this may influence voters’ evaluation of the candidates (Kahn and Goldenberg 1991).
While conducting a content analysis assessing potentially important differences in the newspaper coverage of a sample of male and female US Senate candidates in the elections of 1982 and 1986, Kahn found large statistical differences in coverage between male and female candidates. These differences were also consistent from one election period to the other and from one newspaper to the other (Kahn and Goldenberg 1991).
Candidates’ coverage varied with the sex of the candidate. As expected, female candidates captured less news attention than male candidates: male candidates consistently received more coverage than their female counterparts. Overall, an average of 12.9 paragraphs was published about male candidates each day while only 10.5 paragraphs were devoted to female candidates each day.
The coverage that female candidates did receive concentrated more on their viability (that is, their chances of being elected) and less on their issue positions. Male
53 candidates, on the other hand, were regularly quoted on their positions on issues. Given these gender differences in press treatment, Kahn surmised that voters’ recognition of male candidates would exceed that of female candidates and that evaluations of female candidates would be tied more closely to their perceived viability (Kahn and Goldenberg 1991 and Mukda-anan, Kusakabe and Komolsevin 2006).
These results suggested that voters would have a difficult time acquiring information about female candidates. The lack of available information about female candidates may result in inadequate/poor/non-existent voter recognition, and consequently, may limit a woman’s election chances. (Kahn and Goldenberg 1991). As Jennifer Pozner explained:
By determining who gets to speak and who is excluded…as well as which issues are discussed and how they are framed, the media has [sic] the power to maintain the status quo or challenge the dominant order (as quoted in Maytal 2007, 6).
We can assume that, if the media portrays female candidates less often than male candidates, the media might play a part in the under-representation of women in politics.
How the news media portray female election candidates?
The news media’s tendency to focus on the personality, appearance and family life of female candidates could leave voters thinking they are less qualified to run for election (Women’s Leadership Fund). In fact, some may argue that the media have created a certain gaze that is created depending on their imagined audience. The “gaze or the “male gaze” as it commonly known, is a theory developed by Laura Mulvey, a feminist film theorist. In her essay “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema” she said that through the use of various film techniques, a typical film’s viewer becomes aligned with the point of view of its male protagonist. She noted that women function as objects of this gaze far more often than as proxies (substitutes) for the spectator (Aberystwyth University 2009). In the print news media, there is an assumption that there is a male
54 audience for political issues and a female audience for the women’s style/fashion page. Thus the representations of women in these pages become different (Mukda-anan, Kusakabe and Komolsevin 2006, 155).
To be (feminine) or not to be
Two of Thailand’s largest-circulated local newspapers were studied to determine how they gave coverage to Khunying Sudarat Keyuraphan, Minister of Agriculture and Agriculture Cooperatives. All news reports relating to her were analysed to highlight the representation created for Sudarat and how the response strategy she used ended up being detrimental to her (Mukda-anan, Kusakabe and Komolsevin 2006). Thai women are often described as having far more freedom in movement and authority in the household compared to women in other Asian countries. However, there are still only a few women in the higher echelons of society:
The woman politician struggles over representations not only in the process of creation of self-hood and self-cognition but also for her own political gain. Thus, her struggle for representation involves not only the conflict over the meaning attached to politicians (that is currently depicted as masculine), but also on utilizing her representation as a woman for political gain (Mukda-anan, Kusakabe and Komolsevin 2006, 156).
Sudarat discovered that she was required by Thai society and media to conform to an expected role, when she first declared her entry to the political arena. Initially, she did not specify her marital status and continued to use her maiden name. As a result, the press referred to her as ‘Miss (Nangsao) Sudarat’. When they found out later that she was married, they automatically changed her title to ‘Mrs. (Nang)’. On this matter, a leading reporter said:
Women candidates may intentionally conceal or lie about their real marital status. Hence, reporters are sometimes confused. As for Sudarat, we knew nothing about her marriage, and never saw her husband or her kids. She also used her father’s surname. Therefore, we assumed that she was single and presented her title as ‘Miss (Nangsao)’. When we found
55 out later that she’s married, we renamed her ‘Mrs (Nang) Sudarat’ (Mukda-anan, Kusakabe and Komolsevin 2006, 159).
This was not an issue for male candidates, who are called either by their title or Khun, a general title that can be used for both women and men, regardless of marital status. However, newspapers refer to women as ‘Miss’ or ‘Mrs’ but not as Khun. While her party tried to present Sudarat as only ‘Sudarat Keyuraphan’ (using just her first name and surname), the press confused the reader by using Miss as her title. Women who use ‘Mrs’ are either married or divorced. Women who use ‘Mrs’ with their maiden names are usually widows or divorcees. Both carry negative connotations in Thai society (Mukda-anan, Kusakabe and Komolsevin 2006, 159).
Sudarat’s marital status became the talk of the town. The media focus on her marital status and the consequent suspicion that Sudarat lied about her status contributed to a doubtful image about her marriage and her fidelity. According to the authors Thai newspapers prefer to see women securely in place under a man. This can be seen in their tendency to refer to women politicians in relation to men. For example, Sudarat has been referred to quite often as related to her father (‘daughter of a former politician’) or her male party leader (‘member of Maha Chamlong [head of the political party]’) (Mukda- anan, Kusakabe and Komolsevin 2006, 159).
Sudarat was highlighted as the most prominent woman in politics, as well as occasionally spoken of as having the potential to become the first woman Prime Minister of Thailand. Sudarat willingly transformed her image from that of a deviant but passive woman, to a leader and an agenda setter by projecting her femininity and conforming to the expected image of ideal women candidates in the eyes of the media. She hired a media communication specialist to develop a strategy in dealing with her media image. In her campaign, Sudarat started stressing that she is a woman asking voters for a seat in politics. In her public communications she always emphasised her family and how fortunate she was to have a supportive husband. In this aspect, the success of Sudarat in the district council election owes much to the transformation of her image (Mukda-anan, Kusakabe and Komolsevin 2006, 159).
56 Another example of a female election candidate being treated differently from her male counterpart is that of Elizabeth Dole, who ran as a presidential candidate in the US in 1999. Heldman, Carroll and Olson (2005) analysed two data sets to determine differences in print media coverage of Dole and five other Republican contenders for the presidential nomination: George W. Bush, John McCain, Alan Keyes, Gary Bauer, and Steve Forbes. The authors’ coded basic information about the length and placement of each story, the sex of the reporter, candidate mentions, and proportion of the story devoted to each candidate and the order in which candidates were mentioned. They also coded the appearance of candidates’ names in the headline, the tone of the headline, and the primary focus of the story. Specific mentions of issues, specific mentions of traits, specific mentions of personal appearance, and references to family were also coded. Findings indicated that Dole received a different amount and type of print media coverage that was decidedly gendered and may have hindered her candidacy. Dole did not receive an amount of media coverage consistent with her standing as the number two candidate in the polls throughout the time period examined, and the press paid more attention to Dole’s personality traits and appearance than to the traits and appearance of other candidates. Journalists also repeatedly framed Dole as the “first woman” to be a serious presidential candidate and focused on her gender more than any other aspect of her candidacy, suggesting implicitly, if not explicitly, that she was a novelty in the race rather than a strong contender with a good chance of winning (Heldman, Carroll and Olson 2005, 315).
On October 20, 1999, Elizabeth Dole dropped out of the race for the Republican presidential nomination. Her withdrawal came before the first presidential primary and only seven months after she had entered the race on March 10, 1999. While Dole’s candidacy was short-lived, it was the longest and most serious bid by a woman for a major party’s presidential nomination in the previous two decades. Only one woman, Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm, had been a contender for a major party’s presidential nomination, and her 1972 candidacy was not taken seriously by most voters or the
57 Anglo-White, mostly male, political establishment (Heldman, Carroll and Olson 2005, 315).
Journalist Debra Rosenberg (qto. in Heldman, Carroll and Olson 2005, 41) reported in Newsweek that Dole had consistently beaten Al Gore when pollsters asked voters for whom they would vote if the choice in November 2000 was between these two candidates. Dole publicly attributed her withdrawal from the race to George W. Bush’s campaign war chest and her failure to raise comparable amounts of money. However, in light of the findings that the authors had presented in their research, they cannot help but wonder if Dole might have been able to stay in the race longer had she received more equitable treatment in the press (Heldman, Carroll and Olson 2005, 332).
Summary
As discussed in this chapter, the media have the ability to use agenda-setting function, framing, and priming - three related models of cognitive political effects of mass media – which can have a wide range of influences on what or how citizens think about political issues.
Examples were given to highlight how gendered frames were used to convey messages in a story, which may contain bias. Similarly, two case studies were discussed to show how female election candidates in the US and Thailand were treated by the media and how the coverage accorded to them may have seriously jeopardised their campaigns and eventual election/non-election into Parliament.
With the literature discussed in this chapter, we can conclude that if the media coverage of women is excluded and/or portrays female candidates less often, and if the coverage is stereotyped, then it only adds to the vast under- and misrepresentation of women in politics today.
58 Status of Women in Fiji
In most societies in the developing world women do not enjoy the same opportunities as men. They bear children and are their care-givers; they maintain households, produce food for maintaining families and also act as keepers and transmitters of tradition and culture. They work long hours and are paid less than men; they have limited opportunities and their choices are constrained by social, cultural and religious beliefs. Men are overseers of all these roles and activities because religion, cultural systems, traditional beliefs and the patriarchal nature of the society demand and reinforce their dominance. Men also have relatively more opportunities and choices available to them. These disparities generate substantive gaps for women, who lag behind in education, employment and social and political decision-making processes (Chandra and Lewai 2005, 1).
Women’s contribution, like that of men, is crucial for the social, economic and political development of Fiji and for achieving gender equity and equality at all levels in society. Although women form half of the total population of Fiji, they remain unequal partners and get unequal benefits from the developmental process (Chandra and Lewai 2005; Nicholl 2006, and Narsey 2007).
According to the 2007 census report the Republic of Fiji Islands has a population of 837, 271with 410, 095 women (Fiji Bureau of Statistics, 2007 Facts and Figures). Female literacy rate is 91 percent and male is 95 percent (Nicholl 2006, 88). Despite these statistics women’s role in decision-making at the highest level is minimal in Fiji (Nicholl 2006, 88).
Electoral System There are many definitions of electoral systems: everything from the smallest administrative details to the largest political contexts is, at times, referred to as a country’s electoral system (Larserud and Taphorn 2007). Electoral systems can be classified into families based on the processes by which they translate votes into seats.
59 There are three main elements of electoral systems are. The first is the district magnitude - determining how many representatives are elected in one electoral district. The second is the formula - determining how the winner of a seat is chosen. The last element is the ballot structure - determining whether the voter votes for a candidate or a party and whether the voter makes a single choice or expresses a series of preferences (Larserud and Taphorn 2007).
Fiji’s last general election, which was held in May 2006, was the third under the 1997 constitution. It brought significant changes to the electoral system and composition of the House of Representatives. In this system, the election of members is done under a preferential voting system. The system is called the Alternative Vote (AV) and is used in Australia in its House of Representatives and also in Nauru and Papua New Guinea in a modified form. Ever since the Fiji Islands gained independence in 1970 from Great Britain, it had used the simple majority voting system of “First Past the Post” (Elections 2006 Fiji Island, How the Fiji Electoral System Works).
The Fiji Islands are divided up into 71 constituencies, each of which elects one member of the House of Representatives. Of these, 46 are communal seat constituencies in which a voter votes only for candidates from his/her own ethnic community. The other 25 constituencies are open seats, in which the voter elects candidates from any ethnic community. So a voter has two ballot papers in which to cast two votes - one to choose his or her communal seat representative and one to choose his/her open seat representative. Under the AV system the voter indicates his/her preference on the ballot paper by ranking the candidates. This means putting each candidate in order - from the candidate who you most want to win as your first choice, to the candidate who you least want to win as your last choice. Voting is done in this manner for both communal seat constituency and open seat constituencies (Elections 2006 Fiji Island, The Alternative Vote). As far as the division of constituencies goes, there are six urban Fijian communal constituencies of which each are supposed to have the same number of voters. Another 11 Fijian constituencies follow the provincial boundaries, while the provinces of Ba, Tailevu and Cakaudrove are divided into two constituencies each. Both the Indian and
60 General Voter (voters that are not registered as indigenous Fijian, Indo-Fijian or Rotuman) communal constituencies have been drawn up so that each has roughly an equal number of votes from that particular community. The Rotuman communal constituency covers the whole of Fiji. The 25 open seat constituencies have been drawn up in such a way that each has roughly the same number of voters, and each has a good proportion of people from the different ethnic communities (Elections 2006 Fiji Island, The Forming of the 71 Constituencies). Under the AV system a candidate only wins when he or she has got more than half of all the votes in that constituency (Elections 2006 Fiji Island, The Alternative Vote).
Another change brought in through the 1996 electoral provisions is that the newly-elected members to the new House of Representatives are to come from single- member constituencies rather than the previous multi-member constituencies under the 1990 Constitution. This means that as there are 71 single-member constituencies, there are 71 seats in the House of Representatives. The 71 seats are comprised as follows in comparison to the composition of the previous House of Representatives:
Table 1 - House of Representatives
1990 1997
CONSTITUTION CONSTITUTION
Fijian Seats 37 23
Indian Seats 27 19
Rotuman Seats 1 1
General Seats 5 3
Open Seats - 25
TOTAL 70 71
Source: Elections 2006 Fiji Island, How the Fiji Electoral System Works
61 The newly-elected members generally serve a full-term of five years before the next election.
The type of electoral system in a country plays an important role in women’s political representation. While not specifically advocating for any particular electoral system, the Director General of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC)10, Dr Jimmy Rodgers, believes that in order to increase women representatives in Pacific Parliaments, electoral reforms must seriously be considered. He suggested electing a male and a female member for each constituency represented in Parliament (Osifelo 2008).
The National Council for Building a Better Fiji (NCBBF) under the interim administration of Fiji (formed after the December 5 2006 military coup) was tasked to draft the People’s Charter for Change, Peace and Progress – a document which claims to “bring about new ways of doing things” in Fiji (NCBBF, What is the Charter?). The NCBBF has proposed a change in the electoral system. The members believed, among other things, that the AV system “does not improve representation for social groups like women and small minorities without special provisions to reserve places” (Moving Fiji Forward Through Electoral Reform).
The members are proposing that Fiji adopt an Open List Voting System based on Proportional Representation (PR). PR requires the use of electoral districts with more than one member. Under a List PR system, each party or grouping presents a list of candidates for a multi-member electoral district, the voters vote for a party and the parties receive seats in proportion to their overall share of the vote. In some (closed list) systems, the winning candidates are taken from the lists in the order of their position on them. When lists are ‘open’ or ‘free’, voters can influence the order of the candidates by marking individual preferences (Larserud and Taphorn 2007).
10 SPC is an international organisation that provides technical assistance, policy advice, training and research services to 22 Pacific Island countries and territories in areas such as health, human development, agriculture, forestry and fisheries. 62 The NCBBF claims a PR system would “enhance opportunities for women under a system that does not reserve places for specific groups” (Moving Fiji Forward Through Electoral Reform). After examining the way electoral systems operate, commentators say there is considerable evidence that the use of proportional representation leads to a higher percentage of women in Parliament. According to Bjorn von Sydow, Speaker of the Swedish Riksdag:
We have several explanations for the high presence of women in the Nordic parliaments. One is the proportional electoral system. In Finland, there is a proportional list but the individual choice of the voters also comes into play (as quoted in IDEA 2005, 39).
When considering women’s representation, a crucial factor is whether the electoral system has single-member districts (SMDs) where only one legislator is elected in the district, or a multi-member district (MMD) system where several MPs are elected from each electoral district. Nicholl in her analysis of Fiji and its AV system concluded that:
Women perform better under proportional representation, especially list systems, and that single member constituency system is the worst for women (2006, 101-102).
This distinction between SMD and MMD tracks quite well, although not perfectly, with the distinction between plurality/majority (majoritarian) and PR systems. In plurality/majority systems the winner is the candidate or party with the most votes, and typically there is only a single winner in each district. In proportional systems the electoral system is designed to ensure that the overall votes for a party or coalition are translated into a corresponding proportion of seats in the legislature. According to Chappell (2005), major political parties have shown more willingness to work towards a greater gender balance on their ticket because they can stand multiple candidates. If a party wins 20 percent of the votes, it should get approximately 20 percent of the seats in Parliament. All PR systems use multimember districts.
63 There are several reasons why scholars of politics and women activists emphasise the effect electoral systems have on women’s representation. First, the impact of electoral systems is dramatic. As seen in Table 2, the differences in women’s representation across electoral systems are substantial. Second, and just as important, electoral systems can be, and regularly are, changed. Compared to the cultural status of women in society, or a country’s development level (the two other factors known to affect women’s representation), electoral rules are far more flexible. Changing the electoral system often represents a far more realistic goal to work towards than dramatically changing the culture’s view of women (IDEA 2005, 99-100).
Table 2 - Percentage of Women MPs Across 24 National Legislatures, 1945–2004 Plurality/majority (SMD) Systems vs PR/Mixed, Multi-member District Systems
System/Year 1945 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 1997 2004
SMD 3.05 2.13 2.51 2.23 3.37 8.16 15.42 18.24
MMD 2.93 4.73 5.47 5.86 11.89 18.13 21.93 27.49
Plurality/majority, SMD systems: PR and mixed, MMD systems: Austria, Australia, Canada, France (from 1960), Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France (1945 Japan (to 1990), New Zealand (to 1990), and 1950), Greece**, Iceland, Ireland, United Kingdom Israel*, Italy, Japan (after 1993), United States Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand (after 1996), Norway, Portugal**, Spain**, Sweden, Switzerland and Germany (Federal Republic of Germany* prior to 1990).
* Israel did not exist, and the Federal Republic of Germany did not hold elections in 1945. They are therefore not included in the 1945 numbers. They are included for all years following 1945. ** Greece, Portugal and Spain became democratic in the 1970s and are therefore only included in the calculations from 1980.
Key: SMD = Single-member districts systems: only one member is elected in each electoral district. MMD = Multi-member district system: more than one representative is elected in each electoral district. Source: IDEA 2005, 100
64 Table 2 presents data for 24 established democracies over the post-WWII period. They show that women have always had a slight advantage under PR as compared to plurality/majority systems. Until 1970, however, this advantage was small: the difference in women’s representation across the different systems is three percent or less. After 1970, however, there is a marked change and there has been a consistent and substantial divergence in women’s representation across electoral systems. In the 1960s and 1970s the entire developed world saw the spread of ‘second-wave feminism’ (suffrage movements were the first wave feminist movement): women were demanding equal rights on a whole array of issues, among them greater representation in politics. In countries with PR systems, women were able to translate those demands into greater representation. In plurality/majority systems, on the other hand, the same demands were made but they were “largely unsuccessful or only modestly successful” (IDEA 2005, 100).
While women’s political advancement is thriving in the Nordic countries under the PR system, global average figures of the number of women Members of Parliament (MPs) remain dismal. The situation as of August 31, 2011, shows that out of the total 45,128 MPs in the world, women only make up 8,716. Further breakdown of figures shows that of the total 38,225 MPs in single or lower house, women constitute only 7,457 of it. The number of women MPs in the upper house or senate is even lower, where they comprise of only 1,259 of the total of 6,903 MPs (IPU 2011). Table 3 below shows regional averages of the percentage of women in Parliament. Note that the Pacific region comes second to last in the ranking, just before the Arab States.
65 Table 3 - Regional Average
Single House Upper House Both Houses or lower House or Senate combined Nordic countries 42.1% ------Europe – OSCE member countries 22.2% 20.2% 21.8% including Nordic countries Americas 22.0% 23.1% 22.2% Europe – OSCE member countries 20.3% 20.2% 20.3% excluding Nordic countries Sub-Saharan 19.7% 18.9% 19.6% Africa Asia 18.3% 15.2% 18.0% Pacific 12.5% 32.6% 14.8% Arab States 10.9% 7.5% 10.3% Regions are classified by descending order of the percentage of women in the lower or single House Source: IPU 2011
Candidate Selection
In 1984, a study was conducted for the Asia Pacific Development Centre (in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia) entitled Women in Development Planning Fiji. Among other recommendations, this report also suggested that when selecting candidates:
…that all bodies responsible for the selection of candidates for elected positions make a positive effort to ensure that potential female candidates are given consideration on precisely the same basis as male candidates, and that where the competence of a female merits her selection, special encouragement and assistance be given if this is necessary to overcome prejudicial attitudes and practical difficulties (Agar et al. 1984, xviii).
Twenty-eight years later, Fiji is still struggling to fulfil the recommendations regarding candidate selection, not only in this report, but also in countless others. Furthermore Fiji has signed onto or ratified certain significant international conventions that advocate for the advancement of women in many areas. From the relatively small number of women gaining entry into Fiji’s Parliament each election it is unclear what
66 purpose these conventions are serving or if there has been concerted effort within successive governments to comply with these treaties.
State obligations
Below is a summary of some significant international conventions that Fiji has ratified which aim to empower women and attain gender equality for the women of Fiji.
CEDAW
Probably best known internationally is the Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). This convention was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1979 as the “most comprehensive treaty specifically on the human rights of women” (Narsey 2007, 1). On August 27, 1995 Fiji ratified CEDAW.
The outlines the 12 most critical areas of women’s rights in which government action is most needed to stop discrimination against women. CEDAW not only defines what constitutes discrimination against women, but sets up an international and national agenda for action to end it.
Article Five of CEDAW directs governments to undertake measures to change/amend social and cultural behaviour and attitudes that discriminate against women. Governments must also implement short-term actions to advance women’s equality (Article Four). Article Seven states that governments that sign the Convention must act to stop discrimination in public and political life, ensuring that all women have the right to vote and be eligible for election at all levels (RRRT 2001).
Countries which ratified CEDAW are “legally bound to put its provisions into practice, and are also committed to submit national reports, at least every four years” on
67 the progress made in the relevant areas where gender equality was being sought (Narsey 2007, 1).
Fiji has complied in submitting national reports twice, with the last being in November 2008 (The Situation of Women in Fiji, CEDAW Report). Apart from the report submitted by the government, civil society also has the opportunity to submit a parallel or shadow report. The Fiji Women’s Rights Movement (FWRM) spearheaded the shadow reporting process through the NGO CEDAW Advisory Committee11. The Advisory Committee submitted its second, third and fourth parallel reports to the UN CEDAW Committee in July 2009. The parallel report indicates that, in general, implementation of the principles of CEDAW principles is weak in Fiji. Even where there is political commitment on the part of government, there are insufficient resources either available or allocated to implement the standards in CEDAW (Balance 2009, 3).The UN CEDAW working group committee met in August 2009 to review the state and parallel reports and prepare a list of issues and questions. Fiji presented the State report to the UN CEDAW Committee at the 46th Session in July 2010. A shadow report, prepared by the Coalition of Women’s NGO’s for the CEDAW Shadow Report, as well as other rights-based NGO’s, was also submitted to the committee for the 46th Session in Geneva.
Beijing Platform for Action
In 1995 the Beijing Platform for Action (emanating from the Fourth World Conference on Women) called upon governments, the international community and civil society, including non-governmental organisations and the private sector, to take strategic action in the following critical areas of concern:
11 Formed in 1986, the Fiji Women's Rights Movement is a multiethnic and multicultural non- governmental organisation committed to removing discrimination against women through institutional reforms and attitudinal changes. By means of core programmes, as well as innovative approaches, the FWRM practice promotes democracy, good governance, feminism and human rights. It strives to empower, unite and provide leadership opportunities for women in Fiji, especially for emerging young leaders. 68 Inequality between men and women in the sharing of power and decision- making at all levels. Stereotyping of women and inequality in women’s access to and participation in all communication systems, especially in the media.
Under Section J of the Platform, Fiji, as a signatory government has to ensure the fulfilment of the following strategic objectives (The United Nations Fourth World Conference on, Women Platform for Action):
Strategic objective J.1 - Increase the participation and access of women to expression and decision-making in and through the media and new technologies of communication.
Strategic objective J.2 - Promote a balanced and non-stereotyped portrayal of women in the media.
Under the ‘Strategic Objectives’, there are numerous recommended ‘Actions to be Taken’ to fulfil the objectives by governments, national and international media systems and advertising organisations and NGOs. Among other things, Action 245 (b) (under strategic objective J.2) says:
Produce and/or disseminate media materials on women leaders, inter alia, as leaders who bring to their positions of leadership many different life experiences, including but not limited to their experiences in balancing work and family responsibilities, as mothers, as professionals, as managers and as entrepreneurs, to provide role models, particularly to young women;
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)
At the close of the 20th century, governments around the world agreed on a set of common goals for developing countries known as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The MDGs are to be achieved by 2015. They are drawn from the actions and targets contained in the Millennium Declaration that was adopted by 189 nations
69 and signed by 147 heads of state and governments (including Fiji) during the UN Millennium Summit in September 2000.
The eight goals are: (1) to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger; (2) to achieve universal primary education; (3) to promote gender equality and empower women; (4) to reduce child mortality; (5) to improve maternal health; (6) to combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases; (7) ensure environmental sustainability and (8) to develop a global partnership for development.
Specifically relating to this thesis is the third goal aimed to eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education by 2005, and at all levels by 2015. The indicators of these targets are further divided: ratios of girls to boys in primary, secondary and tertiary education; share of women in wage employment in the non- agricultural sector; and proportion of seats held by women in national Parliament.
In its 2nd National Report (1990-2009) on the MDG’s, the State said “it will be a major challenge to achieve MDG 3: promote gender equality and empower women [but] the Government is fully committed and positive that these goals are realized” (Millennium Development Goals Report for the Fiji Islands 2010, i). The report further said there are “mixed results” in achieving MDG 3:
While Fiji has succeeded in achieving gender equality in primary and secondary school enrolments, continued efforts are required in empowering women in decision making and professional jobs. On both counts, males by far dominate females. Given the existing gender imbalance in the labour market, and despite state commitment towards empowering women, progress in empowering women is likely to be made but not sufficient enough, given the short time frame left, to achieve the target by 2015 (Millennium Development Goals Report for the Fiji Islands 2010, 25).
70 History of Women in the Fiji Parliament
Women in postcolonial Fiji have taken an active role in political events via voting and supporting male candidates in elections. They have supported men in positions of power in the Parliament and the government for decades but their active participation in the government as politicians has remained limited, with the exception of women of privileged traditional and chiefly status (Chandra and Lewai 2005, 122 and Siwatibau et al. 2006, 12). Historically, Fiji has had a number of influential women leaders (including the late India-born Irene Jai Narayan). They have – until recently – either been chiefs themselves or have come from chiefly families and enjoyed high status among the indigenous people. Voting for such women is culturally acceptable (Nicholl 2007b, 162 and Siwatibau et al. 2006, 18). Chiefly women like Adi Asenaca Caucau, Adi Koila Nailatikau, Ro Teimumu Kepa, Adi Samanunu Talakuli Cakobau and Adi Kuini Speed have been ministers since the last three elections. But even chiefly female ministers have been confined to positions traditionally considered ‘feminine’, such as health, education and social welfare (Chandra and Lewai 2005, 122).
The figures in Appendix A give a clear indication of the role women play in the Fiji government. In 2000, women (both Ministers and other public servants) continued to be relegated to the traditionally ‘feminine’ sectors such as women’s issues, social welfare and poverty alleviation; education; and health. Sectors such as the attorney general’s chambers; home affairs and immigration; labour, industrial relations and productivity; national reconciliation; youth, employment opportunities and sport; fisheries and forestry; lands and mineral resources; commerce, business development and investment; and tourism, culture, heritage and civil aviation have no women in decision-making positions.
The first Alliance Government that ran the country after independence had only one woman member (Siwatibau et al. 2006, 12). The number of women in Parliament has never risen above eight at one single time (refer to Appendix B). This is a clear
71 indication of how weak national will has been in ensuring the achievement of gender equality at all level of decision-making.
The Role of NGOs during the 1999 and 2006 General Elections
The 1999 and 2006 general elections are the selected time periods analysed in this thesis. Appendix C (1999 election) and D (2006 election) show the number and names of female candidates who stood for election and the ones who eventually won.
In 2006, four NGOs jointly advertised in the daily newspapers about the importance of voting and reminded women that their ‘vote was secret and that no one needed to know how they had cast their ballot’. In addition to assisting with the advertisements, femLINKPACIFIC: Media Initiatives for Women – a women’s media organisation - broadcast interviews with women candidates and covered issues concerning the election (Nicholl 2007b, 168). The Fiji Women’s Rights Movement (FWRM), organised a Women in Politics Appeal - where individuals and organisations were encouraged to make cash donations, which would later be divided equally among female election candidates, regardless of party affiliations or financial background.
In addition, FWRM produced an A4 size flyer entitled ‘Women Ask’ which was inserted into the Fiji Times on Saturday 6 May, 2006 – the first day of voting (Nicholl 2007b, 168a and The Fiji Women’s Rights Movement 2008). According to FWRM, the flyer was a summary of a Women’s Ask survey that was conducted between the months of April and May 2006 to inform the people of Fiji, especially women, on the stance that different political parties were taking regarding women’s issues:
FWRM felt that such information on each political party’s commitments to women would not be covered in such detail by the news media. Thus, FWRM saw the need to print and pay for the insert of the flyers, so that voters would have the chance to evaluate political parties using this detailed information (The Fiji Women’s Rights Movement, 2008).
72 Possible Reasons for Lack of Women in Fiji Parliament
Cultural environment One reason for the lack of women in the higher echelons of decision-making is culture and tradition, which reinforces patriarchy (Siwatibau et al. 2006, 14). In strong Pacific societies such as Fiji, cultural beliefs force women to shy away from taking up leadership positions or participate in politics. Due to patriarchy there has been a general acceptance by both men and women that politics is the domain of men. Many women do not get a straight passport to equality and the opportunity to make decisions at the national level despite being educated (Usman 2008, 60).
According to Dame Carol Kidu, former Papua New Guinea’s (PNG) Community Development Minister, the Pacific region has always had the lowest percentage of women in politics and is the only region that has shown no improvement in spite of almost two decades of global activism (Fiji Times 2008b, 24). In a keynote address at the Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development in Bangkok in 2008, Dame Kidu said the contemporary culture in the Pacific still tends to be conservative and patriarchal. It reflects a colonial and missionary heritage as well as a reluctance to change a status quo that favours men politically, socially, economically and administratively.
Even areas that are traditionally matrilineal, modern politics tend to marginalise the women from their traditional power base as the custodians of the land (Fiji Times 2008b, 24). The empowerment of women depends in large part on the accurate collection of information on their comparative national participation. This can then be assessed and interpreted to determine what needs to be done (where and in what sphere), to work towards gender equality. The pursuit of this goal is based on a patriarchal consideration. According to Fiji’s former Vice-President Ratu Joni Madraiwiwi, it is only when women achieve all they are capable of, freed of the constraints of custom, tradition and culture which prescribe gender roles, that Fiji as a nation can achieve its
73 full potential. Until then, “we are failing to fully utilize a resource that is half the population” (Madraiwiwi 2005, n.d.).
Nature of political parties
As part of report entitled ‘Developing a more Facilitating Environment for Women’s Political Participation in Fiji’ by Siwatibau et al. (2006), a survey was conducted to ascertain the reasons of the lack of women in Fiji Parliament. One of the major reasons identified were women’s (and men’s) hesitancy in women joining political parties because of the “way they are run and that they do not provide a friendly or conducive environment for women to join”. (Siwatibau et al. 2006, 14-15).
Women play important roles in campaigning and mobilising support for their parties, yet they rarely occupy decision-making positions in these structures. Political life is organised according to male norms and values and in some cases, even male lifestyles. Women are overstretched and overworked. In addition to their party and constituency work they serve on committees, network within and outside their parties and play the role of mother, wife, sister and grandmother. Although political parties possess resources for conducting election campaigns, women do not benefit from these resources. For example, parties do not provide sufficient financial support for women candidates. According to Shvedova (2002, 3), research indicates that the number of women nominees correlates highly with the number of elected women Members of Parliament (MPs): more candidates equal more MPs. The selection and nomination process within political parties is also biased against women in that “male characteristics” are emphasised and often become the criteria in selecting candidates. An ‘old boys’ club” atmosphere and prejudices inhibit and prohibit politically inclined women from integrating themselves into their party's work. This results in an underestimation of women as politicians by those who provide money for election campaigns, thus further hindering women from being nominated. In fact, women are often put on a party list in order that they not be elected, if their party wins insufficient votes in an election. This method is used as a hook for voters. Women's participation is
74 better realized when there are quotas for women's participation. In Sweden, for instance, the ratio of 40–60 percent has had the effect of women occupying over 40 percent of the seats in the current Parliament (Shvedova 2002, 4). According to Shvedova, Indian MP Sushma Swaraj sums it best with the following:
It is very difficult for a woman to make up her mind to enter politics. Once she makes up her own mind, then she has to prepare her husband and her children and her family. Once she has overcome all these obstacles and applies for the ticket, then the male aspirants against whom she is applying makeup all sorts of stories about her. And after all this, when her name goes to the party bosses, they do not select her name because they fear losing that seat (as quoted in Shvedova 2002, 4).
Invisibility in the Fiji media
The virtual invisibility of women in the Fiji media could be another reason for their absence in positions of power. Women forging new political ground often struggle to receive media coverage and legitimacy in the eyes of the media and, subsequently, the public (Carroll and Fox 2006, 171). How can the public vote for female candidates when they never appear in the news? FWRM and other women’s organisations have raised the problem of the “invisibility” of women candidates and women’s issues during elections. According to FWRM, as party and political power tends to be largely held by men and male candidates, they get the lion’s share of media coverage. This leads to women candidates and women’s issues often being neglected (The Fiji Women’s Rights Movement 2008).
Even when they do appear in the news, women are usually stereotyped. According to Carroll and Fox (2006, 171), journalists often hold women politicians accountable for the actions of their husbands and children, though they rarely hold male candidates to the same standards. They ask women politicians’ questions they do not ask men, and they describe them in ways and with words that emphasise their traditional roles and focus on their appearance and behaviour.
75 From the lack of documentation found on the topic in Fiji on the lack of female politicians in the country and their low visibility in the media, it is obvious that the sharing of leadership between both the sexes is still not being given priority, although according to Nicholl, former Fiji Vice President Ratu Joni Madraiwiwi was vocal in this area:
It is only very recently that Fijian women have enjoyed a highly visible and vocal advocate of their cause: Vice-President Ratu Joni Madraiwiwi (Nicholl 2006, 88).
Ratu Joni has advocated strongly on behalf of women and is a firm believer in the ability of women to take their place in Parliament and in the running of the nation.
Summary The second part of this chapter gives an overview of Fiji women in politics and international conventions ratified to ensure women undertake equal participation in public and political life. Despite the limited literature available on Fiji in terms of scientific research done to ascertain the effect of print media on Fiji audience, there is rich discourse within the women’s NGO network as to how to increase the levels of women’s participation in politics and national decision-making.
76 CHAPTER FOUR
METHODOLOGY
This thesis aims to answer the research questions using content analysis [refer to Appendix E]. It will use both quantitative and qualitative analysis. In quantitative analysis, the data collected will only be used to calculate simple percentages (with analysis) – the data collected will not be subjected to any statistical analysis as the size of the data is small. Qualitative analysis, on the other hand will be carried out on certain election stories to ascertain the nature of the coverage given to female election candidates.
Analysis Framework The Global Media Monitoring Project (GMMP) is the model chosen for analysis. The GMMP is a world-wide effort by 108 countries (including Fiji) to document news media coverage of women on one particular day. The first set of documentation took place in 1995, the second on February 16, 2005 and the most recent one on 10 November 2009. The results show the status of women in the world’s news media.
The organisers of the GMMP have developed a methodology used participating countries.
For the purpose of this thesis, the GMMP methodology was adapted for both quantitative and qualitative analysis, since both the GMMP and this thesis are mainly concerned with the visibility of women in news. However, as this thesis is only concerned with the coverage given to female election candidates and females in general for a certain time period during the 1999 and 2006 general elections by the print media only, the GMMP framework was modified accordingly.
77 Medium analysed
The two national newspapers selected for analysis are the Fiji Times and the Fiji Sun. The Fiji Times was chosen because it is Fiji’s oldest newspaper with the largest circulation (audited circulation 20,630) and the strongest reputation for news. The Fiji Sun (un-audited circulation 20,000) was chosen because in recent years it has been the Fiji Times strongest competitor.
The Fiji Daily Post (circulation unknown) was not chosen for analysis because of its tabloid-style of news reporting. For a brief moment, many years ago, Fiji Daily Post flirted with tabloid style reporting (examples include the alleged appearance of ghost in Parliament, as well as a woman allegedly giving birth to snakes) but then quickly abandoned it. Reasons for omitting the Fiji Daily Post are its negligible circulation and the fact that it has had its operations halted due to financial difficulties.
Time period
Political instability in any country generally tends to dominate the media agenda for a long time. When this happens, other issues of importance tend to get sidelined; issues that if given due prominence might help in the long-term development of the country. One of the aims for this thesis is to determine the kind of issues that the media gives prominence to during the election campaigning period and the kind of coverage female election candidates and females in general received.
The last ten days of campaigning during the 1999 and 2006 elections (that is, ten days before start of voting) was the time period chosen for analysis. The 1999 election period was specifically chosen to see how visible female election candidates and females in general were in the media as many had hoped that this election would give Fiji a fresh start after the 1987 coup.
78 The 2001 election was not chosen for analysis because the time period was too close to Fiji’s second coup in 2000 and the media (and citizens) were still preoccupied with the coup rather than the visibility of female election candidates in the media.
The 2006 election was thought to be a better time period for analysis because it marked seven years since the 2000 coup, giving the people of Fiji sufficient break from coup and race related issues, which had dominated media discourse, and move on to discussing other issues of importance.
Data from both periods will be quantitatively and qualitatively analysed to see if there is a difference in media visibility of female election candidates and females in general and if coup and race-related issues played any part in the level of coverage received by candidates.
With this in mind the time periods chosen for analysis were 28 April 1999 – 7 May 1999 and 26 April 2006 – 5 May 2006. The last ten days before voting began were analysed because of the increase in the intensity of campaigning. Political parties, candidates and the media start focusing on the most important issues as the voting period draws near and it will be prudent to analyse which candidates and what issues were given more coverage.
Unfortunately, the Fiji Sun was not in publication during the May 1999 election. It only began publishing in September 1999. Therefore, the Fiji Times will be the only newspaper analysed for that time period. For the 2006 period both newspapers will be analysed.
Quantitative analysis method
What will be coded?
All election related items – that is, news stories appearing in any section of the newspaper and all election related editorials, commentaries and opinion pieces (not
79 letters) during the stated time period. For the qualitative analysis, all items that feature female candidates prominently are considered.
What will not be coded?
Letters to the editor; cartoons; advertising (both normal and election-related); story listings on the front page or inside pages of newspapers; jokes; and weather reports (though stories about the weather - a flood, heat wave, drought etc - that are election related are coded).
What are elections-related items?
These are any items – news stories, editorials, commentaries and opinion pieces (not letters) - that are related to the election. These election-related pieces can also be related to other issues simultaneously, for example, election and the economy or election and education. The objective is to analyse the representation and portrayal of female election candidates and females in general, in election related items.
Specific terminology
For the purpose of this thesis, the following terms are defined as follows:
Coverage – to give coverage is to quote someone, both directly and indirectly or to mention someone’s name.
Election-related items – include all election-related news stories, editorials, commentaries and opinion pieces.
Appendix F gives the full list of things that were coded for quantitative analysis.
80 Qualitative analysis method
The thesis intends to give a detailed picture of the visibility of female and male candidates in the media during the election campaign, the different ways in which they made the news, the roles they played and so on, using numbers. This is the quantitative part of the study. But numbers tell only one part of the story. For example, a news item that highlights women’s development projects, or one that interviews female politicians, may fall into just as many stereotyped clichés as an item about beauty queens. To get a more complete picture of news content and the messages it contains, I intend to analyse the slant given to the coverage. This is the qualitative part of the study.
Certain election stories will be chosen and in-depth critical analysis will be carried out. A system has been set up whereby stories requiring further analysis will be identified during quantitative analysis, which will be conducted first. These stories will help in highlighting some of the complexities and nuances that cannot be picked up through the quantitative analysis. For the qualitative part of the analysis the framework used by the GMMP was again utilised (with modifications in the form of limiting the analysis of items related to only female election candidates and females in general). The qualitative analysis attempts to ascertain whether the treatment given to female election candidates and females in general in the chosen story is gender neutral or are journalists falling back on stereotypes.
In this thesis I aim to draw attention to certain tendencies or patterns in news coverage - from the worst to the best. The aim is to demonstrate to journalists and media practitioners that good stories are produced by paying attention to high professional standards, ethics and creativity. Below is the GMMP framework that I have utilised for the qualitative analysis. The analysis revolves around at least five categories (or types) of stories:
81 Global Media Monitoring Project Framework for Qualitative Analysis
Category 1 Stories that are blatantly stereotyped - there may not be a large number of these, but when they do occur, they should be easily recognisable. To take just a few examples - stories which use language or visual images that denigrate women; that trivialise women's achievements.
Category 2 Stories that are more subtly stereotyped - these may not be so immediately obvious. These will be stories that contain unstated assumptions about the roles of women and men (for example, a successful female politician who is ‘nevertheless a good wife’). Or stories that convey stereotyped beliefs, such as that women are emotionally fragile (example, ‘more women are entering the professions, but this is paralleled by an increase in smoking and alcohol abuse’). Or stories whose range of sources is limited only to men, or only to women (thus conveying the idea that this topic is of relevance just to one half of the population).
Category 3 Missed opportunities - stories that could have been enriched and expanded by including a wider range of sources and viewpoints, or by shedding light on different implications for women and men. There might be many stories in this category. For instance, a story about new legislation on divorce that includes only male election candidates as news sources; a story about national unemployment that fails to consider its differential impact on women, men and families. A great deal of news refers to ‘people’. In many of these references there is a hidden assumption that ‘people’ are male.
82 Category 4 Stories that challenge stereotypes - these will include stories that overturn common assumptions about women and about men - in relation to attributes, areas of expertise and competence, interests, and so on. For instance a journalist may choose to include female election candidates in a story about national economic policy, or male election candidates in a story about play groups for pre-school children. But stories may challenge stereotypes in more complex ways. For example, a report on voting preferences may dispel the perception that women are politically uninformed. A story on working conditions may undermine the stereotype of men as being driven by ambition. Stories that challenge stereotypes will often go beyond the taken-for-granted reporting framework - in terms of news angles, perspectives and points of view included. Category 5 Stories that highlight issues pertaining to equality or inequality between women and men - these will include stories that focus directly on an area of inequality - for instance, the ‘glass ceiling’ in employment, discrimination in relation to rights of various kinds, unequal access to resources, and so on. In such stories, sources will often include women’s organisations, feminist activists, or gender specialists. Other stories may analyse an issue or event in a way that highlights how women and men are differently affected - for example, in terms of socio-economic, political, legal, cultural and psychological factors. The analysis will usually link such factors to inequality or discrimination based on sex. Often these stories challenge conventional stereotypes and norms - though not necessarily in an overt way.
83 Framing
Also within the above categories of stories I will see if any items are ‘framed’ in a particular way by the Fiji Times and Fiji Sun. This method of analysis is not included in the GMMP. As explained in the literature section, framing provides a way to think about how information is presented to the public. In the context of political campaigns, the news media’s coverage of candidates or campaigns can sometimes shape voter perceptions concerning the object's attributes. Thus, the implications of public affairs framing by the news media can have a strong influence on voter perceptions.
Analysis Structure
The structure below shows the standard method used in coding the primary details of a chosen election-related item before qualitative analysis is conducted (note: this structure is not part of the GMMP framework):
Item type: (news story, editorial…) Newspaper: Date published: Headline: Subheading and byline: Describe photo if any: Photo caption: Text: Analysis: (for example, in what way is this story blatantly stereotyped?)
In the qualitative results section, items analysed will be in the following order: Fiji Times 1999, Fiji Times 2006 and Fiji Sun 2006. Items will appear sequentially (according to date published) within the three above categories.
84 Chapter 5 gives a comprehensive quantitative and qualitative analysis of the data and news stories collected during the two week time period.
85 CHAPTER FIVE
FINDINGS
Quantitative Analysis
Data was collected from the Fiji Times and the Fiji Sun during the selected time periods of 28 April 1999 – 7 May 1999 and 26 April 2006 – 5 May 2006 to determine: (1) the level of visibility given to female election candidates and females in general; (2) whether they were in any way stereotyped in the coverage that was given to them; and (3) the level of coverage given to race or coup related issues [refer to Appendix E for breakdown of Research Questions].
Data collected are depicted in the following graphs. Each graph has been analysed to determine if the research questions have been answered.
86 Graph 1 – Percentage of total items analysed
Percentage of total stories quantitatively analysed
33.0% 41.0% Fiji Times 1999
Fiji Times 2006
Fiji Sun 2006
26.0%
For the chosen periods of 28 April 1999 – 7 May 1999 (Fiji Times analysed only) and 26 April 2006 – 5 May 2006 (both Fiji Times and Fiji Sun analysed) a total of 471 items were identified and coded. As shown in Graph 1, the Fiji Sun published the largest percentage of election-related items (41.0 percent) in 2006, while the Fiji Times only published 26.0 percent. In 1999 the Fiji Times published 33.0 percent of items in a period of 10 days.
In both time periods, newspapers designated certain pages on which election- related news articles consistently appeared during the week. In 1999 Fiji Times usually ran them from pages two to five; in 2006 on pages two, three, eleven and twelve. The Fiji Sun ran election-related news articles on pages two, three and eight. Weekend editions had different page allocations and there were times when news articles also appeared on the front-page. Election-related editorials, opinion articles and commentaries appeared on their designated pages.
87 Graph 2 - Number of items analysed in different categories
Graph 2 shows the number of election-related items that were identified and coded into different categories – news articles, editorials, opinion articles (not letters) and commentaries. News articles were the highest in number for both newspapers in both periods (Fiji Times: 145.0 articles in 1999 and 112.0 in 2006; Fiji Sun 181.0 articles in 2006). In 1999 the Fiji Times ran 5.0 editorials, compared to 2.0 in 2006. Fiji Sun wrote 7.0 editorials during the 2006 election. Both newspapers had published almost equal numbers of opinion articles in 1999 and 2006. Election-related commentaries did not seem to be a major focus of the newspapers during last ten days before the start of voting with Fiji Times running one each in 1999 and 2006.
88 Graph 3 - Percentage of different subjects
Subjects Fiji Fiji Times Fiji Sun % Times 2006 2006 1999
Domestic politics/ election/political process 103.0 67.0 125.0 62.6 Foreign/international politics 2.0 5.0 5.0 2.5 National defence, military spending 0.0 11.0 13.0 5.1 Economic policies, strategies 0.0 1.0 1.0 0.4 Economic indicators 3.0 4.0 3.0 2.1 Poverty, housing, social welfare 1.0 0.0 5.0 1.3 Labour issues 5.0 2.0 3.0 2.1 Rural economy, land rights 3.0 1.0 1.0 1.1 Consumer issues 0.0 0.0 1.0 0.2 Transport 3.0 5.0 3.0 2.3 Science, technology 0.0 0.0 1.0 0.2 Medicine, health 0.0 0.0 1.0 0.2 Environment, nature 0.0 1.0 0.0 0.2 Development issues 0.0 20.0 0.0 4.2 Education, child care 1.0 1.0 4.0 1.3 Human rights 2.0 2.0 0.0 0.8 Religion, culture 8.0 1.0 2.0 2.3 Women's movement 0.0 1.0 3.0 0.8 Legal system 1.0 1.0 2.0 0.8 Non-violent crime, corruption 8.0 5.0 5.0 3.8 Violent crime 11.0 8.0 8.0 5.7 Gender-based violence 0.0 1.0 1.0 0.4 War, civil war 1.0 1.0 1.0 0.6 Riots, public disorder 1.0 0.0 5.0 1.3 Media, including new media 5.0 3.0 1.0 1.9 Sports, events 0.0 0.0 1.0 0.2
All the 471 items identified were coded for the various subjects or issues that they came under. Appendix F has the complete subject list. Graph 3 gives a percentage breakdown of all the items that appeared under these subjects in both the newspapers. As expected items related to just ‘domestic politics/ election/political process’ were the largest in percentage (62.6 percent). Items appearing under other subjects that were also
89 election-related (for example, election and foreign policy or election, violent crime and public disorder) made up the reminder of the total.
Graph 3 shows that the majority of the election-related items dealt solely with the elections. Subjects such as national defence (5.1 percent), development (4.2 percent) and violent crime (5.7 percent) had relatively more items published than subjects like gender-based violence (0.4 percent), women’s movement (0.8 percent), the legal system (0.8 percent), health and environment (both 0.2 percent).
Graph 4 - Female and male election candidates quoted in all 471 items
Percentage of Female and Male Election Candidates quoted in all 471 items
Unsure Female 2.0% 10.0%
Female Male Unsure
Male 88.0%
Items were coded to determine whether male or female election candidates were quoted (both directly and indirectly) more often. Graph 4 shows that male election candidates were quoted in the majority (88.0 percent of the time) of the items, whereas females only 10.0 percent of the time. This is a clear example of the disparity of the
90 coverage of female candidates in the newspaper during the election period. In 2.0 percent of items, it was unclear whether a male or female was being quoted.
Graph 5 - Election candidates quoted in the Fiji Times and Fiji Sun
Graph 5 shows the number of times both female and male election candidates quoted directly, indirectly or were significant enough to be mentioned in items during both time periods, in both newspapers.
Research Question 1.1 asked: “Will male election candidates be quoted more often than female election candidates in the Fiji Times and the Fiji Sun??” [refer to Appendix E]. The graph shows, the Fiji Times only quoted female candidates 36.0 times in 1999 and only 20.0 times in 2006. Male candidates however, were quoted 220.0 times in 1999 and 218.0 times in 2006 by the Fiji Times. The Fiji Sun in 2006 also had similar results – it quoted female election candidates 29.0 times, compared to 292.0 times for the males candidates. The results depicted in Graph 5 are a clear indication that female 91 election candidates were given less coverage by both the Fiji Times and the Fiji Sun in the last ten days before voting began in 1999 and 2006.
Graph 6 – Males and females directly quoted
% of Female and Males that were quoted in items in both newspapers
Female 9.0%
Male 91.0%
Graph 6 shows that 91.0 percent of all people (females and males in general, as well as female and male election candidates) that were directly quoted in the 471 items related to the elections were males. Only 9.0 percent of females were directly quoted during the last ten days before voting began in 1999 and 2006.
92 Graph 7 - Males and females directly quoted – breakdown
Fiji Times - 1999 Fiji Times – 2006 Fiji Sun – 2006 Direct Quote Female Male U Female Male U Female Male U % 11.6 88.4 0.0 7.6 91.1 1.3 7.0 93.0 0.0
Graph 7 shows the disparity that exists between males and females when it comes to direct quotations. Both newspapers in both time periods chose to give the larger share of coverage to males. These figures show that females (both the average female and female election candidates) receive significantly less coverage than males in both of Fiji’s most widely read newspapers. Research Question number 1.2 asked: “Will males be quoted more often than females in the Fiji Times and the Fiji Sun?” [refer to Appendix E]. Graph 7 clearly shows that males are quoted more often than females in the Fiji Times and the Fiji Sun.
Graph 8 - Function of male and females in election-related items
Function Female (%) Male (%) Not Known (%)
Do not know (n=25.0) 20.0 80.0 0.0 Subject (n=376.0) 12.2 87.2 0.5 Spokesperson (n=389.0) 7.5 91.8 0.8 Expert or commentator (n=13.0) 15.4 84.6 0.0 Personal experience (n=17.0) 11.8 82.4 5.9 Eye witness (n=1.0) 0.0 100.0 0.0 Popular opinion (n=10.0) 10.0 90.0 0.0 There is no specific person in the story (n=14.0) 0.0 0.0 100.0 TOTAL (n=845.0) 10.1 87.6 2.4
Graph 8 answers the question of what functions (roles) females and males played in election-related items. The data show that in all functions, males have a clear majority (87.6 percent). It is the male that is usually the subject of an item, the spokesperson, the expert, the person who gives personal or popular opinion, and the eye witness. Females are only the subject of an item 12.2 percent of the time.
93 Research Question number 1.3 asked: “Will males be the subjects of news more often than females in the Fiji Times and the Fiji Sun?” Graph 8 clearly answers that question by showing that males were quoted more often than females and this was same for both newspapers.
Graph 9 – Females and males whose occupations were stated in election-related items
Occupation Female (%) Male (%) Not Known (%)
Not stated (n=34.0) 17.6 38.2 44.1 Government official, politician (n=529.0) 10.6 89.0 0.4 Public servant, diplomat (n=123.0) 4.9 94.3 0.8 Police, military (n=74.0) 4.1 94.6 1.4 Academic expert, education professional, teacher (n=18.0) 11.1 88.9 0.0 Science or technology professional (n=1.0) 0.0 100.0 0.0 Media professional (n=1.0) 0.0 100.0 0.0 Business person, executive, economist (n=6.0) 33.3 66.7 0.0 Office or service worker (n=6.0) 33.3 66.7 0.0 Tradesperson, labourer, truck/taxi driver, domestic worker (n=2.0) 0.0 100.0 0.0 Agriculture, mining, fishing, forestry worker (n=1.0) 0.0 100.0 0.0 Religious figure (n=6.0) 0.0 100.0 0.0 Activist or worker in civil society organisation, trade union, United Nations (n=24.0) 25.0 75.0 0.0 Homemaker, parent, either female or male (n=2.0) 50.0 0.0 50.0 Villager, village head/chief or resident engaged in unspecified occupation (n=6.0) 16.7 83.3 0.0 Retired person, pensioner (n=2.0) 0.0 100.0 0.0 Total (n=835.0) 10.2 87.4 2.4
94 Graph 9 gives a break-down of males and females who were quoted directly, indirectly or were significant enough to be mentioned in items from the above- mentioned occupations. Out of the 529 people given coverage in the newspapers, in the profession of ‘government official/ politician’, only 10.6 percent were females. In fact, in all professions (except for ‘homemaker, parent, either female or male’ – where two people were given coverage), males were quoted directly, indirectly or were significant enough to be mentioned, more often (87.4 percent).
Out of the 835 people from different professions (not just election candidates) that were given coverage in the election-related items, 87.4 percent were males. The data indicates that aside from giving less coverage to female election candidates, the Fiji Times and Fiji Sun also did not seek the opinions of females in general.
Graph 10 - Females whose occupations were stated in items in the Fiji Times and Fiji Sun
Occupation Fiji Times 1999 Fiji Times 2006 Fiji Sun 2006 (%) (%) (%) Not stated 16.7 12.5 25.0 Government official, politician 15.2 4.9 8.8 Public servant, diplomat 0.0 4.5 6.5 Police, military 0.0 3.2 5.7 Academic expert, education professional, teacher 33.3 11.1 0.0 Business person, executive, economist 0.0 33.3 33.3 Office or service worker 0.0 40.0 0.0 Activist or worker in civil society organisation, trade union, United Nations 0.0 33.3 25.0 Homemaker, parent, either female or male 0.0 50.0 0.0 Villager, village head/chief or resident engaged in unspecified occupation 0.0 100.0 0.0
Graph 10 shows the percentage of females who were quoted directly, indirectly or were significant enough to be mentioned (in terms of their occupations) in both time
95 periods for both newspapers. The Fiji Times in 2006 relatively gave more coverage to women in different professions than in 1999. In 1999 no mention was made of female public servants, diplomats, police officers, military personnel, economist, executives, activists, parent, homemaker or villager.
The Fiji Sun has produced mixed results. It has relatively given more coverage (than the Fiji Times in 2006) to females in some occupations (example, government, diplomacy, military and activism), and none in others (academia).
There are also many women, who are mentioned in the items, but do not have their occupations mentioned.
Research Question 1.4 asked: “Will males be quoted more often than females in their professional capacity in the Fiji Times and the Fiji Sun? [refer to Appendix E]. Graph 10 clearly shows that males are quoted more often than females in their professional capacity in both the newspapers.
96 Graph 11 - Candidates that had their age mentioned in election-related items
Percentage of Females and Males Candidates that had their age mentioned in 15.0 items
Female 40.0% Female Male Male 60.0%
When it comes to reporting on males and female there are times that age of a female is mentioned more often than males. Graph 11 shows the surprising result where male election candidates had their age mentioned more often (60.0 per cent) than female election candidates (40.0 per cent). The reason for this may be due to the fact that there were more stories about male election candidates and males in general than females.
Research Question 2.1 asked: “Will male election candidates have their age mentioned less often than female election candidates in the Fiji Times and the Fiji Sun?” [refer to Appendix E]. Graph 11 shows that male election candidates have their age mentioned more often than female election candidates in the Fiji Times and the Fiji Sun during the last ten days before voting began in 1999 and 2006.
97 Graph 12 - Percentage of election-related items that deal specifically with either race or coup issues in both newspapers
Percentage of Items that deal specifically with either Race or Coup issues
23.0%
Race
Coup
Unsure Coup
10.0% Others
64.0% 3.0%
While identifying and coding items under different subjects, it was discovered that there was a significant number of items that were related to either issues of race or coup. Although separately coding items that fell under the subjects of race and coup were not part of the initial methodology, it became apparent at an early stage that these subjects were given a lot of prominence by Fiji Times and Fiji Sun, and needed be taken into account. As the literature review clearly shows, issues of national security and anything relating to it are always considered a man’s domain. When the news media, during election time, give more prominence to such issues, the voters will inevitably start leaning towards a male candidate. The assumption, according to the literature review, is that females will be unable to handle matters relating to these issues.
98 Fiji is a multiracial country and, there have been tensions between the two major ethnic denominations – the indigenous Fijian and Indo-Fijians. Therefore, it is not surprising to find in Graph 12 that 23.0 percent of all the stories analysed dealt with the issue of racial politics. Related to racial tension is the issue of coups. Ten percent of the items were on coups. In both cases – racial tensions and coups - newspapers generally published comments from election candidates who claimed there would be racial violence (in the form of a coup) if a non-indigenous party came into power.
There were also 3.0 percent of items that may have been related to coup (in the form of subtle innuendoes) but were difficult to substantiate. The remaining 64.0 percent of responses related to a variety of topics. The subjects of coup and race alone make 33.0 percent (or 36.0 percent if you take into account the ‘unsure coup’ items) of the total percentage of election-related items published in the Fiji Times and Fiji Sun during the last ten days before voting began in 1999 and 2006.
The argument therefore is that the frequent prominence given to traditionally male-centric issues like race and coups in Fiji crowds out and takes importance away from other issues, such the lack of women in Parliament. In other words, it is the politics of race that is considered most newsworthy and continues to dominate discourse in Fiji. The lack of women in Parliament is hardly an issue in the media. Having said that, it does not mean that women in Fiji are not interested in issues of race and coup or peace and reconciliation, for that matter. It is just that, it is the usually the male voice that has been predominant in the media which gives the impression that race and coups are male- centric issues.
99 Graph 13 - Percentage of items that deal specifically with either race or coup issues in Fiji Times and Fiji Sun
Fiji Times Fiji Times Fiji Sun Total % of 1999 2006 2006 items Race (n=108.0) 44.0 21.0 43.0 22.9 Coup (n=45.0) 17.0 11.0 17.0 9.6 Unsure coup (n=13.0) 1.0 9.0 3.0 2.8 Others (n=305.0) 99.0 109.0 97.0 64.8 Total items =471 n=total number of items
Graph 13 shows the percentage of stories relating to race and coup issues that were published by both the newspapers.
The Fiji Times published 44.0 stories in 1999 and 21.0 in 2006 that were related to the issue of race. The Fiji Sun published 43.0 stories that were race-related in 2006. The table above shows that a total of 108 race-related stories were published in the last ten days before voting began in 1999 and 2006 – making up 22.9 per cent of all the 471 election-related items.
When it came to stories related to the coup, the Fiji Times published 17.0 in 1999 and 11.0 stories in 2006. The Fiji Sun published a total of 17.0 stories that were coup- related. A total of 45.0 coup-related stories were published in the last 10 days before voting began in 1999 and 2006 – constituting 9.6 per cent of all the 471 election related items.
In the last ten days before voting began in 1999 and 2006, there were 13.0 stories published in both the Fiji Times (1.0 story in 1999 and 9.0 stories in 2006) and Fiji Sun (3.0 stories in 2006) which may have been coup-related. These stories contributed to 2.8 per cent of all the 471 election-related items.
100 There were 305.0 election-related stories that were published in the Fiji Times and Fiji Sun during the last 10 days before voting began in 1999 and 2006 that were not related to either race or the coup. These stories constituted 64.8 per cent of all the 471 published election-related items.
Research Question 3 asked: “Given the selected time periods of 28 April 1999 – 7 May 1999 and 26 April 2006 – 5 May 2006, how much coverage (percentage of items) will the Fiji Times and the Fiji Sun allocate to race or coup related issues?” [refer to Appendix E]. Graph 13 clearly shows the Fiji Times and the Fiji Sun published a significant percentage (33.0 percent) of stories related to race and/or coup issues.
101 Qualitative analysis
As stated earlier in Chapter 4 (Methodology), for the qualitative section of the analysis, relevant election-related items were to be identified and in-depth critical analyses were to be carried out. Accordingly, 13 items were identified for further analysis during the coding of 471 items (for quantitative analysis). Note that the full text of each item is provided below along with the analysis.
Item 1
Item type : News story Newspaper : The Fiji Times Headline : Women hit poll trail Journalist : Avinesh Gopal (Male) Photo : Shows two women, knee-deep in water, shoes in their hands. They are trying to cross a flooded creek. Photo caption : Hard work … Chitra Singh and Niranjan Kuar on the election trail Page : 4 Date : 28 April 1999
Text:
THE only two female candidates contesting the elections in Vanua Levu will fight for women’s issues.
Chitra Singh and Niranjan Kuar wade across streams and walk along rural roads as they pound the campaign trail in the Northern Division.
Ms Singh and Ms Kuar are contesting the Labasa Open and Labasa Rural seats respectively on United National Labour Party tickets.
102 Ms. Singh, 41, originally of Somosomo in Taveuni said she never thought of entering politics but was influenced by the sacrifice given by politicians.
“I am proud to be chosen by the party to serve the poor people,” she said.
“Women have a lot of problems which at times they are not able to cope up with and as a result end up doing all sorts of things.
“There hasn’t been any female parliamentarian from Vanua Levu until now to voice their grievances.”
Ms Singh said when their husbands died or divorced them, women were often rejected by their families.
“If I win, then I will propose that Government provides some form of assistance to such women so that they can continue with their normal lives,” he [sic] said.
“Women are also part of our society and they have to be taken care of by the Government.”
Ms Singh aims to improve education and health facilities.
“The Government should also provide some financial assistance to people who are unemployed until such time they get employment,” she said.
“Men and women who are 55 years old should also get pension so that they can look after themselves after being rejected by their families,” she said.
Ms Kuar, 42, of Waiqele in Labasa, said she would fight for women’s issues.
103 “Being a woman, I know what are the problems other women are going through in their daily life,” she said.
“At times they do not have anyone to confide in especially when it comes to marital and other personal matters.”
END
Analysis The above story is a combination of three categories. Firstly, it can be categorized as subtly stereotyped (Category 2). The two female candidates, who are the subjects of the story, are shown as crusaders of women’s issues. Stories appearing in the Fiji Times and Fiji Sun that have female candidates as its subjects are few and far between (refer to Figures 8, 9 and 10) and the one story that does appear has female candidates standing for election to fight for women’s rights. There is also a typo in the ninth paragraph where instead of writing “she said” the journalist wrote “he said”.
104 Secondly, this story can also be classed as a missed opportunity (Category 3). While the journalist did not forget to give the age of the two female candidates (the necessity of which is debatable) he did, however, neglect to give other details which could have been of importance and interest to the readers (and voters). He could have mentioned the candidates’ qualifications - their current professions and previous leadership roles. Their stand on other issues of importance to Labasa could have been highlighted as well. What did they think of the town’s deteriorating infrastructure? Is public transportation available and affordable to all (since the readers are told in the lead paragraph how the two women “wade across streams” and “walk along rural roads” in order to campaign)? These are some of the issues that affect all and would appeal to a large variety of readers and should not be dismissed as a ‘woman’s story’. This story lacks any form of critical analysis.
This story also falls into Category 5 which highlights issues pertaining to equality or inequality between women and men. It seems clear that this was the ‘frame’ on which the journalist was trying to build his story – female candidates fighting for gender equality in rural Labasa. His attempt however, was not successful because even though he did highlight the plight for many women in Labasa, he it did in an unoriginal way.
By angling it as a ‘women fighting for women’ story and accompanying it with a rather unflattering photograph of the two candidates (shoeless and wading) the journalist did not do justice to this story. While some may argue that the photograph may appeal to some voters, I believe that it also depicts a sense of powerlessness. It shows two women looking dejected and accepting/adapting to the situation they are in – not a positive image for two people who want you to vote them into Parliament and help in leading the country.
105 Item 2 Item type : News story Newspaper : The Fiji Times Headline : Province first, says Adi Sai Journalist : No byline given Photo : None Photo caption : None Page : 3 Date : 29 April 1999
Text: FIJIAN Association Party candidate for the Lau/Taveuni/Rotuma Open Seat Adi Sai Tuivanuavou wants to contest the election because she wants the province of Lau to have two seats in the new Parliament.
In her campaign speech in Mualevu on Vanuabalavu, Adi Sai told supporters that Lau was assured of only one seat in the next Parliament.
“The only seat which is sure to be claimed by the Lau province is the Lau Communal seat where Viliame Cavubati, Adi Koila Nailatikau and Isoa Tuinasaqalau are standing against each other,” Adi Sai said.
“The open seat where I will stand against cousins Ratu Naiqama Lalabalavu and Ratu Epeli Ganilau is not guaranteed to represent Lau in the new Parliament.
“If I do not contest this seat then surely there will be just one representative of Lau in the next Parliament, because either Ratu Naiqama or Ratu Inoke will win and Cakaudrove will add one more seat to their tally.”
106 Adi Sai, the younger sister of the President and Tui Nayau Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara, told supporters in Mualevu that she volunteered to stand because no other Lauan wanted to contest the seat.
“The main reason why I wanted to contest this seat is that I want the province of Lau to have two voices in Parliament,” Adi Sai said.
END
Analysis
This story is subtly stereotyped (Category 2) as it uses familial relationships to describe the subject, which is a quite common practice for the Fiji media, especially when it comes to chiefly families. One common finding among all the media in Fiji (especially in print media) according to the GMMP report is the excessive usage of describing women from chiefly families (or other prominent families) by familial relationships in stories that involve them. Using familial relationships to describe people gives the impression that they are not significant to be mentioned on their own. When women are described in such a way, it indicates that they are dependent on the males in their family and always need to be referred in conjunction to them, to give them any significance. However, in the case of Fiji the media’s use of familial relationships to describe chiefly women standing for elections may actually provide them with an advantage. As literature review (Chapter 3, p.71) illustrates, a majority of the women who have been members of Parliament came from a chiefly background. Literature shows that it is acceptable in the indigenous Fijian society to vote for chiefly women. It is unfair, however, to non-chiefly candidates when the media blows out of proportion the chiefly ties of some candidates.
Additionally, this story is framed in such a way to show that the President’s younger sister does not want to stand for election but is only doing so because she feels that Lau needs to have two members representing it in Parliament. Her motive for
107 standing for election should be questioned by the journalist. Is she standing because she believes she will be a good leader or she is standing because she wants one province to be more powerful than the other? The journalist does not seem to have asked critical and relevant questions.
108 Item 3 Item type : News story Newspaper : The Fiji Times Headline : Villagers reject Adi Koila Journalist : Sainimili Lewa (Female) Photo : None Photo caption : None Page : 1 Date : 1 May 1999
Text: ADI Koila Nailatikau has been told to step down as an election candidate.
The daughter of the paramount chief of Lau and President Ratu Kamisese Mara was told by at least two village headmen she had done nothing for her constituency.
And the headman of Mualevu Village on Vanuabalavu, Jone Tuifagalele, says it is important to examine the motives behind the chiefs’ [sic] involvement in politics.
Adi Koila is standing for the Christian Democratic Alliance in the Lau Communal seat.
“It seems so many chiefs want to join politics this year which is quite unusual,” Mr Tuifagalele said.
“I don't know whether it is out of genuine concern for the people.”
He said such political involvement could also cause provincial chaos.
109 Mr Tuifagalele claimed Adi Koila had never visited the village before last Saturday when she arrived with former army commander Ratu Epeli Ganilau.
“They didn’t campaign…just presented their sevusevu and left,” he said.
“If she came here as a chief, I would respect her…but as a politician – no.”
He said by mixing politics with her chiefly status Adi Koila had desecrated the chiefly system.
Lomaloma headman Viliama Vinaka said Adi Koila had married out of the province and this could cause tension between the provinces.
“It would be much better for her not to get involved in politics,” he said.
At Mualevu Village Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka told a rally it would be easier to ask commoners like SVT candidate Viliame Cavubati to run errands.
This is because the people would respect a chief’s position.
Mr Tuifagalele said some election time people would choose whoever they thought would do the work, “regardless of their status”.
The Fiji Times was unable to reach Adi Koila for a comment both at the alliance office and her home.
END
110 Analysis
This story is clearly a story of missed opportunity (Category 3) and one that uses and reinforces the ‘frame’ of patriarchy. While the purpose of the media are to report on issues and events as they happen, a certain level of caution and critical analysis should also accompany reporting. While questioning the motivation of a politician is valid, it is not ethical to use gender stereotypes to reinforce it. Comments from the headman of Mualevu Village, Jone Tuifagalele, should not have been published unchallenged. The Fiji Times could have published his comments and at the same time could have told its readers that under the Constitution, whether Adi Koila married within or outside her province has no bearing on her candidacy.
Also Jone Tuifagalele’s comment, “by mixing politics with her chiefly status Adi Koila had desecrated the chiefly system” is clearly sexist and patriarchal since Fiji has always had male chiefs acting in both roles.
The use of familial relationship to describe Adi Koila by the Fiji Times is also an example of a stereotype (although as discussed earlier, she can use this to her advantage).
The front-page placement of this story indicates its importance by the newspaper to its readers (as discussed in Chapter 3 in the theory section which expounds on the relationship between news story placement and the importance attached to it by the audience).
And most important of all a comment from the subject of the story was imperative, but was lacking. To maintain fairness and balance (which are part of journalism ethics) Adi Koila should have been given an opportunity to respond, especially to verify the allegations made against her. Female candidates were once again at a disadvantage. This was a clear case of poor journalism practice.
111 Item 4 Item type : News story Newspaper : The Fiji Times Headline : Women plead for support Journalist : Dharmend Prasad (Male) Photo : None Photo caption : None Page : 2 Date : 1 May 1999
Text: With the election a week away, leading women’s organisations yesterday pleaded with aspiring parliamentarians and the electorate not to forget issues which face women.
The Coalition on Human Rights, a non-governmental Organisation said women played an important role in the development of the country and it was only prudent that issues facing the greater female population was also looked into.
The coalition said it believed women’s civil and political rights had consistently been compromised by economic social and cultural limitations.
These limitations, said the organisation, and the threat of violence to women who challenge or defy these constraints severely inhibit women’s full exercise of their human rights.
“We believe that unless their social and economic rights are addressed, political stability is at risk. We also believe that social equity cannot be realised without economic and social justice for women and their full participation in all levels of political decision-making,” a coalition statement said.
112 The Fiji Women’s Rights Movement echoed the coalition’s sentiments saying issues affecting women should also be at the forefront of the problems facing the people.
At least 10 women candidates are vying for parliamentary seats in the elections.
However, a quick analysis of policies adopted by political parties reveal that most of them barely had any genuine concern towards trying to resolve issues facing women.
Among several issues affecting women also includes unequal representation of women in local and national decision-making bodies, inadequate legislation on sexual offenses and family law including domestic violence.
The Coalition on Human Rights also pointed out that people should not be forced through fear to vote for any particular candidate.
END
Analysis This story falls under Category 5 (as a story that highlights issues pertaining to equality or inequality between women and men). As is common in stories under this category, the main sources of information are feminists. This story can also be classed as a missed opportunity (Category 3), where comments from political parties and open- minded men could have been sought as to why policies adopted by them “barely had any genuine concern towards trying to resolve issues facing women”, as claimed by the Coalition on Human Rights.
113 Item 5 Item type : News story Newspaper : The Fiji Times Headline : Village help a pay-off: Powell Journalist : Dharmend Prasad (Male) Photo : None Photo caption : None Page : 3 Date : 1 May 1999
Text: Fijian Association Party hopeful Lute Taoba Powell says the decision by Cabinet to grant $15,000 to the Melanesian community is designed to secure votes for the upcoming May elections.
Ms Powell, who is contesting the Lami Open seat said voters in her constituency were not going to be swayed by the lure of money.
She was confident they would remain loyal to her.
“For years, they (people) have been crying out for assistance, being shoved around and lo and behold, Father Christmas arrives on the eve of elections,” Ms Powell said.
“My good wishes are with the people who are going to benefit.
“Under normal circumstances, the nation and the people concerned should be grateful but unfortunately the motive is ulterior.”
She said people were now more educated and were closely following every move made by the Rabuka Government.
114 “It is the height of deceit and irresponsibility when the caretaker Government is doling out money when it is fully aware that it will not be around to make good their promises and that there are legislative constraints which would prevent their implementation,” she said.
END
Analysis
This story does not fall under any category. It is a good example of how stories for female candidates can be written without resorting to stereotypes and shows that the Fiji Times is capable of not resorting to stereotypes when it does write stories with a female candidate as the subject. Even though stereotypes are considered “energy-saving devices” (Lasorsa and Dai 2007, 282), it is obvious that the journalist who wrote this story took the time out to examine the issues and produce a balanced news story.
115 Item 6 Item type : News story Newspaper : The Fiji Times Headline : Rabuka is out of touch, says Speed Journalist : Dharmend Prasad (Male) Photo : Picture of Adi Speed with a walking stick and being assisted by a man Photo caption : Fijian Association Party leader Adi Kuini Speed at a political rally Page : 2 Date : 3 May 1999 Text:
The Fijian Association Party has lashed out at comments by Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka that other political parties hated him.
And it issued a strong leadership challenge to the Soqosoqo ni Vakavulewa ni Taukei, National Federation Party and the United General Party coalition that her group was now ready to lead the country.
Party leader Adi Kuini Speed said the strong support for the FAP and its coalition partners, the Fiji Labour Party and the Party of National Unity, indicated that people no longer had any faith in the SVT government.
Adi Kuini attacked the rival coalition claiming that the only thing holding it together was the hunger for power by Rabuka, Jai Ram Reddy and David Pickering.
“The SVT/NFP/UGP coalition is nothing more than a smokescreen to put Rabuka and Reddy back in power,” she said.
“The coalition claims to stand for unity and stability but no one has done more during this campaign than Mr Reddy to arouse emotions and create divisions.”
116 Mr Rabuka, during an election rally last weekend, claimed that his political opponents were using all the tricks in the bag to bring the SVT/NFP/UGP coalition down.
But Adi Kuini said the rival coalitions are desperate and had launched an [sic] full-scale effort to prevent her group from winning general elections.
“They are offering another five years of more of the same which means more corruption, more poverty, more unemployment and more crime,” she said.
She said the leaders of the three parties were out of touch with the people.
“The people want a change of government because seven years of incompetence and financial mismanagement has made the ordinary people in our country suffer from bad to worse,” she said.
117 END
Analysis The story is balanced and does not fall under any category. The main point of contention here is the photograph accompanying the story. It shows Adi Kuini Speed with a walking stick accompanied by a male who may be an attendant (the photograph is ambiguous).
While many may argue that the photograph of Adi Kuini Speed, one of the most prominent female election candidates of her time and a ‘strong’ politician shown in such a ‘weak’ position may trigger a stereotype, it may have also played to her advantage as despite her disability she comes out as quite strong. Also in the interest of accuracy and
118 fairness, Adi Kuini Speed was in failing health at the time (she died not long after the elections) and the voters did have a right to know that she walked with the assistance of a walking stick.
119 Item 7 Item type : News story Newspaper : The Fiji Times Headline : Adi Kuini for PM: Tora Journalist : Sudesh Kissun and Charles Chambers (Males) Photo : Men and women sitting around the grog bowl Photo caption : People’s Coalition … PANU candidate Ponipate Lesavua with supports at Nadi Market Page : 3 Date : 4 May 1999
Text: The party of National Unity will back Adi Kuini Speed for the prime ministership if the people’s coalition wins the coalition.
But general secretary Apisai Tora wants the leadership issue decided after the poll.
He said the issue of prime ministership should be decided by consensus by coalition partners after the elections.
Mr Tora said although FAP and PANU had agreed to support Adi Kuini Speed for the post of Prime Minster, he felt the issue should be decided by the parties after the elections.
“In every other democratic country the election of Prime Minister is done by consensus by the parties after the election and this is the process I favour,” he said.
Labour leader Mahendra Chaudhry said the coalition partner with the majority number of seats should provide the prime minister.
120 Mr Chaudhry said the coalition had agreed to leave the issue of leadership until after the elections.
“We had agreed that the party with the largest number of seats will provide the Prime Minister,” he said.
“We have made this issue clear time and time again.”
Mr Chaudhry said both parties could provide better leaders than Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka.
Meanwhile, Mr Tora yesterday warned there was a strong possibility the elections could be rigged by the Government.
Mr Tora said Government and the Elections Office must give a clear cut assurance that there would be no rigging of votes.
He said if this is not done then international observers from the Commonwealth and United Nations should be brought in to supervise the elections.
END
Analysis This story can be classified as a missed opportunity (Category 3). Although the headline says “Adi Kuini for PM: Tora” the story is anything but. After the two-line reference to Adi Kuini Speed (paragraphs one and four), the rest of the article concentrates on the leadership squabble between Party of National Unity and Fiji Labour Party post election.
121 The Fiji Times could have seized this opportunity to expand on the possibility of having a female prime minister – a first for Fiji. They could have made this issue prominent on the public’s mind by using positive framing. Instead the newspaper chose to highlight the same rhetoric that has been debated in Fiji since independence. The idea of a female prime minister was treated like a side issue in the story even though it forms the basis of the headline and the lead paragraph.
What is also lacking is a comment from Adi Kuini Speed (supposedly the subject of the story) on the possibility of her becoming Fiji’s first female prime minister should her party win the election.
122 Item 8 Item type : News story Newspaper : The Fiji Times Headline : Concern over coverage of women’s issues Journalist : Aqela Lalakato (Female) Photo : None Photo caption : None Page : 3 Date : 2 May 2006
Text: Women’s groups have aired concerns over the lack of media coverage in women’s issues leading up to the elections.
A joint statement by the Fiji Women’s Rights Movement (FWRM) and Women’s Action for Change (WAC) yesterday called for political parties and the media to focus on women and children before the election begins at the end of the week.
“The Fiji Women’s Rights Movement (FWRM) and Women’s Action for Change (WAC) are extremely concerned at the lack of media coverage on women’s issues in the lead up to the 2006 elections and urgently call on political parties and the media to focus on women and children before the end of this week,” the statement said.
Both organisations were appalled at the apparent invisibility of half of the population of the country with much emphasis on the politics of race and who should become prime minister and substantive issues for women and children not discussed.
123 The group says media coverage had neglected to adequately address sensitive issues like violence against women, enabling legislation for women and children and decision making.
WAC co-coordinator, Noelene Nabulivou said not one of the 12 questions directed at political parties in the national election supplement concerned violence against women.
Ms Nabulivou said talkback shows on radio and television had not held one single session specifically on women’s concerns.
FWRM executive director Virisila Buadromo said they would have the result of their one month survey concerning political parties on their stand on the economy, HIV/AIDS, and women and the law, amongst others published in this Saturday’s newspapers.
FWRM urges voters to remember the result of the survey when they cast their vote.
END
Analysis This story highlights issues pertaining to equality or inequality between women and men (Category 5). This story challenges the apparent invisibility of women during the elections. It also points out how the media and politicians have put too much emphasis on the “politics of race and who should become prime minister”. With substantive issues concerning women and children “not discussed”.
The story can also be described as a missed opportunity (Category 3) because while it is a good example of media highlighting the inequality of news coverage of women, it looks like a rewritten press-release. A balanced and credible story would be
124 one where the media responds to the allegations of giving inadequate coverage to women and overemphasising racial politics. A response from political parties would also have given more weight to the story.
By taking a press release and simply rearranging it in a story format isolates the issue. It gives the impression that only a small part of the society (two women’s organisations) is concerned with women’s issues. If comments from a wide range of people were taken and the angle or the framing of the story was made to appeal to a broader audience, it would have made a bigger and more positive impact.
125 Item 9 Item type : News story Newspaper : The Fiji Times Headline : Parties refute women’s claims Journalist : Serafina Qalo (Female) Photo : None Photo caption : None Page : 2 Date : 3 May 2006
Text: Political parties have refuted claims that its manifestos failed to address issues relating to women and children.
The Fiji Women’s Rights Movement and Women’s Action for Change had called on parties and independent candidates to expound on their vision for women.
National Alliance Party President Ratu Epeli Ganilau said they were obviously not following the political campaigns.
“We hope that they have been reading and listening to out manifestos which pushes for women’s and children’s issues such as education, health, employment and other issues that all cover women’s interests,” he said.
He said the two groups had nothing to complain about as the party manifestoes included women’s interests.
“Actually these women were given a chance to stand for the elections. We asked for volunteers but none from these groups came forward,” Ratu Epeli said.
126 “Why are they complaining now? They should have made use of the opportunity to contest the elections where they can air their grievances at the political level. He said there was no point in raising their concerns at this stage because the manifestoes advocated for better treatment for women.
The Soqosoqo Duavata Lewenivanua Party said their manifesto addressed assistance to women’s groups and that its action over the past five years empowered women.
Party spokesman Jale Baba said this included micro-finance businesses conducted through the Ministry of Women. END
Analysis This is a follow-up story to the one that appeared in the Fiji Times on May 2 2006 entitled, ‘Concern over coverage of women’s issues’. While being subtly stereotyped (Category 2), it is also a story that can be categorised as a missed opportunity (Category 3).
The tone of the story suggests that the political parties are defensive. The Fiji Times should have expounded on that and also on the following comment: “Actually these women were given a chance to stand for the elections. We asked for volunteers but none from these groups came forward… why are they complaining now? They should have made use of the opportunity to contest the elections where they can air their grievances at the political level”.
While reporting on this comment the Fiji Times should have pointed out to the readers that just because women’s organisations or any other organisation or individual for that matter, are concerned about women’s rights, does not mean that they want to stand for election. Being concerned about an issue is not the only prerequisite to standing for election. By the same token, one would never suggest male activists to run
127 for Parliament if they were concerned about the increasing number of single fathers in Fiji nor would anyone suggest doctors to stand for election if they asked for better working conditions (as a prerequisite to providing better health service) in rural areas. So why is it that when women ask for more visibility during elections, they are told to stand for elections to get it? And the media, as the self-proclaimed ‘watchdog’ of the society does not even critically examine these stereotypical comments. Neither does it examine the deep-rooted issues that disadvantage women when it comes to joining politics. That in itself is a missed opportunity.
128 Item 10 Item type : News story Newspaper : The Fiji Times Headline : PM must be Fijian: Qarase Journalist : Monika Singh (Female) Photo : None Photo caption : None Page : 3 Date : 4 May 2006
Text: THE thinking that anyone who is elected to Parliament should be accepted as the Prime Minister of Fiji, irrespective of race, culture or gender is not enough for Fiji.
Caretaker PM Laisenia Qarase made the remark at a press conference in Suva yesterday.
He made the comment to explain a recent statement during a rally in Nausori about having indigenous Fijian leadership for the country.
"It is important to reflect on and consider the implications arising from the nature of our society, as one of different communities with differences in cultural, customary and value systems," he said.
"Clearly, what we need is leadership that would instill in members of our communities the confidence and the certainty they need to live their lives for themselves and their families, in peace, security and stability.
"Now for the Fijian people, we need to be acutely aware that democracy in terms of every individual being equal in their basic rights and freedom, is quite
129 different from the value systems that provide the basis for traditional Fijian society."
He said the Fijian society was hierarchical in its social structure and it revolved around a chiefly system where rank and file related to their chief through obedience, loyalty and a deep sense of duty.
"It is in this context that a national leader is required to be attuned to the sensitivities of the Fijian people.
"In other words, the starting point in dealing with national issues is, where necessary, to consult first with the Fijian people. For after all, the Fijian people are the majority community in Fiji numerically, and they are also the majority landowning community in the country," he said.
He said the next step for Fijians was to accept that anyone, irrespective of race could be the PM.
"That would come, as our country develops politically and socially but we have not reached that point yet and so we need patience," he said.
END
Analysis As is common in Fiji, almost all forms of election campaigning becomes a race issue. The above article is a classic example of the numerous stories that have appeared in the Fiji Times and Fiji Sun that states that only an indigenous person can be the Prime Minister. Many election candidates go a step further and prophesise racial tension and coups if a non-indigenous was to be elected as the country’s leader.
130 This news story is blatantly stereotyped (Category 1) and a missed opportunity (Category 3). The lead paragraph of the story states that gender needs to taken into account when choosing the Prime Minister; a comment by none other than the caretaker Prime Minister himself. While the entire story is about race, the fact that the term ‘gender’ is used in the lead paragraph warrants analysis.
Under the 1997 constitution, the supreme law of the land is the Bill of Rights (BOR). The BOR guarantees any citizen of Fiji the right to stand for election (and lead the country upon winning), regardless of race or sex. Instead of expounding on that fact, the Fiji Times chose to ignore it and published everything the caretaker Prime Minister had said. Aside from being sexist and patriarchal, his comments were also insidious and racist and the Fiji Times missed an excellent opportunity to analyse it critically. The story was published unchallenged and without rebuttal from females and more progressive, open-minded males.
131 Item 11 Item type : News story Newspaper : The Fiji Times Headline : Housewife expresses frustration Journalist : Seema Sharma (Female) Photo : None Photo caption : None Page : 4 Date : 4 May 2006
Text: A HOUSEWIFE who voted yesterday said she was taking part in the election so that she did not have to pay the fine.
Akanisi Sauliga of Buca Bay in Cakaudrove said she had voted for the sake of it because she was frustrated of the many scams and cases of fraud that were highlighted by the media.
She said she found the politicians "childish" when they condemned each other in parliament instead of concentrating on the bread and butter issues of those who voted them in.
Ms Sauliga said she did not know who was standing in her constituency nor was she interested in finding out. She said politicians were like kids who returned to the voters every five years and tried to be nice by making promises so that they could retain their seats. Ms Sauliga said she wanted a government that would take the country forward and not steal from the ratepayers.
She said it was shameful to read about politicians and civil servants being involved in scams when they were entrusted with the running of the country.
END
132 Analysis This story is subtly stereotyped (Category 2). The subject of the story is Akanisi Sauliga who obviously participated in early voting because official voting did not begin until 6 May. The Fiji Times labelled her as a ‘frustrated housewife’ (both in the headline and lead paragraph), when it could have just as easily called her ‘a concerned citizen or voter’. Her ‘housewife’ status had no bearing on the story. To many in the society (especially a patriarchal one) a housewife is a married woman who has no formal employment and spends her time tending to household matters, her husband and children (if she has any). Many patriarchal societies are such that women, especially housewives have no say in how countries are run. Thus for the Fiji Times to label someone with a valid argument, without context, reinforces gender stereotypes. The fact that she is a housewife is of no consequence. What matters is how much weight the readers would give her comments after realizing that she is just a housewife, as opposed to being a doctor or a lawyer.
133 Item 12 Item type : News story Newspaper : The Fiji Sun Headline : Mum fights for garment workers Journalist : No byline Photo : None Photo caption : None Page : 2 Date : 29 April 2006
Text: The closing of garment factories has affected thousands of women in the Western Division which showed that past governments did not provide enough employment for women.
Lautoka Indian Communal candidate for the National Alliance Party, Rosemary Latanji Gideon, said women had suffered over the years because they were deprived of the means to keep their families going.
“Especially the thousands of women who were working in garment factories that have closed down because of investors’ show of no-confidence in our country. People are suffering in silence,” she said.
Ms Gideon said the poverty level was rising and women were finding other alternatives to keep their families going and to put bread and butter on the family table.
She said this was one of the concerns she had been raising while going out on political campaigns.
Mrs Gideon said not only women but the whole family were affected.
134 “Some husbands end up leaving their wives and children because they cannot cope anymore with the pressure of providing for the family. This results in other social factors that breaks up a family and even leads to crime for the children,” she said.
The manager of Lautoka Westward Bar and Grill said she had the support of the family, especially her children and husband to stand in the election.
END
Analysis
This story is a mixture of categories 2 and 5. While the story itself highlights issues pertaining to inequality between women and men in times of poverty, the journalist style of writing is stereotypical.
The headline labels Rosemary Latanji Gideon, a female election candidate, as a “mum”. The headline is implying that not only is Gideon a mum, she is a mum who “fights for garment workers”. In the 471 items that were analysed, not one male candidate was called a ‘dad’. Neither was there an item in which a male candidate acknowledged the support of his wife and children in standing for election. But the journalist who wrote this news story felt that there was a need to mention this in Gideon’s case. Why? Because there was a need to assure the readers that this “mum” and wife had the blessings of her family to be involved in something else beside her family? To give surety to the readers that she could still be a good “mum” and wife despite being an election candidate?
It’s unjustifiable to allocate valuable space in the newspaper on information that is irrelevant to the reader, especially when the information is sexist and stereotypical.
135 Item 13 Item type : News story Newspaper : The Fiji Sun Headline : Chief’s girl out but not down Journalist : No byline Photo : None Photo caption : None Page : 8 Date : 1 May 2006
Text: Dropped Party of National Unity (PANU) candidate for Magodro Open Adi Sulueti Levaci remains confident she will not have to wait another five years to be considered for the General Election.
She remains just as confident as she did during her campaign that PANU will this time be well represented in the Government.
Despite being dropped at the last minute because of her absence on the objection day at the Commissioner Western’s office the 30-year-old woman from Sorokoba is still working alongside party officials in rallying for a change in government.
The granddaughter of Tui Ba and PANU president, Ratu Sairusi Nagagavoka, said she has hopes as far as her political career is concerned.
“I know that I won’t have to wait another five years to be able to represent my people, whether it’s through a by-election or I may be given a seat in Senate. I know I will be there to be able to fight for the people in my area,” she said.
136 Not one to cry over spilt milk, Adi Sulueti carries on with her work in trying to make changes that will count in the individual lives of people she believes have been neglected for far to [sic] long.
Adi Sulueti said that the main areas of concern involved the bad road conditions and poor living standards of the people who are still using pit toilets and depending on river water for washing, drinking and cooking.
Another area of concern, she said, was on educating the women in the area on the different aspects of living that would help them improve their lives.
The party, she said, is working closely with Fiji Labour Party
END
Analysis This story is subtly stereotyped (Category 2) although the headline is blatantly stereotyped (Category 1). How does a female candidate (current or future) expect to gain credibility from the voters through the media when she is labelled as a “chief’s girl” in headlines? Although Adi Sulueti was “dropped” from participating in the 2006 election, this news story will still be analysed to see how she was treated by the media.
Aside from the sexist headline, Adi Sulueti was also described as the “30-year- old woman”. And as is common when the subject of the story is a chiefly woman, she was also described as the “granddaughter” of a high status male chief and political party leader. This story is another example of the clichéd way in which journalist’s treat female election candidates. As mentioned earlier journalists need to be reprimanded for giving chiefly status/connections too much prominence for female and male candidates.
137 Chapter 6 gives a compressive analysis of both the quantitative and qualitative findings and draws some important conclusions as to why female election candidates and females in general remain invisible in the media during election times.
138 CHAPTER SIX
DEVELOPMENT OF GENDER EQUALITY IN PARLIAMENT
There are several major conclusions that can be drawn from both the quantitative and qualitative findings, which are expounded upon below.
Visibility of Women
The first important conclusion drawn from the research is the virtual invisibility of female election candidates, and females in general, in the Fiji Times during the 1999 and 2006 election periods and the Fiji Sun during the 2006 election period only. The first research question [refer to Appendix E] defined ‘visibility’ (in its sub-questions) as:
1. percentage of times female election candidates were quoted in relation to male election candidates; 2. percentage of times females in general were quoted in relation to males in general; 3. percentage of times females were the subjects of an item as opposed to males and; 4. percentage of times females were quoted in their professional capacity as opposed to males.
Findings show that in every category that data was collected for, female election candidates and females in general were far less visible than men. The research findings for the Fiji Times (during 1999 and 2006 elections) and the Fiji Sun (during the 1999 election only) clearly show that:
139 Out of the total 471 items analysed, female election candidates were quoted only 10 percent of the time. While female election candidates were only quoted a small percent of the times, the data collected shows that the percentage was even worse when taking into account all females.
This is despite article 23 of the Media Council General Media Code of Ethics & Practice (9) clearly stating that media should endeavour to show fairness, impartiality and balance when presenting news which deals with political matters, there was a lack of multiple-sourcing. This severely diminished the credibility of news stories.
Furthermore, the Fiji Women’s Rights Movement and other women’s organisations have been vocal in raising the problem of “invisibility” of women candidates and women’s issues during elections. In addition, the GMMP 2005 and 2010 report states that Fiji women in general are under-represented in the media.
What are the implications of these findings? As explored in the literature review, there are studies (Kahn and Goldenberg 1991) that have shed light on the powerful role the news media can play in campaigns; the media can influence what voters learn about candidates as well as the criteria voters use when evaluating candidates. The literature review has shown that when a candidate does not appear often enough in the news media, there is a high chance of that candidate not being easily recognised by potential voters. As such, if female election candidates are consistently invisible in the media, it could be said that the news media, and in this case the Fiji Times and the Fiji Sun, may be a contributing factor in their eventual failure at the polls by neglecting and virtually reducing female candidates to nonentities.
Chiefly women in Fiji who stand for elections seem to have an advantage over indigenous Fijian women of non-chiefly status and Indo-Fijian women. Voting for them appears to be culturally acceptable, even culturally obligatory in situations where voters owe a traditional allegiance to a particular chief. While it is important to increase the number of women in Parliament, it is the media’s responsibility, as the Fourth Estate, to
140 ensure that adequate coverage is given to all women candidates and not just the chiefly ones as shown by this research.
It is crucial for women to be the subject of news items. It increases their visibility and gives them greater name recognition, which is important when voters look at the list of names on their ballot papers. Voters will rarely support a candidate they do not recognise. Close examination of the data collected shows that females were below males in every function category. The majority percentage of males were subjects of items (election related news stories, editorials, commentaries and opinion pieces), the spokespeople, the expert/commentator, the conveyor of personal experience, the eye- witnesses and the ones quoted to determine popular opinion. Males even surpassed females when an item quoted an individual with no apparent function.
These findings show that women are not given importance during elections – be they election candidates or voters.
Professional Women
For the purpose of this thesis, visibility was also determined by the percentage of females quoted in their professional capacity as opposed to males. In all the professions (except for ‘homemaker, parent, either female or male’ – where two people were given coverage – one female, one unknown), males were quoted directly, indirectly or were significant enough to be mentioned, more often.
Out of the 835 people from different professions (not just election candidates) that were given coverage in the election-related items, more than half of them were males. It seems that aside from giving less coverage to female election candidates, the Fiji Times and Fiji Sun also did not seek the opinions of females from other occupations in these items.
141 The Fiji Times in 2006 gave relatively more coverage to women in different professions than in 1999. In 1999 there were no female public servants, diplomats, police officers, military personnel, economist, executives, activists, parent, homemaker or villager mentioned.
The Fiji Sun has produced mixed results. It has given relatively more coverage (than the Fiji Times in 2006) to females in some occupations (example, government, diplomacy, military and activism), and none in others (academia and office).
Overall the results paint a dismal picture of the status of women in Fiji’s print media. While it is rare enough to have the average woman being quoted or being the subject of a news story in the dailies during election times, the opinion of professional women are hardly considered either. This finding is extremely worrisome because it gives the indication that in Fiji only men can be reliable and accessible sources of information. It indicates that there may be no or few professional women who can comment on issues. The impression given is that women’s expertise is not as good as their male counterparts.
Stereotyped Women
The second research question was put forward to determine if the Fiji Times and Fiji Sun stereotyped females when they did give them coverage during elections [refer to Appendix E]. For the purpose of this thesis, three kinds of stereotype were considered:
1. the publishing of candidates’ age regardless of whether the age factor was relevant or not; 2. use of familial terms to describe candidates; and 3. the use of sexist terms to describe candidates
Age factor: A person’s age is not always relevant to the news; therefore I wanted to determine if female and male election candidates were equally likely to be described in
142 terms of their age. Although Item One, entitled ‘Women hit poll trail’, in the qualitative results section does show how female election candidates can have their age mentioned without it being relevant to the story, data collected for both newspapers for the 1999 and 2006 time period shows that it was majority of the male candidates who had their age mentioned in an item. Female election candidates only had their age mentioned less than half the time. None of the age mentions were relevant to the story, however, neither was the age factor given extra prominence. This concludes that neither male nor female candidates were stereotyped based on their age, by the Fiji Times and Fiji Sun.
Familial relationship: Females are often stereotyped when the media uses familial relationship to describe them. Out of the 471 items analysed there were five instances where election candidates were described using a familial relationship in a stereotypical manner and all five were female candidates. Two of these items were qualitatively analysed (as the items were stereotypical for other reasons as well and warranted further analysis). Items Two and Three, entitled ‘Province first, says Adi Sai’ and ‘Villagers reject Adi Koila’, respectively show the context in which these election candidates are described. It is noticed that often it is the chiefly women who are described in such a manner. While the usage of familial relationships to describe a female election candidate is small and may not be statistically significant here, it is however a reality when it comes to describing chiefly female candidates. It is also important to note that a small percent of female election candidates are actually quoted in all items and the five times that they have been quoted, they have been described by the media either as someone’s daughter, sister, wife, mother and granddaughter.
Sexist terms: Another form of stereotype that was analysed was the use of sexist terms when describing female election candidates. Items Three - Villagers reject Adi Koila; Ten - PM must be Fijian: Qarase; Twelve - Mum fights for garment workers; and Thirteen - Chief’s girl out but not down - all had some form of sexism either in the body of the item and/or the headline. And in three of the items the subjects of the story were female election candidates. The use of sexist terms in stories about female election
143 candidates indicates that the newspaper does not understand how to cover stories without stereotyping, and that journalists need to be educated in this important area.
Race, Coup and Development
Race and coup-related issues did take-up a significant portion of news space during the chosen period in the Fiji Times and Fiji Sun [refer to Appendix E for Research Questions]. Media discussion about other major developmental issues, such as discrimination against women, is in a sense crowded out in that they are given so much less priority that they fail to get into the news. The data collected indicates that 33 percent of all the items published were either race-based politics (23 percent) or coup- related (10 percent).
The politics of race, which has a strong link to the four coups Fiji has experienced in the last twenty years, has dominated media discourse (refer to discussion in Chapter 2). So much so, that the idea of focusing on other developmental issues, such as female representation, is rarely taken into account during elections. The country has never had more than eight female members voted into Parliament at any one time. This issue has never been examined in any depth by the news media. According to newspaper reporting, the majority of female election candidates’ political platforms are always focused on women’s issues. If women are to be taken seriously by the voters, they have to show that they are standing for elections to help and lead all members of society, not just women. If the media chose to focus on the overall attributes of women candidates rather than just portray them as advocates for women’s issues, it would help better inform the public and achieve positive outcomes.
After the Public Emergency Regulations (PER) Decree was put in place by Fiji’s President in 2009, banning any form of political news deemed negative by the government, both the Fiji Sun and The Fiji Times were forced to change their approach to reporting and the type of stories selected for coverage. The Fiji Sun claimed to have become more “pro-Fiji”, publishing stories related to business and development. It is
144 also the newspaper that usually has a government-related front page headline and publishes news releases supplied by Fiji’s information ministry, and receives government advertising patronage. The Fiji Times, while not publishing as much on government activities, has focused on human interest stories. In 2009 they covered in- depth analysis on many issues affecting Fiji, some of which were the rising level of HIV and AIDS and breast cancer cases, campaigns to help needy families get their children into school, as well articles on the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence12.
By 2009, the print media in Fiji had shown themselves more capable of covering development-related stories. This, however, should not have to be at the expense of political reporting, in the same way as we have argued that political reporting and the focus on racial politics should not be at the expense of covering women in politics, public life and decision making (or the lack of it).
Conclusion
The main objective of the research was to determine the visibility of female election candidates and females in general in the Fiji Times and Fiji Sun during the 1999 and 2006 elections. Along with that, the research was also conducted to establish if the coverage that was accorded to women, were stereotyped.
After analysing the data collected quantitatively and qualitatively, it can be concluded that female election candidates and females in general, were virtually
12 The 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence is an international campaign originating from the first Women's Global Leadership Institute sponsored by the Center for Women's Global Leadership in 1991.Participants chose the dates November 25- International Day Against Violence Against Women-and December 10- International Human Rights Day- in order to symbolically link violence against women and human rights and to emphasize that such violence is a violation of human rights. This 16-day period also highlights other significant dates including November 29 - International Women Human Rights Defenders Day, December 1 - World AIDS Day, and December 6, which marks the Anniversary of the Montreal Massacre. The 16 Days Campaign has been used as an organising strategy by individuals and groups around the world to call for the elimination of all forms of violence against women (Source: Women's Global Leadership Institute: http://16dayscwgl.rutgers.edu/ ).
145 invisible in both the newspapers and in both time periods. The few articles there were on women or quoted women were mostly clichéd, lacked critical analysis and stereotyped women. It can now be said that by giving male and female candidates disproportionate coverage, Fiji’s two most prominent and widely read newspapers may have influenced the success or failure of female candidates in their bid to hold public office.
An unexpected but equally important finding of the research sheds some light on why there may be a lack of visibility of female election candidate (as well as other development related issues) in the dailies during election times. The data show the extensive prominence Fiji’s print media gives to race and coup-related issues as elections draw near, crowds out reportage of other major issues. For instance, the lack of women at the highest-level of decision-making is rarely, if ever, covered in any in-depth and informed manner. The media have been so preoccupied with the presumed tension between the two major ethnicities that reports overlooked the fact that in all elections since independence, women have only managed to secure less than 12 percent of these 71 seats in Parliament - yet women make-up nearly half of the total population of the country. The literature review shows that when racial and ethnic tensions and national security issues are at the forefront of discussions during election times, it is the men who tend to dominate the news. Subsequently, studies have concluded that voters may elect a male to power (over a female) because they feel that a male might be able to handle a race-related issue or a national security issue better than a woman, an impression apparently supported by the media.
Much has been said about the power of news media and the many influences it has over their audience. It is now time for news media to start offering its audience more in-depth reporting on issues such as gender equality, and be more diligent in exposing the opinions and comments of the many educated, intelligent and powerful women on general matters, to make people see and think differently regarding the leadership qualities of women. If Fiji wants to progress and transcend the politics of race and gender in all aspects of life, the mindset of its people needs to change. The media can play an instrumental role in this regard if it rids itself of its prejudices.
146 Suggestions for Future Research
During the course of researching, documenting, analysing and writing of this thesis, the lack of research conducted in some critical areas become apparent. Firstly, a qualitative analysis is needed to determine the process journalists in the print media in Fiji follow when writing stories during elections. Do they write stories on whichever candidate is available with a comment? Do they highlight party manifestoes? Do they devise an election reporting strategy? Do they decide if they will be partisan or maintain neutrality?
Secondly, a historical overview of women’s leadership in Fiji is needed. This research should highlight how far feminism and the women’s movement have come in Fiji. How much have aspiring women leaders achieved? Are they still at the stage where their platforms during election campaigning concern ‘fighting for women’s rights’? Or have they gone beyond the gender issue and want to be seen as just leaders for everyone, rather than women leaders or leaders for women? Or have they actually regressed? It would also be interesting to see the stage at which women’s development is actually in and what stage the media depicts it to be in.
Thirdly, this thesis has shown that female election candidates do not have visibility in the print media during election times because newspapers give excessive prominence to race and coup related issues that are largely the public arena of males. This thesis suggests that the lack of visibility is a factor in women not being elected to Parliament because voters rarely see them in the news. The lack of gender-equality at the highest level of decision-making in the country - the Parliament - is a serious issue for development and peace. Similarly, there could be a whole host of other issues being ignored during elections (or at any other time) because of extensive reporting of racial issues. It would be interesting to examine if the coverage in the period prior to the State’s media controls of such issues as environment, youth, unemployment, rise of lifestyle diseases and so on, were less covered because of a news emphasis on race on
147 politics. The current situation may not give an accurate reflection of what is the real situation with any of these issues because of the ban on reporting anything negative, or that which does not support the efforts and stance of the State.
And lastly, research is needed to determine if the sex of a journalist matters when he/she reports on a story. Although in the qualitative analysis of this thesis the sex of the journalist was mentioned (along with the byline); no analysis was offered. Are female journalists any less or more stereotypical when reporting on a story with a female as the subject of a story (as opposed to a male journalist)? Would she try to have gender balance when looking to quote sources? Answers to these key research questions will help devise a better strategy to control gender discrimination in media and society, and achieve gender equality.
148 APPENDIX A
Senior Officers (chief administrator level and above) in Government ministries, 2000
Women Men Total Women
% of
total
Office of PM 2 16 18 11
Attorney General’s Chambers and Ministry of 013130
Justice
Ministry of Finance and National Planning 6 20 26 23
Ministry of Fijian Affairs 0 4 4 0
Ministry of Home Affairs and Immigration 0 12 12 0
Ministry of Labour, Industrial Relations and 0550
Productivity
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and External Trade 4 18 22 18
Judicial 1 13 14 7
Ministry of Regional Development 1 8 9 11
Ministry of National Reconciliation 0 3 3 0
Ministry of Women Social Welfare and Poverty 41580
Alleviation
Ministry of Education and Technology 4 7 11 36
Ministry of Health 21 50 71 30
149 Ministry of Local Government, Housing and 16714
Squatter Settlements
Ministry of Youth, Employment Opportunities and 0330
Sport
Ministry of Agriculture, Sugar and Land 2101217
Resettlement
Ministry of Fisheries and Forestry 0 8 8 0
Ministry of Lands and Mineral Resources 0 12 12 0
Ministry of Commerce, Business Development and 0550
Investment
Ministry of Tourism, Culture, Heritage and Civil 0660
Aviation
Ministry of Public Enterprises and Public Sector 13425
Reforms
Ministry of Works, Telecommunications, Energy 119205 and Roads
Source: Chandra and Lewai 2005, 132
150 APPENDIX B
Fiji general elections: women candidates and members of Parliament, 1992-2006
Election Year # of women # of women Appointed to Total # of
standing for elected to Ministers/ elected seats
election House of Assistant
Representatives Ministers
1992 41 - 70
1994 12 3 3 70
1999 27 8 5 71
2001 31 5 4 71
2006 27 8 4 71
Source: Chandra and Lewai 2005, 132; Nicholl 2007b, 162 and Parliament of Fiji Islands 2006.
151 APPENDIX C
Elections 1999 Results Summary - Name and Party of Female Candidates
NO. OF WOMEN CANDIDATES 26 8 WINNERS
NAME PARTY WINNERS
Koila Mara Nailatikau VLV
Seruwaia Hong-Tiy SVT
Qalo Salote Raikolo VLV
Akanisi Koroitamana PANU
Divuki Miliakere Ah Tong VLV
Susana Tuisawau FLP
Lili King VLV
Ema Tagicakibau FAP
Niranjan Kuar UNLP
Marieta Rigamoto Independent
Litia Cakobau SVT
Lavenia Padarath FLP
Mridula Sainath NFP
Suruj Mati Nand FLP
Miriama Rayawa Cama VLV
Asenaca Bentley FAP
152 Ofa M.P.Duncan UGP
Lute Taoba Powell FAP
Mere Tuisalalo Samisoni SVT
Elenoa Ligairi Sikivou VLV
Savitri Chauhan NFP
Manjulawati Verma NFP
Makelesi Lutuciri SVT
Kuini Vuikaba FAP
Chitra Singh UNLP
Senimili Rokolewasau Tuivanuavou FAP
Source: Elections 2006 Fiji Islands, Name and Party of Women Candidates in Election
153 APPENDIX D
Elections 2006 Results Summary - Name and Party of Female Candidates
NO. OF WOMEN CANDIDATES 30 8 WINNERS
NAME PARTY WINNERS
Selaima Kalouniviti Veisamasama Independent
Veniana Gonewai FLP
Koleta Marama Sivivatu FLP
Ro Teimumu Kepa SDL
Erini Saukelea NA
Melania Lutuvakula NA
Nanise Vunisere Kasami Nagusuca SDL
Sainiana Rokovucago FLP
Akanisi Koroitamana FLP
Miriama Rayawa Cama NFP
Bernadette Rounds UPP
Anaseini Tuineau Henry NA
Rosemary Satanji NA
Sushila Rameshwar NFP
Fatima Bano Shad NA
Chitra Singh SDL
154 Adi Asenaca Caucau SDL
Lavinia Wainiqolo Padarath FLP
Priscilla Singh NFP
Losena Tabunavau Salabula SDL
Monica Ragwhan FLP
Ofa M.P. Swann Independent
Mere Tuisalalo Samisoni SDL
Rusila Ralulu NA
Josephine Raikuna Williams UPP
Sivia Qoro FLP
Vilisite Qera NVTL
Vitori Cavalevu NA
Siteri Nai Gonelevu NA
Fani Tago Vosaniveibuli NA
Source: Source: Elections 2006 Fiji Islands, List of Candidates for the 2006 Elections and The Fiji Women’s Rights Movement – unpublished results.
155 APPENDIX E
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
This thesis attempts to answer the following three major research questions (Questions 1 and 2 are further subdivided into specific questions to answer the major questions better).
1. Given the selected time periods of 28 April 1999 – 7 May 1999 and 26 April 2006 – 5 May 2006, how visible are female election candidates and females in general in the Fiji Times and the Fiji Sun, in the items analysed?
1.1.Will male election candidates be quoted more often than female election candidates in the Fiji Times and the Fiji Sun?
1.2.Will males be quoted more often than females in the Fiji Times and the Fiji Sun?
1.3.Will males be the subjects of news more often than females in the Fiji Times and the Fiji Sun?
1.4.Will males be quoted more often than females in their professional capacity in the Fiji Times and the Fiji Sun?
2. Given the selected time periods of 28 April 1999 – 7 May 1999 and 26 April 2006 – 5 May 2006, will female election candidates and females in general be stereotyped in the Fiji Times and the Fiji Sun, in the items analysed?
2.1.Will male election candidates have their age mentioned less often than female election candidates in the Fiji Times and the Fiji Sun?
156 2.2.Will female election candidates be often described using a familial relationship in the Fiji Times and the Fiji Sun?
2.3.Will female election candidates and females in general be described using sexist terms in the Fiji Times and the Fiji Sun?
3. Given the selected time periods of 28 April 1999 – 7 May 1999 and 26 April 2006 – 5 May 2006, how much coverage (percentage of items) will the Fiji Times and the Fiji Sun allocate to race or coup related issues?
157 APPENDIX F
The following newspaper coding system for quantitative analysis is taken from the Global Media Monitoring Project (GMMP) unless otherwise stated.
I. NEWSPAPER CODING SYSTEM
A. A. Basic information Each item was coded in the following manner:
Story number: to maintain the order in they were analysed
Name of journalist
Sex of journalist
Name of the newspaper: to differentiate between the Fiji Times and Fiji Sun
Item: to differentiate between a news story, an editorial, an opinion piece and a commentary
Date story was published: to maintain order
B. Items Each item was coded in the following manner: 1. Page number 2. Subject
The GMMP had developed a list of 44 possible subjects, which are grouped into broad categories. These subjects are used as a basis for this thesis with appropriate alterations. For each of the 44 subjects there are a number of topics to help fit the news
158 story into an appropriate subject area. For instance if the story is about poverty, housing, social welfare, or aid to those in need, it is coded 7.
Within each broad category, there is a code ‘other stories’. This will only be used as a last resort.
I will choose one subject that best describes how the story is reported. A single event can be reported in different ways. For example, a strike by nurses during the led up to the election:
A report on how the strike was carried out is Subject = 8 Labour issues, strikes, trade unions, negotiations, employment, unemployment.
A report on why the strike might have taken place is Subject = 7 Poverty or 23 Human rights
Sometimes several subjects will be covered within the same story. It is obvious that each piece will be related to politics or elections since these are election related items (this is not part of the GMMP framework as they look at all news stories and not just politics or election related ones). However, I will code the second subject that is most prominent in the story. If the story is just about election then it will be coded accordingly.
Politics and Government
1 Domestic politics/government (local, regional, national), elections, speeches, the political process … 2 Foreign/international politics, relations with other countries, negotiations, treaties, UN peacekeeping … 3 National defense, military spending, military training, military parades … 4 Other stories on politics and government
159 Economy
5 Economic policies, strategies, models (national, international) … 6 Economic indicators, statistics, business, trade, stock markets … 7 Poverty, housing, social welfare, aid to those in need … 8 Labour issues, strikes, trade unions, negotiations, employment, unemployment … 9 Rural economy, agriculture, farming practices, agricultural policy, land rights … 10 Consumer issues, consumer protection, regulation, prices, consumer fraud … 11 Transport, traffic, roads, infrastructure, water cuts… 12 Other stories on the economy (specify the subject in 'Comments' section of coding sheet)
Science and Health
13 Science, technology, research, funding, discoveries, developments … 14 Medicine, health, hygiene, safety, disability, medical research, funding (apart from HIV-AIDS)… 15 HIV-Aids, incidence, policy, treatment, people affected … 16 Other epidemics, viruses, contagions, BSE, SARS … 17 Birth control, fertility, sterilisation, amniocentesis, termination of pregnancy … 18 Environment, nature, pollution, global warming, ecology, tourism … 19 Other stories on science or health
Social and Legal
20 Development issues, sustainability, community development … 21 Education, child care, nurseries, pre-school to university, adult education, literacy … 22 Family relations, inter-generational conflict, single parents … 23 Human rights, women's rights, children's rights, gay & lesbian rights, rights of minorities... 24 Religion, culture, tradition, controversies, teachings, celebrations, practices … 25 Migration, refugees, asylum seekers, xenophobia … 26 Women's movement, activism, events, demonstrations, gender equality advocacy … 27 Changing gender relations, roles and relationships of women and men inside and outside the home … 28 Family law, family codes, property law, inheritance law and rights … 29 Legal system, judicial system, legislation (apart from family, property & inheritance law), Constitution… 30 Other stories on social or legal issues
Crime and Violence
31 Non-violent crime, bribery, theft, drug-dealing, corruption, (including political corruption/malpractice) … 160 32 Violent crime, murder, abduction, kidnapping, assault, drug-related violence, civilian and military coups… 33 Gender-based violence, harassment, domestic violence, rape, trafficking, genital mutilation … 34 War, civil war, terrorism, state-based violence … 35 Riots, demonstrations, public disorder … 36 Disaster, accident, famine, earthquake, flood, hurricane, plane crash, car crash … 37 Other stories on crime and violence
Celebrity, Arts and Media
38 Celebrity news, births, marriages, deaths, obituaries, famous people, royalty … 39 Arts, entertainment, leisure, cinema, theatre, books, dance … 40 Media, including new media (computers, internet), portrayal of women and/or men, pornography, media during election time… 41 Beauty contests, models, fashion, beauty aids, cosmetic surgery … 42 Sports, events, players, facilities, training, policies, funding … 43 Other stories on celebrities, arts, media (specify the subject in 'Comments' section of coding sheet)
Other
44 Other subject: use only if none of the above subject codes is suitable
3. Is race the subject of the item?
0No 1Yes 2 Not sure
4. Is coup the subject of the item?
0No 1Yes 2 Not sure
Race and coup are extra categories added (to the existing GMMP framework) to determine if race and/or coup are given more prominence than other issues during the chosen analysis period.
161 C. People in the news
For each item, the following will be coded:
Each person in the story who is interviewed
Each person in the story who is quoted, either directly or indirectly
Any person whom the story is about, even if they are not interviewed or quoted.
Only individual people will be coded. The following will not be coded:
Each journalist/reporter who wrote the story and whose name appears. Unnamed journalists will also not be coded (for example, 'Staff reporter', 'Our correspondent'). However, journalists name and sex will be noted during qualitative analysis. News agencies Groups (for example, a group of nurses, a group of soldiers) Organisations, companies, collectivities (for example, political parties) Characters in novels or movies (unless the story is about them) Deceased historical figures (unless the story is about them) People who are simply mentioned or listed in the story (unless the story is about them)
5. Sex
1 Female 2 Male 3 Other: transgender, transsexual 4 Do not know
162 6. Age
Age of a person will only be coded if it is specifically mentioned in the item. A person's age is not always relevant to the news. I want to find out whether women and men are equally likely to be described in terms of their age.
Even if I know the age of the person concerned, I will it code 0 if this person's age is not explicitly stated in the story. Similarly, although I might be able to guess the age of the person – example, because there is a photograph – I will code it 0 unless their age is actually mentioned in print.
0 Age not mentioned 1 Age mentioned
7. Occupation
One occupation will be coded for each person in the item. If the person is described as having two occupations, a choice will have to be made, that is, the occupation that seems most relevant in the context of the item will be chosen.
People who are self-employed will be coded in the category that corresponds to their area of work, for example, a self-employed computer analyst is coded 7, and a person who owns a small business is coded 10.
In the case of persons who are well-known to the general public, for example former Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry or Fiji’s President Ratu Josefa Iloilo – their occupation will be coded even if it is not apparent from the content of the item.
In the case of persons who are not well-known to the general public, but who are known to me personally, I will code 0 if the occupation is not apparent from the content of the news item.
0 Not stated. Story does not describe the person’s occupation or position.
163 1 Royalty, ruling monarch, deposed monarch, any member of royal family … 2 Government official, politician, president, government minister, political leader, political party staff, spokesperson … 3 Government employee, public servant, bureaucrat, diplomat, intelligence officer … 4 Police, military, para-military group, militia, prison officer, security officer, fire officer … 5 Academic expert, education professional, teacher or university lecturer (all disciplines), nursery or kindergarten teacher, child care worker … 6 Health or social service professional, doctor, nurse, laboratory technician, social worker, psychologist … 7 Science or technology professional, engineer, technician, computer specialist … 8 Media professional, journalist, video or film-maker, theatre director ... 9 Lawyer, judge, magistrate, legal advocate, legal expert, legal clerk … 10 Business person, executive, manager, entrepreneur, economist, financial expert, stock broker … 11 Office or service worker, non-management worker in office, store, restaurant, catering … 12 Tradesperson, artisan, labourer, truck driver, construction, factory, domestic worker … 13 Agriculture, mining, fishing, forestry worker … 14 Religious figure, priest, monk, rabbi, mullah, nun … 15 Activist or worker in civil society organisation, non-governmental organisation, trade union, human rights, consumer issues, environment, aid agency, peasant leader, United Nations 16 Sex worker, prostitute … 17 Celebrity, artist, actor, writer, singer, radio or television personality … 18 Sportsperson, athlete, player, coach, referee … 19 Student, pupil, schoolchild 20 Homemaker, parent, either female or male. Code this only if no other occupation is given, for example, a doctor who is also described as a mother is coded 6. 21 Child, young person (up to 18 years). Code this only if no other occupation/position is given, for example, a schoolchild is coded 19; a child labourer is coded 12. 22 Villager, village head/chief or resident engaged in unspecified occupation. Code this only if no other occupation is given, for example, a teacher who is also described as a villager is coded 5. 23 Retired person, pensioner. Code this only if no other occupation is given, for example, a retired police officer is coded 4; a retired politician is coded 2. 24 Criminal, suspect. Code this only if no other occupation is given, for example, , a lawyer suspected of committing a crime is coded 9; a former politician who has committed a crime is coded 2. 25 Unemployed. Code this only if no other occupation is given, for example, an unemployed actor is coded 17; an unemployed person who commits a crime is coded 24.
164 26 Other. Use only as a last resort
8. Function in the news story
In what function or capacity is this person included in the story? Only one code will be chosen for each person in the story. If there are several people in the story, some of them may have the same function. For instance, the story might be about two people, in which case both of these people would be given code 1; the story might include three eye witnesses, in which case all three would be given code 5. Code 1 takes precedence over other codes. For example, if the person is both a subject and a spokesperson, the chosen code will be code 1= Subject.
0 Do not know: the person's function is not clear. 1 Subject: the story is about this person, or about something the person has done, said etc. 2 Spokesperson: the person represents, or speaks on behalf of another person, a group or an organisation 3 Expert or commentator: the person provides additional information, opinion or comment, based on specialist knowledge or expertise 4 Personal experience: the person provides opinion or comment, based on individual personal experience; the opinion is not necessarily meant to reflect the views of a wider group 5 Eye witness: the person gives testimony or comment, based on direct observation (for example, being present at an event) 6 Popular opinion: the person's opinion is assumed to reflect that of the 'ordinary citizen' (for example, , in a street interview, vox populi etc); it is implied that the person's point of view is shared by a wider group of people. 7 There is no specific person in the story for example, cartoons, election advertisements, editorial comment, and opinion pieces.
9. Family relationships
Women are often defined in the news in terms of their familial relationships (example, wife of, daughter of). Men are sometimes defined in this way too (example, husband of, son of).
165 Is this person described, at any point within the story, in terms of a family relationship (example, wife, husband, daughter, son, aunt, uncle, grandmother, grandfather)?
0No
1 Yes. Code ‘yes only if the word ‘wife’, ‘husband’, ‘daughter’, ‘son’, ‘aunt’, uncle’, ‘grandmother’, ‘grandfather’ is actually used to describe the person.
10. Is this person directly quoted in the story?
0No 1Yes
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