Communication & Journalism Research 5 (2) 41
Communication & Journalism Research A Primer on Prime Time 5 (2) pp 41-53 ©The Author(s) 2016 Debates of Malayalam News Reprints and Permissions: [email protected] Channels ISSN 2348 – 5663
Dr. Abdul Muneer V6 Assistant Professor of Journalism, EMEA College of Arts and Science, Kondotty, Kerala, India.
Abstract
The Malayalam news channels, like their counterparts elsewhere in India and other countries, report and debate latest developments in a variety of fields during non-election periods. In times of elections, particularly during the campaign period, the news and debate shows of the channels concentrate primarily on the developments on the election front concerning various political parties and their candidates, the old and new political controversies, the manifestoes of the parties as well as the views of the experts and the electorates. The main objective of this paper is to explore the style and format of the news and debate shows of Malayalam news channels. The qualitative analysis of content of prime time news based debates of four channels such as Asianet News’ News Hour, Indiavision’s News Night, People’s News N views and Manorama News’ Counter Point/ Prime Time News during 2011 Kerala Assembly polls reveals that they follow almost the same style and format and that there is much similarity and synchronicity in their topic selection and presentation style.
Key Words
Prime Time Debates, News and Debate Shows, Malayalam News Channels, Genre, Synchronicity.
Today, elections have become grand spectacles. They are more colourful than ever. There is more noise that there ever was. More people get involved in it, and hence draw even more into it. Polls, in a way, have become the web of politics. It’s spread wide and hooks all. No wonder television, the most entertaining mass medium in action today, celebrates election seasons with pyrotechnics of all sorts. News channels run long debates that feature pundits; they beam in-your-face reports on political candidates; they produce in- depth news analysis on events that can make or break poll outcomes. Well, can they actually spell doom or bloom for political parties by influencing public opinion? That’s a question the discipline of political communication has been trying to answer for quite some time now.
Political debates have different formats in different countries, and have grabbed much research focus and attention. When research on political debates is mentioned, it is usually referred to presidential debates research. Other formats of debates did not get the needed research attention. In this study, the purview of research rests on news based debates, and that is, panel discussions followed in main news bulletins, particularly prime-
Correspondence: Email: [email protected]
Communication & Journalism Research 5 (2) 42
time news bulletins. Like in presidential debates, it also encompasses arguments, counter arguments and makes use of all aspects of rhetoric and persuasion.
In modern democracies, television has become the most powerful and influential venue for political commentaries and debates. They appear in both regular daily news bulletins and in special weekly television programmes focusing on current affairs. American writer and columnist Eric Alterman argues that “political pundit”, a special group of people who debates political opinions and forecasts, has become an indispensable factor in opinionated media societies (Nord, 2008). Today, all the news channels world wide have the genre of programmes where pundits taking to other pundits on various subjects. “To construct an impression of objectivity on these programmes, journalists and academics are frequently invited to appear or prominent liberals and conservatives are paired, to demonstrate a concern for ideological balance” (Gulati, Just and Crigler, 2004, p.243).
The main research question posed by many of the pioneering studies conducted earlier was, of course, did watching the debates make any difference in people’s awareness of the issues in the campaign and the positions of the candidates on those issues? (Bishop, Oldendick, and Tuchfarber, 1978).
William L. Benoit and Tamir Sheafer (2006) have documented the evolution and growth of television debates in different countries. Apart from debates centered on American Presidential elections, numerous debates have held in many other countries for the elections for their leadership such as presidents, prime ministers, senators and so on. For example, Swedish election debates had held in the year 1948, and the first political debate was telecast in Australia in the year, 1958.The other countries where debates televised include Canada, France, Germany, Greece, Holland, Israel, New Zealand, Scotland, South Korea, Poland, Taiwan, and the Ukraine. William L Benoit and Tamir Sheafer (2006) had analysed the content of those debtes. For instance, they examined the content of the five Israeli Prime Minister debates in 1984, 1988, 1992, 1996 and 1999 and compared them with the content of US debates.
Another content analysis study was conducted by Charlette Jorgensen et al (1998). They analyzed the content of 37 televised debates conducted live before select viewers in Denmark with before and after opinion polls. The Danish Broadcasting Corporation showed those 37 one-hour debates, under the title of Town Parliament (Bytinget).
The present study is also a humble attempt to analyse the content of prime time television debate shows of Malayalam news channels during the crucial Assembly polls held in Kerala in 2011. The key objective of this study is to explore the style and format of primetime television debates of Malayalam news channels. Further, it also tries to analyse the topics of debates on Malayalam channels during 2011 Kerala assembly elections so as to understand the synchronicity and similarity of the topics. The Malayalam news channels, like their counterparts elsewhere in India and other countries, report and debate latest developments in a variety of fields during non-election periods. In times of elections, particularly during the campaign period, the news and debate shows of these channels concentrate primarily on the developments on the election front concerning various political parties and their candidates, the old and new political controversies, the manifestoes of the parties as well as the views of the experts and the electorates. The debates, which involve party representatives, political experts and journalists, present an informative and absorbing fare especially to those sensitive to electoral politics.
It is a part of a larger research study probing the influence of election news and debates on the voting behaviour of the viewers of Malayalam TV news channels. The qualitative analysis of content of prime time news based debates of four channels such as
Communication & Journalism Research 5 (2) 43
Asianet News’ News Hour, Indiavision’s News Night, People’s News N views and Manorama News’ Counter Point/ Prime Time News, is utilized as the methodology of this paper. Therefore, the researcher watched the live debates or on the channels’ websites from February 19 to April 10, 2011. The observations of the analysis are discussed in the following segments.
News and Debate Shows of Malayalam News Channels; The Genre
With their sheer size and reach, news channels have the potential in shaping and at times manufacturing public opinion in the country. A reflection of their importance can be gauged from the popularity of the top-notch Indian news anchors such as Prannoy Roy of NDTV, Arnab Goswami of Times Now and M.V. Nikesh Kumar of Malayalam news channel, Reporter. While some news anchors being as popular as some of the matinee idols, the news channels often shape newspaper headlines. No wonder then that politicians today make it a point to appear on television and be seen debating key issues, and people watch news shows to keep abreast of day-to-day developments in politics and other areas.
In prime time news shows telecast between 9.00 pm – 10.00 pm, the important news events of the day are summed up and one or two important issues are debated. Most regional language news channels follow the presentation style and format evolved and perfected by English news channels such as NDTV, CNN-IBN, Times Now, Headlines Today etc. This is also is the case with the four Malayalam news channels - Asianet news, Indiavision, People, and Manorama News - whose news and debate shows are at the centre of this study. These were the only news channels in Kerala during 2011 Kerala Assembly Polls. These four news channels, like their counterparts elsewhere, also re-telecast the prime time news and debate shows in the latter part of the night.
The news and debate shows run for an hour which includes commercial breaks. Each show begins with the news presenter reading out the headlines of important news stories which are displayed on the screen simultaneously. Then the presenter picks the issue at debate and introduces the panel. Usually such panels have 2-5 experts excluding the presenter. As moderator, the presenter questions each panelist and provides them time to respond. When the discussants are not available in the studio, they are connected over phone and insets of their photographs are displayed along with their names and designations.
All news channels compete with each other to rope in experts for debate. Usually, a political issue will be discussed by a panel including representatives from the LDF, UDF and the right-wing BJP. Often, such a cast would also include a media person or a political scientist who will give the debate an objective or neutral tilt.
At times, some channels record debate shows and telecast them during prime time. The debates, obviously, see heated arguments and most panelists complain of lack of time for discussion. After ensuring that all sides of the issue are covered, the presenter concludes the debate and goes for a commercial break. After the break, the presenter reads out other important news stories.
The style and format of the news and debate shows of the four Malayalam news channels are presented in the following segment.
Asianet News’ News Hour
The News Hour, the most viewed news show on Asianet News, is telecast between 9 pm to 10 pm on all days and is re-telecast at 1 am and 6.30 am, the next day. During the first 3-5 minutes of the programme, the anchor reads out major headlines and the next 30-40
Communication & Journalism Research 5 (2) 44
minutes, including commercial breaks, is dedicated to debate. The final 15 minutes of the show is set apart for other important news stories relating to sports, business and other investigative stories. Vinu V John, Harshan TM and Manjush Gopal were among the leading presenters of News Hour during the 2011 Kerala Assembly election campaigns.
An example of a day’s News Hour debate show would give a clear picture of its style and format. On February 22, 2011, Asianet News’ News Hour debated the UDF charges against Chief Minister V.S Achuthanandan’s son, V.A. Arun Kumar. The title of the debate was “Opposition targets Chief Minister”. The discussion centered on Arunkumar’s alleged links with the lottery and sandalwood lobby. V.D Satheeshan MLA (INC-UDF), K.N. Balagopal MP (CPI (M) - LDF), V.S. Sunil Kumar MLA (CPI-LDF), and V.A. Arun Kumar (son of V.S. Achuthanandan) were the discussants; and Harshan TM (news presenter) led the debate. On some days, the show chooses two issues for discussion, involving two separate panels. In that case, each issue is given the time it deserves. For example, on March 11, 2011, News Hour debated two issues: UDF seat sharing and the Japanese Tsunami.
Indiavision’s News Night
Being the first exclusive 24-hour news channel in Malayalam, Indiavision had cultivated a news viewing culture among Malayalam television audience. Telecast between 9 pm to 10 pm on all days and re-telecast at 12 am and 5 am, the next day, the programme is the most viewed among the channel’s programmes. M.V. Nikesh Kumar, former chief of News and star presenter of Indiavision, had contributed much to the current format of news presentation of Indiavision, prompting several other channels to adopt the style. Nikesh Kumar himself modeled the channel after national news channels such as NDTV and CNN- IBN.
News Night is almost similar to Asianet News’ News Hour and People’s News N Views in format. The first 3-5 minutes is dedicated to major headlines. After presenting the main story with detailed reports and footages, the topic is thrown open for debate. The debate will run up to 30-40 minutes. The final 15-20 minutes is kept for presenting other stories of the day
On days when important news breaks, the debate will focus on two issues. For example, on April 8, 2011 News Night debated two issues: Anna Hazare’s hunger strike for Lokpal bill; and the beginning of IPL Cricket season 4. Veena George and E Saneesh were among the leading presenters of News Night during 2011 Kerala Assembly election campaigns. To get an idea of the style of News Night, the content of a particular day’s debate is given below.
On March 25, 2011, News Night debated the pros and cons of the UDF manifesto released in Kochi. The title of debate was “Do promises only remain on paper?” Varghese George (SJD-UDF), Anathalavattom Anandan (CPI (M)-LDF), and G Gopakumar (political analyst) were the panelists and E Saneesh anchored the show.
People’s News N Views
Known for its left leanings, People also provides a platform for airing divergent views on different issues. Of the news programmes, News N Views occupies the prime position and grabs most viewers. Telecast between 9 pm to 10 pm on all days and re-telecast at 11.30 pm, it presents a news-roundup and debates the issue of the day.
Communication & Journalism Research 5 (2) 45
Its content and structure can best be explained with an example. For instance, on March 29, 2011, News N Views anchored by Sarath Chandran debated the controversy surrounding the selection of candidates by the Congress party. The discussion was based on the allegations raised by the Congress leader and former Health Minister K.K. Ramachandran Master in a press conference, accusing KPCC President Ramesh Chennithala and the leader of the Opposition Oommen Chandy of sidelining decent politicians and allotting the tickets on payment. Rajmohan Unnithan (INC-UDF), K.N. Balagopal, MP, (CPI (M)-LDF), and P. Rajan (senior journalist) were the key discussants.
During the peak of the 2011 election campaigns, a part of the News N Views was dedicated to a special election news programme called Janavidhi.
As in the other two channels mentioned above, the debate time is divided in to two segments when there are two issues to be debated. For instance, on March 3, 2011, News N Views had two topics for debate. The first debate was on Supreme Court’s intervention on CVC appointment and the second issue was on the differences among UDF allies on seat sharing. Sarath Chandran and K. Rajendran were among the channel’s leading news presenters during 2011 Kerala Assembly election campaigns.
Counter Point and Prime Time News of Manorama News
Manorama News has its own identity that is exhibited through its news and debate programmes’ structure and style. Unlike other Malayalam news channels, it separates its debate show titled Counter Point from prime newscast called Prime Time News. Each segment runs for half an hour. Both shows are telecast at 9 pm and 9.30 pm respectively. Counterpoint is re-telecast at 12 am, 1.30 am and 4 am, the next day and is telecast on all days except Sunday. On Sundays, the debate is carried out in Prime Time News, which is telecast at 9.00 pm instead of 9.30 pm.
In Counter Point, the newsreader presents important headlines within the first two minutes and the remaining 28 minutes are devoted for discussion. Its style and format can be best described with one example. On March 30, 2011, the Counter Point debated the intervention of Supreme Court on the LDF government’s decision to sell rice at Rs 2 per kg. On that day, the Supreme Court had stayed the implementation of the Kerala government’s February 25 order extending its subsidised rice distribution scheme to all ration cardholders in the State so as to benefit 4 million people. The stay order was a blow to the ruling LDF. Kerala Finance Minister Thomas Isaac (CPI (M) – LDF), M.I. Shanavas MP (INC – UDF), and G. Gopakumar (political analyst) participated as discussants in the programme, which was led by the news presenter Venu Balakrishnan.
While Shani Prabhakaran and Venu Balakrishnan were the leading presenters of Counter point, Nisha Jeby often led the debates in Prime Time News on Sundays during the 2011 Kerala Assembly election campaign period.
Topics Debated in News Channels: Similarity and Synchronicity
In assessing the nature of election-centric debates in the news and debate shows of Malayalam news channels, it was appropriate to ascertain the number of topics debated by these channels during the campaign period. Therefore, the researcher watched the live debates or on the channels’ websites from February 19 to April 10, 2011 (see Table 1 and II for the topics debated by the four Malayalam news channels) and prepared a list of 16 topics debated on more than one channel.
Communication & Journalism Research 5 (2) 46
There were not many differences in the election topics debated by the four channels (see Table 1). Some of the election related issues which were evolving by the day formed a part of the news and debates for several days during the campaign period. Some such issues were UDF seat sharing, charges against LDF leader V.S Achutanandan’s son, lottery scam, Palmolein case, CVC appointment controversy, V.S Achutanandan’s candidature and Jamaat-e-Islami’s support to LDF (see Table 1 & 2). Some other issues though not a major topic of the debates, figured in the debates quite often. One such issue was R Balakrishna Pillai’s imprisonment on Feb 11, 2011 for abusing his power as Minister in awarding contract for the Idamalayar hydroelectric project. Thus, based on the recurrence, 16 prominent topics were identified as the key electoral issues during 2011 Kerala Assembly Polls.
Table 1
Topics Debated on Malayalam News Channels
Manorama News’ Asianet News’ Indiavision’s People’s Counter Point/ DATE News Hour News Night News N Views Prime Time News (34 days) (35 days) (32 days) (33 days) UDF seat sharing. UDF Seat UDF Seat KM Mani’s UDF Seat sharing. sharing. sharing. 19-02-2011 statement KM Mani’s KM Mani’s KM Mani’s challenging the statement statement. statement. Congress. UDF Seat sharing. UDF Seat sharing UDF Seat sharing KM Mani’s claim KM Mani’s claim KM Mani’s claim 20-02-2011 on Thodupuzha on Thodupuzha on Thodupuzha seat. seat. seat. Charges against VS Charges against Charges against Lottery scam. Achuthanandan’s VS’ son. VS’ son. Assembly son. Opposition Opposition walks Opposition walks 22-02-2011 adjourned walks out of out Assembly over out of Assembly following unruly Assembly over charges against over charges against scenes. charges against VS’ VS’ son. VS’ son. son. Palmolein case. Back-door Lottery scam. Allegations against appointments. Lottery Scam and 23-02-2011 Charges against the opposition Opposition’s Palmolein case VS’ son. leader Oommen allegations in Chandy. Assembly. Charges against Charges against 12th Assembly Charges against VS’ son. 12th VS’ son. 12th ends session. VS’ son. 24-02-2011 Assembly session Assembly ends Opposition charges Opposition strikes ends trading graft session trading are baseless, says again. charges. graft charges. LDF Central Railway Central Railway Central Railway Budget. Budget. 25-02 2011 Budget. Kerala’s Disappointment for Disappointment for gains and losses. Kerala. Kerala. Charges against VS’ Press VS’ Press Charges against VS and his Son. conference: Ready conference: Ready 26-02-2011 VS’ Son. VS’ press VS’ Press for Probe against for Probe against conference Conference. son son
Communication & Journalism Research 5 (2) 47
Manorama News’ Asianet News’ Indiavision’s People’s DATE Counter Point/ News Hour News Night News N Views Prime Time News Nadapuram bomb Nadapuram Nadapuram Lottery scam. VS’ blast. Charges bomb blast. bomb blast. 27-02-2011 letter to Prime against IUML, the Charges against Charges against Minister. UDF ally. IUML IUML, Congress Congress’ LDF seat sharing. Lottery Scam. candidate list. candidate List. 02-03-2011 RSP’s claims for VS’ letter to Prime Demand for new Chance for new more seats. minister. faces. faces. CVC Appointment. CVC CVC Supreme Court Appointment. Appointment. VS’ Candidature. strikes down Supreme Court Supreme Court Ready to contest 03-03-2011 appointment of PJ strikes down strikes down election if Party Thomas as CVC. appointment of PJ appointment of PJ proposes, says VS. UDF Seat Thomas as CVC. Thomas as CVC. sharing. JSS’ concerns. UDF momentum. Congress’ Congress’ Asianet News- C VS’ candidature. candidate list. Candidate List. 08-03-2011 Voter Pre-poll Uncertain about his Ramesh Ramesh survey analysis candidature. Chennithala to Chennithala to enter predicts UDF win enter the fray. the fray. Rice at Rs.2 a Kg UDF seat sharing. UDF Seat sharing. UDF seat sharing. Scheme. Demands and KCM and JSS 09-03-2011 UDF stuck with Intervention of complaints of JSS, a dissent with JSS seats. Election UDF ally. Congress. Commission. VS’ candidature. VS’ candidature. VS’ candidature. VS Achuthanandan VS Achuthanandan VS is not in the list UDF seat sharing; is not in the list is not in the list 10-03-2011 prepared by CPI KM Mani claims prepared by CPI prepared by CPI (M) district for 22 seats. (M) district (M) district committee. committee. committee. VS’ candidature. UDF seat sharing. CPI (M) undecided 11-03-2011 KM Mani sticks to over key seat demand. candidates. Congress’ UDF seat sharing. LDF, UDF seat LDF seat sharing. Candidate list. Congress-JSS 12-03-2011 sharing. Dissent Seat sharing almost Dissent brewing discussions fail to brewing in UDF. completed. among Congress break dead lock. seat aspirants. VS’ candidature. VS’ Candidature. VS’ Candidature. VS’ candidature. VS and Pinarayi CPI (M) denies 16-03-2011 CPI (M) denies VS won’t be there Vijayan not to ticket to VS ticket to VS. in the fray. contest polls. Achuthanandan. Wikileaks Expose VS’ Candidature. VS’ candidature. VS’ candidature: Cash-for-votes Pro-VS marches 17-03-2011 Available PB Pro-VS marches all expose rocks against denial of discussed the issue. over Kerala. parliament. seat to VS in polls. VS’ candidature. UDF seat sharing. UDF seat sharing. VS’ Candidature. Pro VS marches and Congress tied 19-03-2011 Dissent brewing in VS’ statement that he VS’ Press down differences never said he wanted KC (M). conference. with SJD, CMP. to opt out of fray.
Communication & Journalism Research 5 (2) 48
Manorama News’ Asianet News’ Indiavision’s People’s DATE Counter Point/ News Hour News Night News N Views Prime Time News Rebel Menace in Rebel Menace in Rebel Menace in Congress’ UDF. Three UDF UDF. Three UDF UDF. Three UDF Candidate list. 20-03-2011 leaders to contest leaders to contest leaders to contest as Rebel Menace rears as LDF as LDF LDF Independents. its head. Independents. Independents. UDF seat sharing Rice at Rs. 2 a Kg and Congress’ Congress’ scheme. High Court Congress’ candidate list. candidate list. opposes Election candidate list. 21-03-2011 Joseph M Allegations of left- Commissions stay Congress grappling Puthussery left out out leaders in over Rice at Rs. 2 a with 30 seats. of Kerala Congress candidate list. Kg scheme listed in (M) list. LDF manifesto Congress’ Congress’ Congress’ UDF seat sharing. candidate list. candidate list. Candidate list 23-03-2011 Dissent brewing Congress grappling Congress grappling evokes mixed among leaders. with protests. with protests. response. Sindhu Joy in Congress. Sindhu Ready for Sindhu Joy in Sindhu Joy in 24-03-2011 Joy, former SFI Election. Filing of Congress. CPI (M) Congress. CPI (M) leader, joins nominations begin expels her. expels her. Congress. Rice at Rs. 2 a Kg R Balakrishna scheme (LDF UDF Manifesto. A Pillai’s UDF Manifesto. 25-03-2011 manifesto). UDF rice bowl of imprisonment, Ice- Promises on paper? promises rice at promises. cream case. VS’ Re.1 a Kg. revenge politics? BJP in ‘Wikileaks’ Row. UDF Seat Women against Arun Jaitley’s sharing.UDF Election picture is Top Leaders. 26-03-2011 comments on the shuffles seat clear. Confidence Parties filed women BJP’s allocation in last of LDF and UDF. to take on stalwarts ‘opportunistic’ minutes. Hindu nationalism. Allegation on BJP- Palmolein case; Secret tie-up with CPM tie-up in Indo-Pak talks. Oommen Chandy’s BJP. Both LDF and Malampuzha. 27-03-2011 Cricket politics and role. Helicopter UDF allege secret Chennithala sees diplomatic affairs. for Campaign. BJP tie-up. CPI (M) BJP tie-up UDF in trouble. in polls. Black Money Use of Helicopter. Use of helicopter Row. Supreme Central Govt. CPI (M) criticizes for election Court against corruption cases. UDF plan to use 28-03-2011 campaigns: LDF Central A Key electoral helicopter for criticized UDF for Government issue. election campaign opting choppers. stance. . LDF leaders’ Congress’ slapping Corrupt money for candidate list. controversy. P campaign. In the Indo-Pak talks. Ramachandran Jayarajan CPI (M) 29-03-2011 context of plan to Cricket politics and Master alleges leader slaps a media use chopper for diplomatic affairs. payment seats and person; C campaign. outbreaks in a Divakaran CPI press conference. leader manhandles a voter
Communication & Journalism Research 5 (2) 49
Manorama News’ Asianet News’ Indiavision’s People’s DATE Counter Point/ News Hour News Night News N Views Prime Time News Rice at Rs. 2 a kg scheme. The TMC Front will Final candidates Supreme Court win in West list is ready. The 30-03-2011 stays the extension Bengal: Analysis of election scenario is of rice pre-poll survey clear. scheme.(LDF manifesto) A.K. Antony against VS Antony against UDF will gain Achuthanandan. VS. Antony absolute majority: Antony takes unleashes rockets 31-03-2011 Analysis of Asianet swipes at VS says against VS C Voter Survey. Chief Minister’s Achuthanandan and words and deeds LDF. do not match. Jamaat-e-Islami Jamaat-e-Islami Jamaat-e-Islami alliance. Jamaat alliance. Talks Ice-cream case. alliance. Jamaat-e- leaders hold 04-04-2011 between Jamaat-e- VS’ intervention. Islami meets discussion with CPI Islami leaders and Pinarayi Vijayan. (M) leader Pinarayi Pinarayi Vijayan. Vijayan. Lottery scam. Jamaat-e-Islami Lottery scam and Central Govt. alliance. Both Jamaat-e-Islami Ice-cream case. VS changes its stance. 05-04-2011 fronts refuse alliance. Electoral need not interfere Ice-cream case. alliance with politics turn and guide the case. Vigilance enquiry Jamaat-e-Islami. controversial. begins. VS’ comments on VS’ comments Lathika Subhash Ice-cream case. VS’ comments on against Lathika and Jamaat-e- Again a Lathika Subhash. 06-04-2011 Subhash. Protests Islami alliance controversial Protest against VS’ against VS’ row. Electoral electoral issue. comments. comments. politics turn controversial. Central Govt. Central Govt. Central Govt. Corruption cases. corruption cases; Ice-cream case. corruption cases. 07-04-2011 Support for Anna Anna Hazare K.A Rauf’s Anna Hazare Hazare’s agitation stubborn in his revealings movement against corruption. hunger strike. strengthens. Anna Hazare Central Govt. Central Govt. Hazare movement movement. corruption cases. corruption cases. against corruption. 08-04-2011 Hazare’s hunger Anna Hazare Anna Hazare’s Hazare’s hunger strike becomes succeeds in his hunger strike. strike is successful. successful. strike Campaign issues Ice-cream case. VS 09-04-2011 in general. Serious makes stronger his issues overlooked. stance. Jamaat-e-Islami Election alliance. Jamaat campaigns end. 10-04-2011 supports LDF in Fronts go for last 124 seats. moment strategies.
(Muneer V, 2015)
Communication & Journalism Research 5 (2) 50
Table 2
Snippets of 16 Issues Debated.
Malayalam television channels debated several key issues in the run up to the state assembly polls 2011. A lowdown of shortlisted influential issues are given below.
1 R. Balakrishna Pilla’s Imprisonment
In the controversial Idamalayar case, former Kerala Electricity Minister and Kerala Congress (B) leader R Balakrishna Pillai was sent to prison. The Supreme Court dismissed the review petition filed by Pillai challenging the imposition of the one-year rigorous imprisonment handed down to him and two others for abusing their position in the award of contract for the Idamalayar hydroelectric power project. And the issue stuck a heavy blow on the UDF’s election campaign prospects.
2 Charges against VS’ Son
The state politics witnessed tremors after opposition UDF charged ruling LDF chief minister VS Achuthanandan’s son VA Arun Kumar with involvement in a lottery mafia and sandalwood lobby in the state. The UDF took the issue to the House, while the LDF was on the defensive guarding the CM who on 26 Feb 2011 informed the media that the government would order any kind of inquiry into the allegations.
3 Lottery Scam
Opposition’s charges against chief minister VS Achuthanandan that he paved way for the proliferation on lotteries from other states in Kerala stirred a hornet’s nest. The Congress charged that finance minister Thomas Isaac took a lackadaisical approach to the issue and took a long time to act. On 22 February 2011, Congress member V. D. Satheesan gave notice for a submission in Kerala assembly on a letter written by Achuthanandan to Union Home minister P. Chidambaram seeking an inquiry by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the sale of other-State lotteries in Kerala, but Achuthanandan did not divulge the details of the letter for 55 days and filed an affidavit against the Centre in the Kerala High Court. The issue snowballed into a controversy
4 Ice-cream Case
The two-decade-old sex scandal resurfaced following a series of fresh, controversial statements from K. A. Rauf, who was a one-time aide and relative of Muslim League leader P. K. Kunhalikutty, accused to have had links to a prostitution racket based in Calicut. The leader was later let off. But the row kept burning on. Especially with chief minister V.S. Achuthanandan ordering a re-investigation of the case.
5 Back-door Appointments
Wayanad district, lying north-east in the state, witnessed a political storm after a job racket was exposed in Wayanad. Later, it was found that the racket, run by Abhilash Pillai and team, had roots in several other parts of the state. In Wayanad, it was found that at least eight people had got into government jobs via these illegal entry points. The UDF took the matter to the state assembly and triggered a series of discussions of similar events in the state.
Communication & Journalism Research 5 (2) 51
6 Central Govt. Corruption Cases
In the backdrop of the Jan Lokpal movement and the hunger strike of social activist Anna Hazare in Delhi, the ruling LDF in Kerala highlighted the big-ticket corruption scandals — the multi-crore 2G spectrum auction controversy and the corrupt practices at the Delhi Commonwealth Games — involving leaders from the UPA in general and the Congress in particular, and started an intense debate around the issues.
7 UDF Seat Sharing
The chaotic scenario in the UDF over sharing seats for poll contestants kicked up a row with the Congress finding itself in the midst of an ugly tussle between its small bed mates in the alliance. It all started with Kerala Congress (M) leader K.M.Mani’s claim for 22 seats. Later, other allies, JSS, SJD, CMP, KC (J), joined the chorus.
8 Rebel Menace in UDF
Protesting the UDF decision to keep them off poll fray, three UDF leaders —Stephen George of KC (M) in Kaduthuruthy, M V Jayadali of the Congress in Kattakada, and George J Mathew, former Congress MLA from Kanjirappally — walked out of the front and contested as independent candidates. Among them, Jayadali and Stephen found LDF backing.
9 VS’ Candidature
When the media reported that the district committees of CPI (M) did not include LDF leader and chief minister V.S. Achuthanandan’s name in the probable candidates list to the State Committee, a huge public outcry erupted. When the State Committee backed the decision, the public anger soared, forcing the party’s Politburo to reverse the decision.
10 Congress’ Candidate List When the Congress started discussions on whom to field in the coming polls, several dissident voices came up along with intense rumours of a possible change of guard at the top brass when KPCC president Ramesh Chennithala entered the fray. Meanwhile, the youth wing of the party demanded more seats for its fraternity, the left-out leaders took their discontent to media forums and public venues.
11 Rice at Rs.2 a kg Scheme A much-popular scheme introduced by the LDF to offer one kilo of rice at a curiously cheap rates of Rs 2 became a heated subject of discussion when the Election Commission intervened and applied brakes on the extension of the scheme. But the Kerala High Court set aside the order. But the Supreme Court stayed the HC order later. But the issue influenced poll debates significantly, prompting even the UDF to come up with a similar promise in its manifesto.
12 LDF Manifesto The ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) promised 25 lakh new jobs, ‘cradle-to-grave' social security for all, a welfare fund and pension for staff of all places of worship and a law to unearth concealed wealth of public persons. Its other key promises included: free education for all children and pension for all aged persons, a right to service law, introduce a law to govern inter-State migrant workers, double the area of software technology parks and more.
Communication & Journalism Research 5 (2) 52
13 UDF Manifesto
The Congress-led UDF promised 36 lakh jobs, Re 1-a-kg rice for below poverty line families, setting up of pepper and horticulture boards, reconsideration of backdoor appointments, interest-free loans for purchasing computers for students, making the Kochi metro project a reality, ensuring electricity connections to all households within a year and putting an end to exploitation by operators of other State lotteries.
14 Antony against VS
Congress Working Committee member and Defence Minister A.K. Antony launched his election campaign by taking on V.S. Achuthanandan. Antony cited the mismatch between his words and deeds during the last five years he has been in office. He called upon Achuthanandan to come out with facts and figures of the action he had taken against sex racketeers, illegal liquor trade, quotation gangs, land mafia, etc.
15 Sindhu Joy in Congress
Giving a rude shock to the CPI (M), its young leader Sindhu Joy quit party saying the party neglected her and kept her away from responsible roles. She later joined the Congress. She also quit as SFI vice president and the state committee membership of the DYFI. In reply, the CPI (M) expelled Sindhu from the party. Later, Sindhu hit out against V.S. Achuthanandan for calling her ‘oruthi’ (an insignificant woman).
16 Jamaat-e-Islami’s Alliance
In a surprise move, the CPI (M) state secretary met Jamaat-e-Islami leaders in connection with the state polls. Many termed the move as seeking the Islamic organisation’s political support. In protest, Jamaat-e-Islami political secretary Hameed Vanimel resigned from his post. For long, the CPI (M) had held the view that the Jamaat was an extremely communal organisation. Soon, Jamaat extended support to the party and its partners in 124 of the total 140 constituencies.
(Muneer V, 2015)
The analysis of the content of the debates of the four channels gives some common insights. All four channels give a prominent slot for news and debates and dedicate its most viewed slot, primetime, for the same. In the primetime, 8.30-9.00 pm is the common slot for the news and debate shows. Majority of the debate topics are the same. Out of the four channels under the purview of this study, on an average three take same topics each day. That is why the debates of 36 days revolved round on 16 topics. The difference was only on perspectives and angles. Even, they are running behind the same panelists for discussions. It also shows that they all follow the same principles of news programming practice. During important newsbreak days they select two different topics for debates.
Further, the aggressive style of anchoring is another common feature of debate shows of Malayalam news channels. Almost all news presenters adopt a provoking style of interrogation. That is why it is criticized that such debate shows produce only ‘heat’ instead of ‘light’.The judgmental style of such anchoring invites serious image/credibility crises as well, which is another topic of research in the same area that needs deep probe using different methodology. As Keralites/Malayalees are continuing as the so-called ‘argumentative Indians’, the interest of people in debates will grow and subsequently, the relevance of such research will also increase.
Communication & Journalism Research 5 (2) 53
While analysing the news and debates of four Malayalam news channels for the present study, the investigator spotted a number of peculiar characteristics of the news and debates. These traits can be fodder for new research. Some of the areas could include the bias and propaganda of debates, the perceived credibility of debates, loaded headlines of debates, framing of issues and images beamed during the programmes, the time allotted to the discussants, etc.
References
Benoit, William L., & Sheafer, Tamir. (2006). Functional Theory and Political Discourse: Televised Debates in Israel and the United States. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 83:2 , 281-297.
Bishop, George F., & Oldendick, Robert W., and Tuchfarber, Alfred J. (1978). Debate Watching and the Acquisition of Political Knowledge. Journal of Communication , Autumn 1978, 99-113.
Gulati, Girish J., Just, Marion R., & Crigler, Ann N. (2004). News Coverage of Political Campaigns. In L. L. Kaid (Ed.), Handbook of Political Communication Research (pp. 237-256).Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Jorgensen, Charlotte., Kock, Christian., & Rorbech, Lone. (1998). Rhetoric that shifts votes: An Exploratory study of Persuasion in Issue-oriented Public Debates. Political Communication, 15:3, 283-299.
Muneer V, Abdul. (2015). Influence of Election News and Debates on the Voting Behaviour of the Viewers of Malayalam TV News Channels. Ph. D dissertation, Department of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Calicut.
Nord, Lars W. (2008). Political Commentary. In L.L. Kaid & C. Holtz-Bacha (Eds.). Encyclopedia of Political Communication (pp. 117-119). Los Angeles: Sage.