Uganda Media Coverage of the 2021 Elections (January 2021)
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Ugandan MEDIA COVERAGE of the2021 Elections JANUARY FINAL REPORT Ugandan MEDIA COVERAGE of the2021 Elections JANUARY FINAL REPORT FEBRUARY 2021 Published by African Centre for Media Excellence Plot 130 Kalungu Road (Bunga-Soya), off Ggaba Road P. O. Box 11283 Kampala, Uganda Tel: +256 393 202 351 [email protected] www.acme-ug.org Facebook: ACME.UG Twitter: @ACME_Uganda Layout & Design by: Murshid Lutalo, [email protected] UGANDAN MEDIA COVERAGE of the 2021 ELECTIONS JAN 2021 iii CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS V INTRODUCTION 1 BACKGROUND 2 Media role in elections 2 The media landscape in Uganda 2 The immediate environment in which elections were covered 4 Findings of previous monitoring reports on media coverage of elections 7 Principles identified in guidelines on media coverage of elections 7 RESEARCH QUESTIONS 8 METHODOLOGY 9 Scope of the study 9 Methods of data collection 11 The presidential candidates 12 Volume of stories 13 Type of election (parliamentary vs presidential) 14 Type of articles published in newspapers 17 Type of stories broadcast on TV and radio stations 17 Space allocated to election-related articles in newspapers 18 Time allocated to election-related stories on TV and radio 18 KEY FINDINGS 20 Frequency of stories on presidential candidates 20 Frequency of front-page stories on presidential candidates 23 Frequency of pictures of presidential candidates 24 Space allocated to presidential candidates in newspapers 25 iv JAN 2021 UGANDAN MEDIA COVERAGE of the 2021 ELECTIONS Time allocated to presidential candidates on TV and radio 26 Tone of coverage 32 Use of right of reply 34 Event-vs issue-based reporting 36 Origin of election stories 39 Reporting format of election stories 42 Number of sources in election stories 45 Type of sources in election stories 47 Gender of sources in election stories 54 Interrogation of claims by presidential candidates 57 Topics/Issues addressed in election stories 60 EXPLAINING THE COVERAGE 65 On violence and the drama of the campaigns vs issues and party platforms 66 On lack of background and context 66 On the dominance of event-based reporting 67 On lack of investigative election reporting 67 On insufficient interrogation of candidate claims and promises 67 On pressure from the State 68 On the effects of Covid-19 69 On the effects of physical attacks on journalists 69 On the effects of the Media Council’s decision to accredit journalists covering the elections 70 On equitable coverage of the leading presidential candidates 71 On marginalisation of women in media representations 71 CONCLUSION 73 Key takeaways from January 73 UGANDAN MEDIA COVERAGE of the 2021 ELECTIONS JAN 2021 v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS his research report was written by Brian Ssenabulya (ACME programme associate, media monitoring and research); Elijah Mangeni (programme officer, monitoring and evaluation); Tand Executive Director Peter G. Mwesige (Ph.D). Director of Programmes Bernard Tabaire edited the report. The coding for the content analysis was conducted by 12 research assistants, to whom we are indebted. ACME thanks the Democratic Governance Facility (DGF) for funding the research. Monitoring media coverage of elections is part of ACME’s 32-month project entitled, “Enhanced Media Reporting for Civic Engagement and Accountability (EMERCEA).” The project aims to contribute towards the realisation of a vibrant and reliable media that consistently produces quality public affairs journalism that empowers citizens to engage in democratic processes. UGANDAN MEDIA COVERAGE of the 2021 ELECTIONS JAN 2021 1 INTRODUCTION his report looks at Ugandan news media coverage of the 2021 elections, focusing on five key publications, six television stations, and 35 radio stations. The fourth in our series of Treports from a project on monitoring media coverage of the Ugandan elections, it explores the attention these newspapers and a newsmagazine, television, and radio stations paid election- related news and issues from 1—13 January 2021 and the nature of their coverage. Comparisons are made to the findings from the October, November, and December 2020 reports. The publications studied are Bukedde (a Luganda-language daily), Daily Monitor, New Vision, The Observer, and The Independent newsmagazine. The television stations monitored are Baba TV, Bukedde TV, NBS, NTV, TV West, and UBC. The radio stations are listed in the methodology section. The report relies mainly on quantitative content analysis to explore the volume of coverage of election-related news and issues by these selected media houses, the types of elections covered, the types of articles published (news, analysis, opinion, features, etc.), the reporting formats employed, the topics covered, and the tone of coverage. The analysis also covers the voices in the coverage, including the occupation and gender of sources. The report further pays particular attention to the coverage of the 11 presidential candidates, focusing on who appeared on the front pages of the newspapers, the volume of coverage on each of them, how much space or airtime was dedicated to each candidate across the three media platforms monitored, and the tone of coverage of the contenders. Finally, conclusions and recommendations are shared. 2 JAN 2021 UGANDAN MEDIA COVERAGE of the 2021 ELECTIONS BACKGROUND onitoring media coverage of the electoral process is an important part of election observation. As the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) has noted, given the key role the media play in elections, “any observation effort should pay M 1 significant attention to the activities of the media and their coverage of elections”. In Uganda, media monitoring is particularly critical this election cycle not only because of the absence of the usual observation missions, but also because the Electoral Commission had directed that campaigning should be conducted “scientifically” (i.e. soliciting votes largely through the media and digital platforms rather than the usual public rallies and other canvassing techniques that are said to violate social distancing regulations in response to the Covid-19 pandemic). Media role in elections The media (can) play five essential roles in elections: provision of information to enable voters make informed decisions; provision of platforms for debate through allowing exchange of opinions amongst the different contending groups and citizens; acting as a watchdog for fairness during election campaigning and polling; educating the public about election processes; and providing voice to the voters.2 The media landscape in Uganda The media landscape in Uganda is characterised by a liberal regime of investment (at least on paper) and stringent regulation across print, radio, and television channels. Online and social media are increasingly becoming a major source of information and debate for middle class Ugandans. Radio remains the biggest source of information for 80% of Ugandans (Afrobarometer, 2020)3. Television comes second at 31%, followed by the internet (14%), and social media (13%). While newspapers come last at 12%, they remain influential agenda setters for the public, political class, as well as other media. 1 OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (2012).Handbook on Media Monitoring for Election Observation Missions. Warsaw, Poland. 2 Marie-Soleil Frère (2010). The Media and Elections in Post-Conflict Central African Countries. Brussels: University of Brussels. 3 Afrobarometer (2020).”Feasible but unsuitable? Examining the practicality of a media-only 2021 election campaign during COVID-19: Findings from the Afrobarometer Round 8 Survey in Uganda.” UGANDAN MEDIA COVERAGE of the 2021 ELECTIONS JAN 2021 3 Although Uganda has some of the most vibrant media in eastern and southern Africa, for very many years the country has been characterised by the international press freedom watchdog Freedom House as “partly free”. And although the country’s constitution provides for the right to freedom of expression, including press freedom, several factors undermine these guarantees. They include obnoxious laws and regulations, government interference, regulatory overreach, harassment and intimidation by state security agents, advertiser influence, skewed media ownership, professional and human resource challenges within newsrooms, and low levels of media literacy among the population. These challenges notwithstanding, the media landscape has grown from having one state broadcaster in the early 1990s to a multi-player, diversified industry today. The two biggest media houses — with interests in radio, television, print, and online — are the majority state-owned Vision Group, and Nation Media Group, a Nairobi-based conglomerate that is privately owned. In addition to the two market leaders, there are a number of other small privately owned entities: The Red Pepper, a daily tabloid; the weekly The Observer and The Independent. There are nearly 300 radio stations, and 30 TV stations. The state-run Uganda Broadcasting Corporation (UBC) has the widest TV and radio reach, broadcasting in multiple local languages as well as in English and Kiswahili. Although UBC was supposed to have transformed into a public broadcaster, it has over the years remained very much a state broadcaster subservient to the ruling party and rarely providing for views critical of the government. In the 2016 election petition filed in the Supreme Court by former Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi against the re-election of President Yoweri Museveni, the accusation of UBC favouring