Ugandan MEDIA COVERAGE of the2021 Elections Oct–Nov 2020 PRELIMINARY REPORT Ugandan MEDIA COVERAGE of the2021 Elections Oct–Nov 2020 PRELIMINARY REPORT DECEMBER 2020 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 (Oct–Nov 2020) iii CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS V INTRODUCTION 1 BACKGROUND 2 Media role in elections 2 The media landscape in Uganda 2 Findings of previous monitoring reports on media coverage of elections 4 Principles identified in guidelines on media coverage of elections 5 RESEARCH QUESTIONS 6 METHODOLOGY 7 Scope of the study 7 Methods of data collection 9 Type of election (Parliamentary vs presidential) 13 Type of articles published in newspapers 16 Type of stories broadcast on TV and radio stations 16 Time allocated to election-related stories on TV and radio 17 KEY FINDINGS 19 Frequency of stories on presidential candidates 19 Frequency of front-page stories on presidential candidates 24 Frequency of pictures of presidential candidates 25 Space allocated to presidential candidates in newspapers 27 Time allocated to presidential candidates on TV and radio 29 Tone of coverage (general) 32 Tone of coverage of presidential candidates 33 Use of right of reply 36 iv UGANDAN MEDIA COVERAGE of the 2021 ELECTIONS (Oct–Nov 2020) Event- vs issue-based reporting 38 Origin of election stories 42 Reporting format of election stories 44 Number of sources in election stories 49 Type of sources in election stories 54 Gender of sources in election stories 57 Use of background and Context 62 Interrogation of claims made by presidential candidates 62 Topics/issues addressed in election stories 64 CONCLUSION 68 Key takeaways 69 UGANDAN MEDIA COVERAGE of the 2021 ELECTIONS (Oct–Nov 2020) 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). The coding for the content analysis was conducted by 12 research assistants. 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 (Oct–Nov 2020) 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. It explores the attention these Tnewspapers and a news magazine, television and radio stations paid the election-related news and issues in October and November 2020 and the nature of their coverage. 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. Relying mainly on quantitative content analysis, the report explores 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 also 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 time was dedicated to each candidate across the three media platforms monitored, and the tone of coverage of the contenders. Finally, conclusions are shared. 2 UGANDAN MEDIA COVERAGE of the 2021 ELECTIONS (Oct–Nov 2020) BACKGROUND s 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 significant attention to Athe activities of the media and their coverage of elections”.1 Media monitoring is particularly critical this election cycle because the Electoral Commission directed that campaigning be conducted “scientifically” (i.e. soliciting votes largely through the media 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. Although Uganda has some of the most vibrant media in east and southern Africa, for very many years the country has been characterised by the international press freedom watchdog Freedom 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 (Oct–Nov 2020) 3 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 security officials, advertiser influence, 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 only 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 the incumbent, contrary to the law, was the only ground that was upheld. Ensuring that public media provided equitable coverage to all candidates as required by the constitution and the law was one of the recommendations that the Supreme Court asked the attorney general to address within 18 months after its March 2016 decision. The Presidential Elections Amendment (Act) 2020 was subsequently enacted to provide for sanctions against public media that violate the requirement of equitable coverage of candidates. According to the amended act, a pubic media house that is found to have breached this requirement will pay a maximum fine of Shs10 million and the person in charge of that media house shall upon conviction be liable to a fine of up to Shs10 million or a maximum jail term of two years or both. The Uganda Communications (Content) Regulations of 2019 extend this requirement of equitable coverage of presidential candidates to all broadcasters, including private ones. Using language from the “Minimum Broadcasting Standards” enshrined in the Uganda Communications Act 2013, the regulations provide that an operator shall ensure that: “(a) Where a programme that is broadcast is in respect