The Commonwealth Observer Group in its final report on the monitoring of elections in Guyana on November 28, 2011 said that State-owned media gave the PPP/C Government coverage over Opposition parties on a scale of at least 8:1, not including a large amount of Government news of direct benefit to the ruling party.
Citing the Media Monitoring Unit’s (MMU) report on coverage during the month of November 2011, the Commonwealth said that the Government Information Agency (GINA) is reported to have published over twenty articles in September and October that supported the interests of the PPP/C.
It said that NCN carried extensive party political broadcasts of the PPP/C featuring then President Bharrat Jagdeo and the presidential candidate, Donald Ramotar, throughout the campaign period.
“These party political broadcasts included election advertisements that were featured during breaks in programming on its TV network. Other political parties had aired political advertisements on a modest scale to capitalise on NCN’s nationwide reach,” the Commonwealth said.
It added that the state-owned Guyana Chronicle featured numerous advertisements by the PPP/C, including full-page advertisements outlining its manifesto and highlighting the successes of the ruling party in promoting socio-economic development in Guyana. “Opposition parties complained they had to purchase inserts in the Chronicle to have their manifestos adequately covered,” the Commonwealth said in its report.
Quoting the MMU’s report for November 2011, the Commonwealth said that the Guyana Chronicle’s election coverage supported the PPP/C with a 9-1 advantage.
The Commonwealth in their report said that for the last four weeks before polling day, channels 7, 9 and 28 delivered a limited level of news balance comparable in amount to that provided by the state broadcasters.
“Outside news, the weight of talk shows, commentaries and other election-based general programmes swamped any attempt at providing any real measure of overall balance. Channels 65 and 69 provided overall election broadcast coverage in favour of the ruling party of 99 percent and 100 percent respectively during that four week period. The most balanced channel overall was Channel 6 which shared its election output in the proportion PPP/C – 30 percent, APNU – 40 percent, and AFC – 30 percent.
With regards to the print media, the Commonwealth said that the Stabroek News, in general, “provided fair coverage of the election campaign, with attempts to feature a wide range of voices in its reportage.”
The report said that according to the MMU, “the reportage and other election-related elements in the Stabroek News, (editorial, letters, columns etc.) reflected in equal amount, the interests of the three largest parties.”
The Commonwealth in its report said that the Kaieteur News also provided a good measure of positive coverage for all three main parties.
“We noted that a front-page article branding the state-run NCN as acting like a ‘criminal’ could be considered inflammatory,” the Commonwealth said.
The Commonwealth in its report pointed out that the Guyana Times provided less coverage of opposition parties. “The MMU, in its November 2011 report, noted positive election coverage as having been 2-1 in favour of the ruling party,” said the Commonwealth of the Guyana Times.
It noted that all three private newspapers featured advertising by the major political parties.
