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Tag: General Elections

  • Bias by Exclusion: News in the Times of Elections

    Bias by Exclusion: News in the Times of Elections

    Shailesh KapoorWe are exactly three weeks away from the first phase of polls in the General Elections. Expectedly, elections are dominating news coverage, and the action is only going to heat up over the next two months, leading up to the results on June 4.

    Historically, pre-elections and elections coverage on television news has been about programming ideas and access to the top politicians. The psephology part stopped being a differentiator a while ago, with opinion polls and exit polls being commoditised over time. Channels that could create engaging formats, have more feet on ground, and connect their viewers to the biggest names on the ballot, performed better than their competitors.

    Early indicators suggest that programming formats may not be the differentiating factor this year. Channels have maintained their typical debating formats, focusing on election-related topics, but barely breaking the template in the process. Yes, there is ground coverage, and it will pick up as we get closer to actual polling, but a lot of that is restricted to specific timeslots, often outside the primetime.

    What is striking is that channels have well-defined narratives, and are engineering their programming around it. In an election where most experts believe the outcome is a foregone conclusion, the narrative is easier to script. Yet, it is difficult to miss the political agenda behind these set narratives.

    For example, the electoral bonds data released by SBI a few weeks ago was arguably the biggest political story of March, till the arrest of the Delhi CM. But it was hard to find a debate on the electoral bonds on mainline news channels. Even as YouTube news channels covered the story in considerable detail, TV channels chose to turn a blind eye, barring a token story or two.

    Story selection is the most potent instrument of bias with a news channel today. Because if you choose to not show something, that’s the end of that anyway. One could argue that certain stories, like Manipur riots in 2023, do not generate ratings, and hence, are not commercially viable on mass television. That is a contentious argument anyway, given that principles of sound journalism would demand a separation between editorial and business. But with electoral bonds coverage, or the lack of it, even that argument doesn’t hold.

    It will be a pleasant surprise to see one of the mainline TV news channels stand out in the election clutter with an original and thought-provoking programming approach. Thankfully, there’s online news to fall back on!

  • These will possibly be the first general elections where the agenda is driven more by social than traditional media, writes Shailesh Kapoor

    Election Battleplace: Social or Traditional Media?

     

    By Shailesh Kapoor

     

    The buzz is unmistakable. We are in an election year, and we can feel it. While specific dates will be out soon, the April-May period has been confirmed by senior leaders of the ruling party as the broad window in which 2019 General Elections will be held. The speeches have started, and alliances have started taking shape. After all, we are only two-three three months away from the first polling day.

     

    2019’s will arguably be the most bitterly-fought elections ever in independent India’s history. With social media being a prominent marketing tool to woo voters, it seems there is no room for subtlety or grace in election campaigns anymore. Personal attacks, accusations and rough language will be par for the course. We saw a glimpse of this in 2014 too. But there was a certain wave around Narendra Modi that became the dominant theme of those elections. This time, the opposition looks stronger and the fight can be tougher. The politicking may go on well after the election results are out, because a hung verdict seems the most likely outcome as of today, if one goes by recent opinion polls by leading media houses. But then, three months is a long time in politics.

     

    These will possibly be the first General Elections where the agenda is driven more by social media than traditional media. While social media was used to great effect by NDA in 2014, TV was still the lead medium. Things have changed significantly on the digital front over the last five years, and social media is no longer the bastion of the urban affluent and semi-affluent class. Social media will set the agenda and drive it, and effective use of social media can effectively swing the verdict in a close contest.

     

    Where does TV even stand in all of this, then? Over the last few years, the rise of digital news has meant that TV has taken the form of an opinion-centric medium, than one that breaks news. Channels and anchors put their stand upfront on issues, and don’t hesitate to take clear ideological positions. While this is a far cry from the classical definition of journalism, there seems to be a growing feel in the traditional journalist community that having a viewpoint is the only way for TV and print to counter digital news.

     

    We see that in the primetime everyday, across news channels across languages. And the polarisation of media, including some digital sites and apps, will get only more apparent in the coming weeks.

     

    It is easy to get frustrated with all the lowbrow politics and crass marketing that is sure to be on display. I’ve decided to focus on the “entertainment of politics” in these elections. I’ll be watching out for those silly one-liners, those foot-in-the-mouth quotes, those jibes that can be remixed into a YouTube video, and so on. Watch this space for more!