MONITORING THE COVERAGE OF SUDAN 2010 ELECTIONS …MONITORING THE COVERAGE OF SUDAN 2010 ELECTIONS...

MEDIA AND ELECTIONS IN SUDAN

MONITORING THE COVERAGE OF SUDAN 2010 ELECTIONS

INTERIM REPORT No. 8

Period 15- 27 May 2010

Issued on 31 May 2010

INTERIM REPORT No. 8, Period 15 – 27 May 2010

Sudan Media and Elections Consortium

2

Table of contents

I. Foreword and Executive Summary _________________________________________________ 3

II. Post-election political coverage: general trends _________________________________________ 4

III. Hate Speech and Post-Election Violence ______________________________________________ 9

a. Television and radio news coverage _______________________________________________ 10

b. Print Media ___________________________________________________________________ 23

Pictures front page:

Khartoum Media Monitoring Unit - SUDIA/Eniko Nagy (left above)

News on inauguration of presidents in Sudan Vision – IMS/ Brigitte Sins (right above)

Monitoring SSRT at Juba Media Monitoring Unit – IMS/Brigitte Sins (left below)

Reading the news in Kadugli - SUDIA/Eniko Nagy (right below)



3

Foreword and Executive Summary

This report provides the findings of the media monitoring activities in the period from 15 May to 23

May 2010. This is the eighth media monitoring report published by the Sudan Media and Elections

Consortium (SMEC). The Sudan Media and Elections Consortium (SMEC) was established to

implement the Media and Elections Project in Sudan. One of the main activities of the SMEC is media

monitoring of Sudanese media’s election coverage. The media monitoring takes place all over Sudan

with two main joint media monitoring units, one in Khartoum and one in Juba. There are also parallel

media monitoring units set up in various states. The media monitoring units commenced their activities

on 13 February coinciding with the beginning of the election campaign and will continue after that date

in order to assess post-election coverage and the coverage of election re-runs in several states. The

SMEC carries out media monitoring of four TV stations, seventeen radio channels and thirteen

newspapers on a daily basis1. All selected media are monitored according to a methodological approach

created in 1995 and based on content analysis. The monitoring of election and political coverage is

based on both quantitative and qualitative analysis and aims to observe and assess the extent to which

media provide fair and balanced coverage of politicians and other stakeholders. The project also

monitors hate speech or inflammatory language to assess whether the media acted as agents of

pacification or rather contributed to increase any potential tensions related to elections.

Over the last weeks no remarkable trends were noticed compared to the first post election period. The

media still devote a lot of time and space to the two major political parties. As the inauguration of

Salve Kiir as president for GOSS took place during this period, this news dominated the media. Other

topics included the opening of the National Assembly and the election of the States councils. The total

airtime to NCP and SPLM of television stations monitored, show a balanced picture, but looking at the

television stations individually, it is found that the stations broadcasting from the North like Sudan TV

and Khartoum State TV allocated most of their time to political actors to NCP (75.6 % and 85.2 %

respectively) whereas the station targeting the South, Southern Sudan TV, allocate most of its time to

SPLM (96.7 %). Only Blue Nile TV gives a more balanced coverage to the two political actors, 28.3 %

to SPLM and 57 % to NCP.

The number of hate speech cases decreased further, from 24 cases in the previous report to 10 cases in

this reporting period. Most of the cases were accusations from political parties or leaders to others and

only found in the English press. Some of these cases touched upon Referendum related issues, for

instance there were accusations that NCP did not do enough to keep the country united. These are the

first indications that the campaign for the Referendum has started in the English media.

The Media and Elections Project, funded by United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), is implemented by the

Sudan Media and Elections Consortium (SMEC), a group of national and international organisations with expertise in media

support. These are: Sudanese Development Initiative (SUDIA), International Media Support (IMS), Norwegian Peoples Aid

(NPA), Osservatorio di Pavia, Arab Working Group for media monitoring and Fojo Media Institute.

-------

For more information, contact Ms. Brigitte Sins, Project Manager, Tel. + 249 907 206 812 or + 45 8832 7005, email: bs@i-

m-s.dk or [email protected]. Khartoum: Mr. Abbas Tigani, Tel. + 249 912 127 279, email: [email protected]

Juba: Mr. James Boboya Edimond, Tel. +249 955 004 798, email: [email protected]

1 Press: Al Sahfa, Al Ray Al Aam, Al Intibaha, Al Sudani, Akhir Lahza, Ajras Al huriah, Akhbar Alyoum, Al Ayam, The Citizen, Juba Post, Khartoum

Monitor, Southern Eye and Sudan Vision TV: Sudan TV, Blue Nile, Khartoum State TV and South Sudan TV

Radio stations; Omdurman Radio, Khartoum State Radio , Peace Service, Al Qwat Al Mussalaha, Saheroon, North Kurdufan, North Darfur, Red Sea,

South Sudan Radio, Radio Miraya, Radio Bakhita, Liberty FM, Junubna FM, Rumbek FM, 97.5 FM/Voice of Eastern Equatoria, South Sudan Radio Malakal, Spirit FM

mailto:[email protected]







4

II. Post-election political coverage: general trends2

Over the present monitoring period, the airtime devoted to political actors in news coverage differed

amongst the different media outlets. In line with previous reports, Omdurman Radio, Khartoum State

Radio and Sudan TV were the channels showing the largest volume of election and political news

coverage.

Chart 1 Volume of the coverage for political actors by media outlet – Radio and television3

31,4%

15,4%

12,5%

8,2%

5,6%

4,7%

4,6%

4,4%

3,7%

3,7%

2,8%

2,4%

0,4%

0,2%

Omdurman Radio

Khartoum State Radio

Sudan TV

SSR

SSTV

Radio Bakhita

Radio Miraya

Peace Service

Blue Nile

Al Qwat Al Mussalaha

Khartoum State TV

Saheroon

Liberty FM

North Kurdufan

Base in seconds: 54998

For the press, Akhbar Alyoum, Al Ray Al Aam, Akhir Lahza, and Al Intibaha were the outlets

presenting the highest level of political and election coverage.

Chart 2 Volume of the coverage for political actors by media outlet – Press

16,0%

14,9%

11,7%

10,9%

9,6%

8,7%

5,1%

5,0%

4,1%

3,9%

3,7%

3,6%

2,9%

Akhbar Alyoum

Al Ray Al Aam

Akhir Lahza

Al Intibaha

Al Sudani

Al Sahfa

Ajras Al huriah

Khartoum Monitor

The Citizen

Al Ayam

Juba Post

Sudan Vision

Southern Eye

Base in cm2: 82951

2 The present report is focused only on news coverage. This is for a number of reasons: the decrease in attention to election-

related issues, as well as the estimated reach and audiences of news broadcasts vis-à-vis other genres of media reporting. 3 Radio Junubna did not cover any political actors over the period monitored in this report.



5

Political events and issues were mainly covered through news reporting and congratulatory messages to

the successful candidates.

In the media targeting Northern audiences the agenda was dominated by a few issues: the arrest of the

leader of PCP, Hassan Turabi; the Government’s calls on Interpol to arrest Khalil Ibrahim, leader of the

Justice and Equality Movement; the closing of Ray Elsha'b newspaper; President Kiir’s oath as head of

government in the South; the National Assembly opening and the election of the States councils. The

key events characterising the political agenda of Southern media were essentially related to the future

referendum for the independence and the offer made by President Kiir to General Athor to reconcile

and join the SPLM.

Two main parties, the National Congress Party (NCP) and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement

(SPLM) dominated media reports, both in audiovisual and print media (charts 3 and 4). However, the

print media gave space to a wider range of parties and political actors than TV and radio and showed a

higher level of balance in the distribution of the coverage.

Chart 3 Allocation of airtime in all audiovisual media

62,2%

30,7%

4,2%

0,8%

0,4%

0,2%

0,2%

0,2%

0,2%

0,1%

0,1%

0,1%

0,1%

0,1%

0,1%

0,1%

0,1%

0,1%

0,1%

0,1%

0,0%

0,0%

0,0%

0,0%

NCP

SPLM

UPRD

Other

JNA

BCP

NDA

PCP

DUP

UFP

FNDF

SSDF

UDF

SSUDF

Independent

URRP

UNP

FWP

USAP

SSDP

DUPO

MBO

PSJP

NDFP




6

Chart 4 Allocation of space in all print media

46,5%

31,5%

7,8%

3,4%

2,7%

2,4%

2,3%

2,0%

1,4%

NCP

SPLM

PCP

Others

Independent

JNA

DUPO

UNP

SPLM-DC

Base in cm2: 82951

Consistent with the trends previously observed, a clear-cut division based on geographical outreach

existed in terms of editorial line amongst the different outlets monitored. The media targeting Northern

audiences allocated the largest amount of coverage to the NCP, while media focused on Southern

issues allotted almost of their entire airtime and space to the SPLM (charts 5 and 6).

Chart 5 Allocation of airtime in all audiovisual media by geographical target4

8,5%

90,4%

0,0%1,2%

78,7%

12,4%

5,5%3,4%

NCP SPLM UPRD Others

Southern

Northern


4 Northern media include: Al Qwat Al Mussalaha, Blue Nile, Khartoum State Radio, Khartoum State TV, Omdurman Radio, Peace Service, Red Sea ,

Saheroon, Sudan TV. Southern media include: Junubna FM, Liberty FM, Radio Bakhita, Radio Miraya , Rumbek FM , South Sudan Radio Malakal , Spirit FM, SSR, SSTV



7

Chart 6 Allocation of space in all print media by geographical target audience5

14,2%

69,7%

3,5% 3,1%5,3%

0,0% 0,0% 0,0%

4,1%

54,2%

22,4%

8,9%

3,5%2,0%

3,0% 2,8% 2,5%0,7%

NCP SPLM PCP Others Independent JNA DUPO UNP SPLM-DC

Southern

Northern

Base in cm2: 82951

The tone of the coverage was mainly neutral or positive while negative tones were very sporadic,

particularly on radio and television. The print media displayed a more negative style of reporting even

if still limited. The SPLM was the party receiving the largest amount of positive coverage mainly in

the TV and radio stations targeting Southern audiences.

Chart 7 Tone of the coverage in all audiovisual media

0,0% 10,0% 20,0% 30,0% 40,0% 50,0% 60,0%

NCP

SPLM

UPRD

Other

JNA

BCP

NDA

PCP

DUP

UFP

FNDF

SSDF

UDF

SSUDF

Independent

URRP

UNP

FWP

USAP

SSDP

DUPO

MBO

PSJP

NDFP

Positive

Neutral

Negative


5 Northern media include: Ajras Al huriah, Akhbar Alyoum, Akhir Lahza, Al Ayam , Al Intibaha, Al Ray Al Aam, Al Sahfa, Al Sudani. Southern media include: Juba Post, Khartoum Monitor, Southern Eye, Sudan Vision, The Citizen



8

Chart 8 Tone of the coverage in all print media

0,0% 5,0% 10,0% 15,0% 20,0% 25,0% 30,0% 35,0% 40,0%

NCP

SPLM

PCP

Others

Independent

JNA

DUPO

UNP

SPLM-DC

Positive

Neutral

Negative

Base in cm2: 82951



9

III. Hate Speech and Post-election Violence

The episodes of inflammatory language during this period were limited and only present in the media

targeting Southern audiences.

Only ten cases were recorded, mainly in the print media, with just one episode occurring on radio. The

key issue dominating this area was the opposition against General Athor and the SPLM regarding the

outcome of the elections in Jonglei State. The ten cases identified as hate speech were mostly

accusations from politicians to other politicians and calls or quotes which can lead to conflict. The tone

and choice of words are characteristic to identify whether these calls fall under the category of hate

speech. 6

Table 1 Summary of hate speech and election-related violence cases (the topics)

Mr. Amum claimed that Akol SPLM-DC groups were responsible for the killing of the Shiluk elder Peter

Oyat.

Charles Kisanga (SPLM) accused authorities of Southern Sudan of arbitrary arrest, intimidation and

harassment of many SPLM-DC supporters.

Mr. Gore accused the National Election Commission of being involved in election frauds that took place over

polling and counting days.

President Kiir accused the NCP of not doing enough to keep Sudan united.

Mr. Amum accused NCP of arming militias to destabilise Southern Sudan ahead of the referendum.

SPLA accused Gen. Athor of an attack on the base in Doleib Hill near Malakal.

Mr. Amum claimed that NCP is behind Athors uprising to disrupt referendum.

Mr. Amum accused NCP of having undermined attempts to keep Sudan unite.

Mr. Amum said that Mr. Akol should call for forgiveness rather than confuse the Southerners.

The SPLA accused Gen. Athor’s forces of attacking one of their cars.

6 Hate speech can be defined as speech intended to foster hatred against individuals or groups based on race, religion, gender, sexual preference, place of

national origin or other improper classification.

This category includes: inflammatory language, call for violence and conflict (invitations or calls to commit acts of violent nature against people and things), discrimination (invitations or calls denying the rights of certain groups on the basis of: age, tribal affiliation, ability, marital status, sexual

orientation, economic level and religion), accusations of rigging (calls or messages alleging fraud and malpractices in the overall election process), call for

tribalism and defamation (an act of communication that causes someone to be shamed, ridiculed, held in contempt, lowered in the estimation of the community, or to lose employment status or earnings or otherwise suffer a damaged reputation).



10

Annex I – Election and political coverage: charts

a. Television and radio news coverage

Chart 9 Allocation of airtime by party on Blue Nile TV

57,0%

28,3%

3,7%

3,7%

2,6%

1,5%

1,5%

1,4%

0,3%

0,0%

NCP

SPLM

UPRD

PCP

NDA

URRP

UNP

Independent

BCP

JNA

Base on seconds: 2050

Chart 10 Tone of the coverage by party on Blue Nile TV

0,0% 5,0% 10,0% 15,0% 20,0% 25,0% 30,0% 35,0% 40,0%

NCP

SPLM

UPRD

PCP

NDA

URRP

UNP

Independent

BCP

JNA

Positive

Neutral

Negative




11

Chart 11 Allocation of airtime on Khartoum State TV

85,2%

14,7%

0,1%

NCP

UPRD

Independent


Chart 12 Tone of the coverage by party on Khartoum State TV

0,0% 10,0% 20,0% 30,0% 40,0% 50,0% 60,0% 70,0% 80,0% 90,0%

NCP

UPRD

Independent

Positive

Neutral




12

Chart 13 Allocation of airtime on Sudan TV

75,6%

19,5%

1,5%

1,1%

1,0%

0,6%

0,3%

0,1%

0,1%

0,1%

0,0%

NCP

SPLM

UPRD

UFP

FNDF

BCP

DUPO

MBO

Independent

PSJP

PCP


Chart 14 Tone of the coverage by party on Sudan TV

0,0% 10,0% 20,0% 30,0% 40,0% 50,0% 60,0% 70,0% 80,0%

NCP

SPLM

UPRD

UFP

FNDF

BCP

DUPO

MBO

Independent

PSJP

PCP

Positive

Neutral

Negative




13

Chart 15 Allocation of airtime on South Sudan TV

96,7%

1,7%

1,6%

SPLM

NCP

UDF


Chart 16 Tone of the coverage by party on South Sudan TV

0,0% 10,0% 20,0% 30,0% 40,0% 50,0% 60,0% 70,0% 80,0% 90,0%

SPLM

NCP

UDF

Positive

Neutral




14

Chart 17 Allocation of airtime on Al Qwat Al Mussalaha Radio

88,5%

6,8%

3,6%

1,1%

NCP

UPRD

SPLM

BCP


Chart 18 Tone of the coverage by party on Al Qwat Al Mussalaha Radio

0,0% 5,0% 10,0% 15,0% 20,0% 25,0% 30,0% 35,0% 40,0% 45,0% 50,0%

NCP

UPRD

SPLM

BCP

Positive

Neutral




15

Chart 19 Allocation of airtime on Khartoum State Radio

84,0%

11,0%

2,9%

1,2%

0,5%

0,3%

NCP

UPRD

SPLM

JNA

DUP

BCP


Chart 20 Tone of the coverage by party on Khartoum State Radio

0,0% 10,0% 20,0% 30,0% 40,0% 50,0% 60,0% 70,0% 80,0%

NCP

UPRD

SPLM

JNA

DUP

BCP

Positive

Neutral




16

Chart 21 Allocation of airtime on Liberty Radio

100,0%SPLM


Chart 22 Tone of the coverage by party on Liberty Radio

0,0% 10,0% 20,0% 30,0% 40,0% 50,0% 60,0% 70,0%

SPLMPositive

Neutral




17

Chart 23 Allocation of airtime on Omdurman Radio

79,5%

12,2%

4,7%

2,3%

0,5%

0,2%

0,2%

0,2%

0,1%

0,0%

0,0%

0,0%

NCP

SPLM

UPRD

Other

JNA

SSUDF

NDA

SSDP

BCP

DUPO

FNDF

NDFP


Chart 24 Tone of the coverage by party on Omdurman Radio

0,0% 10,0% 20,0% 30,0% 40,0% 50,0% 60,0% 70,0% 80,0%

NCP

SPLM

UPRD

Other

JNA

SSUDF

NDA

SSDP

BCP

DUPO

FNDF

NDFP

Positive

Neutral




18

Chart 25 Allocation of airtime on Peace Service Radio

65,2%

30,5%

1,3%

1,2%

1,1%

0,5%

0,2%

0,2%

NCP

SPLM

FWP

UPRD

Other

NDA

BCP

JNA


Chart 26 Tone of the coverage by party on Peace Service Radio

0,0% 5,0% 10,0% 15,0% 20,0% 25,0% 30,0% 35,0% 40,0% 45,0% 50,0%

NCP

SPLM

FWP

UPRD

Other

NDA

BCP

JNA

Positive

Neutral




19

Chart 27 Allocation of airtime on Bakhita Radio

90,3%

8,9%

0,8%

SPLM

NCP

PCP


Chart 28 Tone of the coverage by party on Bakhita Radio

0,0% 10,0% 20,0% 30,0% 40,0% 50,0% 60,0% 70,0% 80,0% 90,0%

SPLM

NCP

PCP

Positive

Neutral

Negative




20

Chart 29 Allocation of airtime on Miraya Radio

85,0%

12,9%

2,1%

SPLM

NCP

SSDF


Chart 30 Tone of the coverage by party on Miraya Radio

0,0% 10,0% 20,0% 30,0% 40,0% 50,0% 60,0% 70,0% 80,0%

SPLM

NCP

SSDF

Positive

Neutral

Negative




21

Chart 31 Allocation of airtime Saheroon Radio

84,6%

9,1%

3,7%

2,5%

0,1%

NCP

SPLM

DUP

Other

JNA


Chart 32 Tone of the coverage by party on Saheroon Radio

0,0% 10,0% 20,0% 30,0% 40,0% 50,0% 60,0% 70,0% 80,0% 90,0%

NCP

SPLM

DUP

Other

JNA

Positive

Neutral




22

Chart 33 Allocation of airtime on South Sudan Radio

88,6%

10,8%

0,6%

SPLM

NCP

USAP


Chart 34 Tone of the coverage by party on South Sudan Radio

0,0% 10,0% 20,0% 30,0% 40,0% 50,0% 60,0% 70,0% 80,0% 90,0%

SPLM

NCP

USAP

Positive

Neutral

Negative




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b. The print press

Chart 35 Allocation of space and tone in Ajras Al Huriah

0,0% 5,0% 10,0% 15,0% 20,0% 25,0% 30,0% 35,0% 40,0% 45,0% 50,0%

SPLM

PCP

NCP

JNA

UNP

DUPO

SCP

URRP

SPLM-DC

Independent

Positive

Neutral

Negative

Base in cm2: 4254



24

Chart 36 Allocation of space and tone in Akhbar Alyoum

0,0% 5,0% 10,0% 15,0% 20,0% 25,0% 30,0% 35,0% 40,0% 45,0% 50,0%

NCP

SPLM

PCP

UNP

SPLM-DC

DUPO

Independent

AA

URRP

Other

JNA

NDA

SCP

MBO

DUP

Positive

Neutral

Negative

Base in cm2: 13256

Chart 37 Allocation of space and tone in Akhir Lahza

0,0% 10,0% 20,0% 30,0% 40,0% 50,0% 60,0%

NCP

SPLM

PCP

Independent

JNA

URRP

UNP

SSDP

DUPO

Other

SBP

FWP

UDUP

SANP

SSDF

NDA

NUP

SCP

NJP

SAP

SPLM-DC

NNDP

Positive

Neutral

Negative

Base in cm2: 9721



25

Chart 38 Allocation of space and tone in Al Ayam

0,0% 5,0% 10,0% 15,0% 20,0% 25,0% 30,0% 35,0%

NCP

SPLM

PCP

JNA

UNP

Other

SCP

DUPO

Positive

Neutral

Negative

Base in cm2: 3252

Chart 39 Allocation of space and tone in Al Intibaha

0,0% 10,0% 20,0% 30,0% 40,0% 50,0% 60,0%

NCP

SPLM

PCP

DUPO

Independent

JNA

SPLM-DC

UNP

Other

URRP

FWP

AA

SCP

BC

Positive

Neutral

Negative

Base in cm2: 9014



26

Chart 40 Allocation of space and tone in Al Ray Al Aam

0,0% 5,0% 10,0% 15,0% 20,0% 25,0% 30,0% 35,0% 40,0%

NCP

SPLM

PCP

DUPO

JNA

Independent

UNP

SCP

SANU

UPRD

SPLM-DC

NASP

Positive

Neutral

Negative

Base in cm2: 12338

Chart 41 Allocation of space and tone in Al Sahfa

0,0% 10,0% 20,0% 30,0% 40,0% 50,0% 60,0% 70,0%

NCP

SPLM

PCP

JNA

AA

JP

UNP

DUPO

Independent

URRP

SPLM-DC

SCP

Positive

Neutral

Negative

Base in cm2: 7236



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Chart 42 Allocation of space and tone in Al Sudani

0,0% 5,0% 10,0% 15,0% 20,0% 25,0% 30,0% 35,0% 40,0% 45,0% 50,0%

NCP

SPLM

PCP

DUPO

JNA

Independent

UNP

URRP

AA

SCP

SPLM-DC

BCP

NDA

Other

Positive

Neutral

Negative

Base in cm2: 7935

Chart 43 Allocation of space and tone in Juba Post

0,0% 10,0% 20,0% 30,0% 40,0% 50,0% 60,0% 70,0% 80,0%

SPLM

NCP

Independent

PCP

SPLM-DC

Positive

Neutral

Negative

Base in cm2: 3066



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Chart 44 Allocation of space and tone in Khartoum Monitor

0,0% 10,0% 20,0% 30,0% 40,0% 50,0% 60,0% 70,0% 80,0% 90,0%

SPLM

PCP

Independent

NCP

SPLM-DC

UDSF

UNP

Positive

Neutral

Negative

Base in cm2: 4178

Chart 45 Allocation of space and tone in Southern Eye

0,0% 5,0% 10,0% 15,0% 20,0% 25,0% 30,0% 35,0% 40,0% 45,0% 50,0%

SPLM

NCP

SPLM-DC

Independent

Positive

Neutral

Negative

Base in cm2: 2369



29

Chart 46 Allocation of space and tone in Sudan Vision

0,0% 5,0% 10,0% 15,0% 20,0% 25,0% 30,0% 35,0%

SPLM

NCP

Independent

SPLM-DC

NIF

SSDP

UDF

Positive

Neutral

Negative

Base in cm2: 2965

Chart 47 Allocation of space and tone inThe Citizen

0,0% 10,0% 20,0% 30,0% 40,0% 50,0% 60,0% 70,0% 80,0% 90,0%

SPLM

NCP

SSDF

SPLM-DC

PCP

NUP

USAP

Positive

Neutral

Negative

Base in cm2: 3367



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MONITORING THE COVERAGE OF SUDAN 2010 ELECTIONS …MONITORING THE COVERAGE OF SUDAN 2010 ELECTIONS...

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