October Report: Monitoring Media Coverage of The 2016 Elections

MONITORING MEDIA COVERAGE
OF THE 2016 ELECTIONS

OCTOBER 2015 REPORT
MONITORING MEDIA COVERAGE

OF THE 2016 ELECTIONS
OCTOBER 2015 REPORT
Published by
African Centre for Media Excellence
Plot 124 Nanjala Road (Bunga-Soya), off Ggaba Road
P. O Box 11283 Kampala, Uganda
Tel: +256393202351
info@acme.org
www.acme-ug.org
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Twitter: @ACME_Uganda
CopyrightACME 2015
Layout and Design
Harriet Anena
hanena@acme-ug.org
Cover Photo
www.prepareyourselfenglish.wordpress.com
October 2015 Report
ACKNOWLEDEGMENT
This report is published with support from the Democratic Governance
Facility (DGF), which has funded ACMEs project on monitoring media
coverage of the 2016 elections. We are grateful for the partnership with
DGF.
Several individuals have contributed to the report and we single out a few.
Project Manager Mohles Kalule Segululigamba, technical advisor George
Lugalambi, and statisticians Yusuf Mulumba and Brian Ssenabulya. We
also recognise the contribution of ACME staff Peter G. Mwesige and
Harriet Anena.
ACME would also like to thank the panel of advisors that reviews
the findings every month before they are shared with the public.
Panel members are David Ouma Balikowa, Charlotte Kawesa Ntulume,
William Tayeebwa, Patricia Litho and Joseph Ssemakula.
ACME further thanks the coders who tirelessly entered data and the
research assistants who recorded broadcast content.
ACME Monitoring Media Coverage of the 2016 Elections
TABLE OF CONTENTS
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY................................................................................................1
INTRODUCTION................................................................................................3
Background.......................................................................................................3
The Media and Elections.........................................................................................5
Monitoring Media Coverage....................................................................................6
Media Coverage of Previous Elections...............................................................7

Monitoring/Research Questions...........................................................................9
METHODOLOGY...................................................................................................11
Scope of the Monitoring.......................................................................................11
Sample and Sampling Methods........................................................................12
Methods of Data Collection..................................................................................15
THE MEDIA ENVIRONMENT................................................................................18

Legal Framework.......................................................................................................18
Media Ownership and Diversity..........................................................................21
Standards and Quality of Reporting...................................................................24

Experience.........................................................................................................26
Freedom to Report....................................................................................................26
FINDINGS........................................................................................................27
Volume of Election Stories....................................................................................27

Type of Election Covered......................................................................................28
Space Allocation to Elections.............................................................................30
Prominence of Election Stories..........................................................................31
October 2015 Report
Most Covered Presidential Aspirant................................................................34

Front Page Coverage...............................................................................................36
Most Covered Topics..............................................................................................38

Location of Stories...................................................................................................39
Tone............................................................................................................40
Reporting Approach................................................................................................43
Issues vs. Personalities...........................................................................................45
Background and Context in Reporting.............................................................47
Interrogation of Candidate Claims and Promises........................................49

Sources of Information in Election Reporting..............................................51
Gender of Sources.....................................................................................................52
Number of Sources..................................................................................................54
CONCLUSION.................................................................................................................56
October 2015 Report
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This report presents the results of the monitoring of newspaper coverage
of the Ugandan presidential and parliamentary elections in the month of
October 2015. Following are the key findings:
The volume of election stories grew by about 47% to 493.
An overwhelming majority of election stories was displayed

prominently, with 74% appearing above the fold.
Newspapers once again carried more stories (47.4%) on the

presidential than parliamentary elections. However, the attention paid
to the parliamentary elections increased.
Go Forwards John Patrick Amama Mbabazi again took the lions
share of newspaper space on elections (39.4%), followed by incumbent
Museveni (29.5%) and FDCs Kizza Besigye (27.6%).
As in September, Mbabazi also took the biggest share of front-page

coverage (40.2%), followed by Besigye (32.9%). Museveni came in
third but his share of front page coverage grew dramatically to 26.8%
from 7.3% in September.
Politics (electoral competition, power play and the gamesmanship

of political contest) continued to dominate election coverage although
its share dropped to 59.2% from 66.7% in September. Bread and
butter and policy issues on the citizens agenda continued to receive
little attention.
A majority of election stories (57.2%) had a neutral tone but there
was a notable growth in the percentage of stories with a negative tone.
The conventional reporting approach (straight news style) was

employed in 61.5% of the stories, which represented a notable decrease
from September. There was a corresponding increase in investigative
stories, whose share rose to 21.4% and interpretive stories, which
accounted for 12.3%.
Stories that focus on issues grew to 35.1% while personality-driven
stories declined to 26.3%.
Stories that contained some background and context were 70.6%,

which represented a marginal improvement from September.
Once again, in a majority of stories (63.4%), journalists did not
interrogate claims and/or promises made by the presidential aspirants.
Political party officials (25%), parliamentary aspirants (17.8%) and

presidential candidates (11%) remained the most frequently cited
sources in election stories. However, the frequency of ordinary people
rose to 10.6% from 2.4% in September.
There was a marginal improvement in the use of women as sources

but men (82.2%) still dominated the election story.
The problem of single-sourcing remained. About 60% of stories had
only one source while those with three or more sources were just
about 25%.
October 2015 Report
INTRODUCTION
This report presents the results of the monitoring of newspaper
coverage of the Ugandan presidential and parliamentary elections in
the month of October 2015. Comprehensive findings on the quantity
and the quality of the reporting in nine newspapers are presented and
discussed. Subsequent reports will go beyond newspapers to include
radio, television and online content.
Background
In July 2015, African Centre for Media Excellence (ACME) received

funding from the Democratic Governance Facility (DGF) to monitor
media coverage of the 2016 elections. This specialized effort is part of
CEON-Ugandas observation of the elections, which has been funded also
by DGF. CEON-Uganda comprises 18 civil society organisations led by the
Foundation for Human Rights Initiative. The overall objective of CEON-U
is to enhance the integrity of the election process through deterring and
exposing irregularities. CEON-Us specific objectives are:
1. To regularly and objectively document and expose issues related

to or affecting the integrity of the electoral process.
2. To raise awareness and engage key stakeholders on electoral
observation findings and recommendations.
3. To enhance public confidence and promote the participation of

women and men in the electoral process.
4. To mitigate the potential for election-related violence.
As the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe has rightly

noted, given the key role the media play in elections, any observation
effort should pay significant attention to the activities of the media and
their coverage of elections.1 Media monitoring can document whether

coverage contributed to a free and fair election or subverted the process.
But it can also be a process of constructive intervention whereby gaps
in, and concerns about, coverage are addressed before the elections.
ACME intended this project to do both.
The purpose of ACMEs media monitoring project, therefore, is to assess

the nature of media coverage of the 2016 elections, document whether it
contributes to a free and fair election or subverts the electoral process, and
promote professionalism in media coverage. The goal is to contribute to
accurate, fair, impartial and balanced coverage of the 2016 elections.
The specific objectives are:
1. To monitor, document and share trends in media coverage of the
2016 general elections.
2. To monitor media compliance with election reporting guidelines
and regulations.
3. To influence journalists, editors and media owners to provide

information that is more accurate, impartial and fair.
4. To empower civil society and the public to demand adherence to

professional standards in media coverage of elections.
Unlike in previous instances where media monitoring reports came after

the elections, the innovation with this project is that ACME will issue
monthly reports that will be discussed with stakeholders ranging from
senior media managers to political party representatives well ahead of
the elections.
1 OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (2012). Handbook on Media Monitoring for Election
Observation Missions. Warsaw, Poland.
October 2015 Report
The media and elections

Fully functioning democracies are associated with periodic free and
fair elections where all contesting political viewpoints are fairly and
equitably communicated through the media so that voters have an
opportunity to make informed choices/decisions as to who their leaders
will be. Media coverage of elections from the process of making
electoral laws, the campaigns, voting, through to the post-polling period
is critical in any democracy. When the media get it right, voters are
able to understand the issues and choices before them by hearing all the
different viewpoints. Voters are also given an opportunity to discuss the
issues and express themselves.
For an electoral process to qualify as free and fair, not only must the
election unfold in adequate political and administrative conditions,
but citizens must also have access to sufficient information about the
parties, candidates and voting procedures to ensure that they will make
an enlightened and valid choice. Elections will only be free if all players
candidates, political parties, citizens, civil society and, journalists
can express themselves on all matters of public concern.
The media play five essential roles in the electoral process:
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.
Providing voice to the voters.2
2 Marie-Soleil Frre (2010). The Media and Elections in Post-Conflict Central African Countries. Brussels: University
of Brussels.
Monitoring media coverage

Media monitoring is anchored in the ethical and professional standards
that are expected to help the media perform the essential roles already
identified. The standards include, but are not limited to, the following:
Accuracy of reporting
Dedication of space and time to elections
Distinguishing between news and opinion

Use of and reliance on multiple sources
Corrections and the right of reply
Focus on a diversity of issues
Equitable coverage of the candidates

Balance and fairness in reporting
A good mix of both episodic and issue-based coverage

Interrogation of candidate promises and claims
Provision of adequate background and context
Balance of attention paid to candidates/political parties and the

voters
Rejection of bribery of journalists
Independence of media houses and journalists
Most of these standards were captured in a publication titled Guidelines

for Media Coverage of Elections in Uganda against which the media
monitoring was benchmarked. Based on international standards and
best practices but sensitive to the Ugandan context, these guidelines,
October 2015 Report
which were published by ACME, highlight the responsibilities and

obligations of the media regarding election coverage and reporting.
They were developed through a participatory process, and most media
houses signed on to them. In August and September 2015, ACME engaged
media owners and managers in order to generate consensus on the use
of the guidelines as the yardstick for media coverage and monitoring.
Media coverage of previous elections
Previous media monitoring reports on Ugandan elections indicate that

the media often fall short of the roles and standards already outlined. In
particular, the following gaps have been observed in media coverage of
elections in Uganda.3
Disproportionate coverage of the incumbent (president) and ruling
party on state/public media
Although both the Constitution and electoral laws provide for equal
access to candidates on state or public media, in all previous elections
the latter have been accused of paying disproportionate attention to
the activities of the incumbent and ruling party at the expense of the
challengers and the opposition. This practice denies the viewing/
listening public access to adequate information against which to judge
all sides in the election.
Denial of access to state/public media by opposition candidates
State/public media have also been accused of denying access to

opposition candidates in complete violation of the Constitution and
electoral laws. This was one of the grounds cited by opposition leader
Kizza Besigye in his unsuccessful petition against the re-election of
President Yoweri Museveni in 2006. During the campaigns ahead of the
2011 elections, Dr Besigye, the main challenger, was again denied access
3 See e.g. Memonet (2011). Uganda media coverage of the 2011 elections: final media
monitoring report. Kampala.
to public/state broadcaster UBC and the campaign advertisements he

had paid for were never featured. Again, this practice denies the viewing
public access to adequate information against which to judge all sides in
an electoral contest.
Predominance of episodic reporting and dearth of issue-based coverage
The media have also been accused of focusing more on the drama and
daily routine of the election campaign at the expense of the issues. They
also tend to report the election as an event rather than a process. This
practice denies the public not only information but also the context
within which to judge candidates, parties, electoral authorities, as well
the process.
No serious interrogation of candidate claims and promises
The lack of rigorous verification and interrogation of the claims and

promises made by candidates similarly denies the public access to
complete information against which to judge those offering themselves
for public office.
Disproportionate attention to candidates and political parties at the
expense of voters
It has been said that voters are the most critical players in
elections. Unfortunately, it has been pointed out that media coverage in
Uganda, as in many other countries, tends to pay far more attention to
the candidates and their parties than to the voters. Lost in this kind of
reporting, for instance, are the issues that matter most to the voters as
well as their own evolving evaluation of the electoral process.
Attempts by political actors, especially those in government, to
influence visuals in newspapers and on television
The Ugandan media have also been accused of succumbing to pressure

from political operatives to overplay visuals of certain candidates.
October 2015 Report
In the last two elections, for instance, the New Vision was accused
of overplaying, under pressure, pictures that showed huge crowds
at President Musevenis rallies and downplaying those of his main
opponent, even where Dr Besigye had attracted similar or higher
numbers of people. This practice denies voters the complete picture of
the real popularity of candidates judged by attendance of their rallies.
Lack of fairness and balance
Like any other genre, covering elections requires journalists to report on

all candidates and parties in a fair and balanced manner. For instance,
the media are supposed to give candidates the right to reply to attacks
from their opponents. They are also supposed to give candidates and
parties similar opportunity to respond to issues. This has not always
been the case in the coverage of elections in Uganda.
Other concerns and gaps in media coverage of elections have revolved
around the following:
Bias.
Inaccurate reporting.
Bribery of journalists.
Self-censorship.
Poor portrayal of women candidates.
It is against this background that ACME sought to monitor comprehensively

media coverage of the 2016 elections.
Monitoring / Research questions
The following questions will guide the monitoring of media coverage.
1. What is the operating environment for the media ahead of the

elections?
2. What topics do the media focus on in their coverage of the elections?
3. What type of reports do the media produce (news, commentary/

opinion, features/special reports, etc)?
4. What is the nature of the reporting (conventional, interpretative,

investigative)?
5. Who are the sources in media coverage (ordinary people,

party officials, candidates, regulators, civil society, diplomats,
religious leaders, central government officials, local leaders, police/
security, etc)?
6. What is the number and gender of the sources?
7. Which political parties are focused on in media coverage?
8. Which presidential candidates are focused on in media coverage?

9. How much time or space is dedicated to each party?
10. How much time or space is dedicated to each presidential candidate?

11. What is the tone of coverage?
12. What is the frequency of personal attacks in media coverage?

13. Do media houses offer the right of reply?
14. How often do news stories interrogate candidate or party promises?

15. How often do news stories include background and context?
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October 2015 Report
METHODOLOGY
This section presents the scope of the monitoring exercise, the sample
and sampling methods, methods of data collection as well as the tools
that we used.
Scope of the monitoring
ACME set off to monitor a purposive sample of print, electronic, and

online media, focusing on coverage related to the presidential and
parliamentary elections during the pre- and post-electoral periods from
1 September 2015 to 29 February 2016.4 The election-related content
being monitored across the media landscape has been defined in terms
of, and broadly classified under three genres: news, current affairs, and
commentary.
Inevitably, however, there will be variations in the emphasis and breadth
of the monitoring exercise because of the differences among, and unique
elements of, the media platforms from which the data were drawn.
In other words, whereas certain variables are applicable to all the
content of interest news, current affairs, and commentary some
are inapplicable to particular media platforms. For the electronic media,
for instance, the primary content of interest comprises news bulletins
and current affairs talk shows that do not, by the nature of TV and radio
content, bear the same characteristics as print media content. Similarly,
the unique features of social media messages necessitate a different
approach that recognises the specific characteristics of this form of
political discourse.
Sample and sampling methods
The sample of channels selected for monitoring represents print,

electronic, and social media platforms and is composed of nine
4 Due to logistical delays in setting up the electronic media monitoring infrastructure, the
first two reports focus on newspapers only.
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newspapers, five television channels, 33 radio stations, and Twitter. This

choice of channels constitutes a purposive sample designed to capture
all facets of the election coverage that the electorate in its diversity is
exposed to.
Print media
All the major national and regional publications (eight newspapers

and one magazine) are included to ensure a balanced representation,
to the extent possible, of every major language group. There are five
English-language publications and one each in key regional languages and
language groupings: Luganda, Ateso, Luo, and Runyakitara. Five of the
newspapers in this sample (The New Vision, Bukedde, Etop, Rupiny and
Orumuri) are published by the Vision Group, a listed company whose
ownership is split more or less equally between the government and
private shareholders. The nine titles together account for nearly all
mainstream print media circulation in Uganda. The Vision Group
publications arguably control about three-quarters of the national
readership or market. The titles that make up the newspaper sample,
with their publication cycles, are:
1. The New Vision (daily; national)
2. Daily Monitor (daily; national)
3. The Observer (tri-weekly; national)

4. The Independent (weekly newsmagazine)
5. Red Pepper (daily; national)
6. Bukedde (daily; central)
7. Etop (weekly; eastern)
8. Rupiny (weekly; northern)
9. Orumuri (weekly; western)
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October 2015 Report
Television
The five TV channels included in the sample collectively cover the whole
country. All but one broadcast primarily in English. Bukedde broadcasts in
Luganda and is one of the platforms owned by the Vision Group. Uganda
Broadcasting Corporation (UBC) is the public broadcaster. The rest
of the stations are privately owned. The channels included in the TV
samples are:
1. Bukedde
2. NBS
3. NTV
4. UBC
5. WBS
Radio
The radio stations selected for monitoring collectively cover the entire
country and represent Ugandas seven major regions: Kampala, central,
eastern, western, south-western, northern, and North-Western/West
Nile. This sample constitutes about 13% of the 250 or so stations in
operation across the country. The selected radio stations generally
accommodate all audience profiles as defined by social class, language,
religion, ethnicity, and geography/geo-politics. Except UBC, the public
broadcaster, all the other channels are either private, faith-based, or
community radio stations. The stations that make up the radio sample
are presented by region on Page 14.
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Table 1: The radio stations monitored

REGION
MEDIA
FREQUENCY
Kampala (5)
Capital Radio
KFM
Top Radio
Simba FM
UBC Blue Channel
FM 91.3
FM 93.3
FM 89.6
FM 97.3
FM 98
Baba
Open Gate
Rock Mambo
Kioga Veritas
Voice of Teso
Signal FM
FM 87.7
FM 103.2
FM 106.8
FM 91.5
FM 88.4
FM 88.1
Central (5)
Eastern (6)
Western (5)
South-Western (2)
Northern (4)
14
Radio Sapientia
Voice of Africa
Central Broadcasting Services
Buddu
Spice FM
Kasese Guide
Voice of Toro
Bushenyi
Bunyoro Broadcasting Services
Radio West
Rukungiri FM
Voice of Kigezi
Mighty Fire
Dokolo FM
Mega FM
Rhino
North-Western/West Nile (6) Radio Amani

Nile
Voice of Life
Radio Paidha
Arua One
Radio Pacis
FM 94.8
FM 92.3
FM 89.2
FM 101.9
FM 89.9
FM 100.5
FM 101
FM 92.2
FM 98.2
FM 100.2
FM 96.7
FM 89.5
FM 91.5
FM 102.4
FM 102.1
FM 96.1
FM 89.1
FM 94.1
FM 100.9
FM 87.8
FM 88.7
FM 90.9
October 2015 Report
Social media
Twitter will be monitored in the coming months. It has been selected
over other social media platforms on pragmatic grounds. The objectives
is to ascertain the extent to which the main presidential candidates use
Twitter as an alternative media form during and after the campaign
season as well as to assess candidates use of Twitter to listen to and
respond to queries, demands and debates from the electorate online.
Methods of data collection
The monitoring has relied on quantitative content analysis, although

where appropriate and possible informant interviews have been
conducted to provide context for the findings.
Content analysis
Content analysis provides a detailed and multi-faceted picture of the

nature and extent of election coverage in the media as measured on
various journalistic and content dimensions of quantity and quality.
The universe of interest consists of election-related articles that fell

under any three of the primary content genres: news, current affairs,
and commentary.
Stories are coded and analysed for the degree to which they reflect
various pre-determined characteristics of election coverage. Specifically,
stories are coded on a number of variables ranging from manifest
characteristics (size, format, prominence, sources, and location) to
the latent features of the reporting (tone, interrogation of candidate
promises, background and context).5
5 The research (monitoring) questions outlined in the Introduction section
will be the foundation of the media content analysis, which will be based
on a systematic coding scheme.
15
A standard coding scheme is employed. It outlines the categories or

aspects on which monitoring information was needed and how that
information was to be captured. Coders are instructed to select an
appropriate digit known as a code that is entered on the coding
form, which is the primary data collection instrument. Coders
underwent training before they embarked on coding. A sample of
media content was coded under a pilot to ensure that the measures and
definitions were reliable before the full-scale coding started. Standard
inter-coder reliability tests were conducted to ensure that the findings
were dependable.
A detailed codebook contains definitions of all the content categories
that were to be monitored.
Coding is done manually and electronically by trained coders and the
data entered directly into an MS Access database where it is stored and
retrieved for statistical analysis.
In short, the coding procedure involves a rigorous and methodical
process of identifying and analysing election-related stories.
Print media content
The census method of sampling was employed in selecting the newspaper

content included in the monitoring of print media coverage of the
presidential and parliamentary elections. This implies that all content
that fell within the universe of interest was tracked and analysed. For
news content, the story was the unit of analysis. Accordingly, each story
was treated as a unique record and the findings will be primarily and
whenever applicable presented in terms of how the stories play out
on the different measures of election coverage or variables of interest.
Similarly, for comment, the opinion article or letter to the editor was the
unit of analysis.
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October 2015 Report
Radio and TV content

For radio news/current affairs, the monitoring focuses on the two most
important daily news bulletins broadcast around the top of the hour
during the morning and evening prime listening times between 7 a.m.
9 a.m. and 7 p.m. 9 p.m.
For TV news/current affairs, the monitoring will focus on the two most
important daily news bulletins broadcast at the top of the hour during
the morning and evening prime viewing times between 7 a.m. 9 a.m.
and 7 p.m. 10 p.m. The scheduling of these programmes generally
varied by TV station within those time segments.
With regard to radio and TV talk shows, a systematic random sampling

approach has been used to select the shows to monitor for those stations
that run daily talk shows.
Twitter
ACME plans to pay for and receive comprehensive analytics from the
online monitoring company, Social Bakers as well as internal Twitter
analytics. Areas of interest will include number of followers, change in
followers over time, incoming and outgoing interactions, as well as total
and frequency of tweets.
Key Informant Interviews
Key informant interviews provide insight into the environment

under which journalists and media houses are operating as well as the
patterns in coverage that the results of the content analysis reveal. For
the latter aspect, the interviews will continue to be informed by the
issues, observations, and insights generated by the content analysis.
The interviews provide an opportunity to interrogate and illuminate
the pertinent issues with the perspectives of individualsjournalists,
civil society activities, political party workers, and regulators who are
familiar with the election-related issues under investigation.
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THE MEDIA ENVIRONMENT

The media landscape in Uganda continues to be characterised by a liberal
regime of investment, and (at least on paper) 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, and the government is beginning to closely watch what is going
on in the digital space.
Radio remains the biggest source of information for most Ugandans (55
per cent of households receive information through radio, according to the
2014 census report)6 although newspapers are 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, in the last five years, the country has been characterised by Freedom
House as partly free. In one of its more recent reports, the international
press freedom watchdog concluded that although the countrys constitution
provides for freedom of expression and press freedom, several laws negate
these guarantees, and the government continues to crack down on critical
journalists and media houses using both subtle and blatant methods7.
Legal framework
The Constitution of Uganda provides for the rights to freedom of

expression as well as access to information, although the enabling laws
continue to attract criticism for derogating from these constitutional
guarantees. The media in Uganda are governed mainly by the Press and
Journalist Act (Cap 105), the Uganda Broadcasting Corporation Act, 2005,
and the Uganda Communications Act, 2013, which merged the Electronic
Media Act (Cap 104) and the Uganda Communications Act, 1997.
6 http://www.ubos.org/onlinefiles/uploads/ubos/NPHC/2014%20National%20Census%20Main%20Report.pdf
7 Uganda, Freedom of the Press 2012, Freedom House, http://www.freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-press/2011/uganda
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October 2015 Report
These laws provide for statutory regulation and establish the Media
Council as the primary regulator of the print media but also aspects of
broadcast media, and the Uganda Communications Commission as the
regulator of electronic media and telecommunications. All journalists
are supposed to be licensed by the Media Council, which is by law
required to recognise only those enrolled under the National Institute
of Journalists of Uganda (NIJU). Journalists require university degrees to
become full members of NIJU. These regulations have not been followed
strictly in the last 15 years although they continue to attract criticism
from media freedom watchers, who also fault Ugandas regulatory regime
for not having the necessary independence from the government.
The fourth Schedule of the Press and Journalist Act provides for a
professional code of ethics that lists nine commandments:
1. No journalist shall disseminate information or an allegation without
establishing its correctness or truth.
2. No journalist shall disclose the source of his or her information; he or she
shall only divulge the source in the event of an overriding consideration of
public interest and within the framework of the law of
Uganda.
3. No journalist shall solicit or accept bribes in an attempt to publish or
suppress the publication of a story.
4. A journalist shall not plagiarise the professional work of others or
expropriate works or results of research by scholars without acknowledging
their contribution and naming his or her sources of information.
5. A journalist shall obtain his or her information through the
skillful application of journalistic principles and shall never bribe or offer
inducements to his or her source.
6. No journalist shall deny any person with legitimate claim a right to
reply to a statement. Corrections and rejoinders are to be published in
19
appropriate form without delay and in a way that they will be noticed by
those who have received the original information.
7. A journalist shall at all times strive to separate his or her own opinions
from factual news. Where personal opinions are expressed, the public shall
be made to know.
8. A journalist shall take the necessary steps to correct any damaging
report he or she has made on any individual or organisation.
9. A journalist shall not originate or encourage the dissemination of
information designed to promote or which may have the effect of promoting
tribalism, racism or any other form of discrimination.
Schedule 4 of the Uganda Communications Act on the other hand
provides for minimum broadcasting standards. It states:
A broadcaster or video operator shall ensure that
(a) any programme which is broadcast
(i) is not contrary to public morality;
(ii) does not promote the culture of violence or ethnical prejudice among
the public, especially the children and the youth;
(iii) in the case of a news broadcast, is free from distortion of facts;
(iv) is not likely to create public insecurity or violence;
(v) is in compliance with the existing law;
(b) programmes that are broadcast are balanced to ensure harmony in
such programmes;
(c) adult-oriented programmes are appropriately scheduled;
(d) where a programme that is broadcast is in respect to a contender for
20
October 2015 Report
a public office, that each contender is given equal opportunity on such a

programme;
(e) where a broadcast relates to national security, the contents of the
broadcast are verified before broadcasting.
Ugandas electoral laws also have some specific provisions
relating to the media. For instance, Article 23 of the Presidential
Elections Act, 2005, provides for equal treatment, freedom of expression
and access to information of candidates. Clause 1 of that article enjoins
public authorities and institutions to give equal treatment to all
candidates and their agents. Article 24 provides that All presidential
candidates shall be given equal treatment on the State owned media to
present their programmes to the people.
Media ownership and diversity
Ugandas media industry continues to be dominated by two conglomerates

with interests in radio, television, print and online the majority
state-owned Vision Group and Nation Media Group, a Nairobi-based
privately owned company. In addition to the two market leaders, there
are a number of smaller privately owned entities: Red Pepper, a daily
tabloid whose affiliates include Kamunye, Entatsi and Hello!Uganda
publications, and Juice FM; the tri-weekly The Observer; and weekly
news magazine The Independent.
According to the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) third

quarter report of 2015,8 there were 292 operational FM radio stations, a
jump from 253 in the second quarter of the same year. Media experts say
that the large and sudden jump was the function of licence owners who
had dormant stations reviving them to target election money that was
bound to come through adverts and paid-for talk shows and other such
programming. The same report says there were 33 operational TV stations
(28 analogue, 3 digital terrestrial, and 2 digital satellite). The state-run
UBC has the widest TV and radio reach, broadcasting in multiple local
8
See http://www.ucc.co.ug/files/downloads/Q3-Market%20Report%20%20for%20Third%20Quarter%20
-%20July-September%202015.pdf.
21
languages as well as in English and Kiswahili across the country. Its FM

radio affiliates include the community station Mega FM, based in Gulu,
and the Kampala-based Magic FM, a sports and music outlet. Although
UBC was expected to have transformed into a public broadcaster, it
remains very much a state entity that is largely subservient to President
Museveni9 and the ruling party and rarely provides for views critical of
the government.
Concerns remain that many private stations are owned by politicians

in the NRM or business people who were close to the ruling party.
Although the regulator puts radio ownership by politicians at about
15 per cent, some media watchers contend that it could be well over
70 per cent, especially in the countryside.10 Such ownership patterns
have raised concerns about media diversity, especially given that many
radio stations owned by politicians have been known to turn away
members of the opposition and other voices of dissent. For example,
on 21 July 2015, Baba FM in Jinja was taken off air after 15 minutes of
an hour-long interview with presidential challenger Kizza Besigye. The
station managers blamed a technical glitch; Dr Besigyes campaign said
it was sabotage. Within days the station, owned by a ruling party MP,11
had suspended the journalists involved in the talk show. There have
been such occurrences over the years.12
Threats to diversity do not only emanate from ownership patterns. In loud
and quiet ways, the government uses the regulatory regime to influence
coverage. Broadcast regulator UCCs tactics have drawn scrutiny.
Similarly, there are also fears that conglomeration could in future
undermine the media pluralism and diversity that democracy demands.
On the new media side, a growing number of Ugandans are turning to

9 The bias shows more during election period. See http://observer.ug/news-headlines/42308-report-ubc-denies-opposition-airtime
10 Report of the International Mission on Freedom of Expression in Uganda, September 2010.

11 http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/Radio-goes-off-air-15-minutes-into-Dr-Besigyes-talkshow/-/688334/2803274/-/kcvksr/-/index.html
22
12 https://hrnjuganda.org/?p=1438
October 2015 Report
the Internet as a major source of information. By June 2015, according

to UCC, the number of Internet users stood at 13 million, representing
37 per cent penetration. The number of users stood at 8.5 million a year
before.13 Freedom House has reported that this growth is partly due to
the proliferation of smart phones, especially as Ugandas mobile phone
usage has spiked dramatically from less than one million users in 2001
to 19 million14 in 2014 and further up, to 22 million as at June 2015.
This has been accompanied by lower mobile phone tariffs and cheaper
bandwidth costs.
Social media platforms such as Facebook, Google+, Twitter, Instagram,
LinkedIn, WhatsApp are among the 15 most popular sites in Uganda.15
Journalists are one section of Ugandans increasingly embracing social
media to enhance their reporting, and this has come to the fore in this
electioneering season. But government actions continue to affect how
much freedom Ugandans have in using social media. It announced in
2013 that it was setting up a social-media monitoring centre to track the
spread of content that potentially harms national security. In June 2015,
the police arrested and put on trial Mr Robert Shaka16, a USAID employee
it suspected to be Tom Voltaire Okwalinga17 or TVO18, an indefatigable
yet anonymous Facebook critic of President Museveni, his key political
and family figures, and his government. His offences are promotion of
sectarianism under Section 41 of the Penal Code Act, and misuse of
computers, in contravention of Section 25 of the Computer Misuse Act.19
However, while Mr Shaka (Maverick Blutaski on Facebook) was being
held, the Tom Voltaire Okwalinga Facebook page stayed active, carrying
13 http://www.ucc.co.ug/files/downloads/Annual%20Market%20Industry%20Report%202014-15-%20October%2019-2015.pdf
14 http://www.ucc.co.ug/files/downloads/Annual%20Market%20Industry%20Report%202014-15-%20October%2019-2015.pdf.
15 http://www.contadorharrison.com/social-media-use-in-uganda/
16 http://www.observer.ug/news-headlines/38278-who-s-tom-voltaire-okwalinga-tvo
17 https://www.facebook.com/tom.okwalinga?fref=ts
18 https://www.facebook.com/Tvo-Uganda-654610647943658/?fref=ts
19 http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/Lawyers-demand-release-of-social-media-critic-/-/688334/2747382/-/r3f7qaz/-/index.html
23
posts that mocked the government for holding the wrong person.
Although journalists have increasingly embraced social media to enhance

their reporting, the opportunities offered by the Internet and new
media are yet to be exploited fully. In particular, the many initiatives to
harness the public voice and hold the government accountable through
social media and digital platforms are often not amplified through the
mainstream media, especially radio, which remains the major source of
information for a majority of Ugandans.
Standards and quality of reporting
The major media houses in Uganda show some degree of

professionalism through the kind of content they produce. They are
often comprehensive, bold and independent in their reporting. This is
especially true for newspapers and some television stations.
Broadly, however, the quality of Ugandan journalism could improve.
Concerns persist over professionalism and ethical standards. Most
stories still contain little enterprise, depth, analysis and investigation.
Elementary mistakes, single-source stories, poor news judgement, and
glaring inaccuracies in the news coverage of many media outlets as well
as cases of brown envelope journalism undermine the credibility of
media institutions.
24
In-depth reporting and investigation of public affairs such as

health care delivery, education, energy, human rights, land use,
environment, infrastructural development, corruption, and local
governance is rare or inconsistent. Perhaps with the exception of the
output of the Uganda Radio Network programmes, radio news is very
often full of episodic event-based reporting that does not interrogate
issues. Radio stations continue to pay disproportionate attention to
music and entertainment-based programming over public affairs
programming. The quality of television news has improved with
the growing competition engendered more recently by the massive
rebranding of NBS Television, but in-depth reporting and investigation
October 2015 Report
A Photo montage showing crowds at rallies of presidential candidates Yoweri Museveni, Amama
Mbabazi and Kizza Besigye. The politics of crowds was a big part of the 2016 poll. ACME Photo.
are still not common.
The Ugandan media also rely too much on politicians, government

officials and business executives in their reporting. The voices of civil
society and ordinary people are not often dominant in media coverage.20
Ugandan journalists cite poor pay, lack of knowledge/skills and pressure

not to publish as the biggest obstacles to their work.21 Pressure not to
publish comes from both the government and major advertisers. Lack
of resources and limited access to information are also cited as major
hindrances to investigative journalism and public affairs reporting. The
glorification of private profit at the expense of the public interest has
also been blamed for the average quality of Ugandan journalism.
20 Mwesige, P.G. (2006). The Media and Civil Society in Uganda: Exploring Relations and Possibilities.
Paper Presented at Breakfast Meeting for Media Owners Hosted by the Civil Society Capacity Building Programme. Kampala, November 15, 2006
21 Colmery, B. et al. (2009). There Will be Ink.
25
Experience
The rate of occupational mobility in political reporting, and Ugandan
journalism generally, remains high. Many experienced journalists
have moved on to other fields such as marketing and public relations.
Commentators note that such haemorrhage weakens institutional
memory and diminishes the intellectual capital and credibility of news
organisations.22
Freedom to report
Although a majority of journalists that ACME interviewed reported that

they were free to cover the electoral process, a significant number did
not feel free because of threats and intimidation. The major threats to
independent political reporting, according to the informants, come from
media owners, ruling party and government officials, candidates or their
agents, as well as police officers.
The other threat to independent journalism during the electioneering
period includes bribery of journalists by candidates or political
parties. Although most journalists do not support the practice, many
openly admit to receiving money from political parties, candidates or
their agents during the election season. In most cases, the money is
described as transport refund or facilitation.
22 Mwesige, P.G & D.K. Kalinaki (2007). East Africa: 50 years of media, in E. Barratt & G. Berger (Eds.). 50
Years of Journalism: African media since Ghanas independence. (pp. 97-109). Johannesburg: African Editors Forum,
Highway Africa, and Media Foundation for West Africa.
26
October 2015 Report
THE FINDINGS
Volume of election stories
Although the media monitoring is for both presidential and parliamentary
elections, these results mainly focus on the presidential elections as they
continued to dominate media coverage in October.
A total of 493 articles were analysed, which constituted a growth of

46.7% from the previous month. Of the stories analysed in October,
457 or 92.6% were under the category of news. The others fell under
commentary.
Daily Monitor published the biggest share of election stories (27.8%),
followed by New Vision (22.9%) and Red Pepper (17%). The regional
local language newspaper Rupiny had the least number of election
stories (0.8%).
Figure 1: Number of election articles
27
Type of election covered

Once again, newspapers paid more attention to the presidential election,
with 47.48% of stories compared to 37.8% for the parliamentary
election. However, this was better balance than in September when the
presidential election attracted 67.7% of the coverage against 23.5% for
the parliamentary election.
Figure 2: Type of election covered
28
October 2015 Report
The Observer had the highest proportion of stories on the

presidential election (65.2%) followed by the Red Pepper (50%). Etop
had the highest proportion of stories on the parliamentary election
(84.2%) followed by Bukedde (44.9%).
Figure 2-1: Type of election by publication
29
Space allocation to elections

The space that the monitored newspapers dedicated to elections grew by
61% to 395,272.3 CM2 from 244,819 CM2 in September. Daily Monitor
provided more space to election coverage, followed by New Vision
(21.4%) and Red Pepper (19.7%).
Figure 3: Space accorded to elections by newspapers
30
October 2015 Report
Among the dailies, Daily Monitor (32.7%) accorded the most space to the
elections with Bukedde following at 26%. At 17.4%, the New Vision dedicated
significantly less space.
Figure 3-1: Space to elections by dailies
31
Prominence of election stories

Prominence can be measured in several ways, including by looking at
page or section where the story is carried, or placement in relation to the
fold. It often communicates the relative importance attached to a story.
As in September, most election stories continued to be prominently
placed above the fold in newspapers (74%).
Figure 4: Prominence of election stories
32
October 2015 Report
A breakdown of the findings shows that Orumuri and Rupiny newspapers

placed all their election stories prominently. They were followed by The
Observer (89.1%), The Independent (77.3%) and New Vision (77.3%).
Figure 4-1: Prominence of election stories by publication
33
Most covered presidential aspirant

Overall, stories on Mbabazi occupied the biggest amount of space in
the newspapers (39.4%), followed by those on Museveni (29.5%) and
Besigyes (27.6%).
Figure 5: Newspaper space to presidential aspirants
34
October 2015 Report
However, Vision Group publications Etop (100%), Rupiny (58.3%) and New
Vision (38.4%) gave more space to incumbent Museveni. Red Pepper (54.1%)
and The Observer (48.0%) gave more space to Mbabazi, while Besigye was
covered most by Orumuri (54.3%) and Daily Monitor (35.7%).
Figure 5-1: Space to presidential candidates by publication
35
Front page coverage

As in September, Go Forward presidential candidate Amama Mbabazi once
again took the biggest share of front page coverage (40.2%), followed by
FDCs Kizza Besigye (32.9%). Museveni came in third, although his share
of front page stories grew significantly to 26.8% from 7.3% in September.
The other aspiring candidates had no front page appearance.
Figure 6: Front page coverage of presidential aspirants
36
October 2015 Report
At 52.9%, Red Pepper gave Mbabazi the highest proportion of front

page coverage. Bukedde gave Mbabazi the least amount of attention
on the front page (20%) while evenly splitting space to Museveni and
Besigye at 40%.
Figure 6-1: Front page coverage of presidential candidates by publication
37
Most covered topics

The findings show that politics continued to be the most dominant topic,
although it dropped to 59.2% from 66.7% in September.
For purposes of this study, an election-related story was coded as politics

if it focused on electoral competition, power play, the gamesmanship
of political contest (e.g. campaign strategies of the different
candidates or parties), and/or the contention between candidates or
parties, without being specific to a sector or particular public policy/
public affairs issue. Stories on (the demand for) electoral reforms and
relevant election administration actions/issues by regulators such as
the Electoral Commission and Parliament would also fall under politics.
Human rights (7.3%) and security (7.1%) came distant second and
third respectively. Once again, bread and butter issues that the voters
considered very important did not feature highly in the election coverage.
Figure 7: Most covered topics - newspaper
38
October 2015 Report
Location of stories
Most election reporting continued to originate from the central region
as the figure below shows.
Figure 8: Location of election stories by region
39
Tone
This is the general character portrayed by the story. For purposes of this
study, it applies only to stories that focus on presidential candidates and
parties.
The tone is negative when the article in general paints the candidate
or party in bad light, or is critical of or questions the candidate, party or
a particular issue raised by these actors.
The tone is positive when the article expresses promise about or
celebrates a particular candidate or party or in general paints the
candidate or party in good light.
The tone is neutral when the article is neither negative nor positive.
The findings show that the general tone of newspaper coverage continued
to be neutral (57.2%) However, the frequency of stories with a negative
tone jumped to 30% from 21.4% in September.
Figure 9: General newspaper tone
40
October 2015 Report
The Independent had the highest number of stories with a negative tone
(45.5%), followed by Etop (36.8%), Red Pepper (35.5%), The Observer
(34.8%) and Daily Monitor (33.3%). Orumuri carried only stories with a
neutral tone, while the New Vision had the least number of stories with
negative tone.
Figure 9-1: Tone of coverage by publication
41
Besigye (34.2%) had the highest frequency of stories with a negative tone.
He was followed closely by Museveni who attracted 32% stories with
a negative tone. At 29.3%, Mbabazi was not that far behind. Its worth
noting that all three candidates attracted far more negative coverage in
October than in September, with Besigye registering the highest growth.
Minor candidates such as Baryamureeba and Mabirizi attracted the
highest proportion of stories in a positive tone (both at 42.9%).
Figure 9-2: Tone of newspaper coverage by presidential candidate
42
October 2015 Report
Reporting approach
The reporting approach is the style in which the election stories are
reported. Conventional reporting tends to focus on events (hard
news) with fact-reporting as the dominant posture. In interpretive
reporting, explanation is the dominant posture. Under the enterprise
reporting approach, the journalists own initiative and effort are critical
in originating the story, whereas in investigative reporting, exposition
is the dominant posture (i.e. the reporting uncovers information that
an individual or entity may have tried to conceal from public scrutiny,
or information that an individual or entity may have had an interest in
keeping out of the public domain).
The findings show that most of the election stories in October employed
the conventional reporting approach (61.5%). This was a significant
drop from the high of 70.2% in September. October registered a
corresponding increase in investigative stories (21.4%) and those
employing the interpretive approach (12.3%).
Figure 10: Reporting approach for election-related stories
43
Vision Group publications, with the exception of Orumuri, had a far higher
proportion of stories in the conventional format with Rupiny leading the
pack at 75%, followed by New Vision (70%), Bukedde (69.4%) and Etop
(68.4%). Orumuri carried the highest percentage of interpretive stories
(60%), The Independent led on enterprise stories (31.8%), while The
Observer outdid the others on investigative election stories (47.8%).
Figure 10-1: Reporting approach by newspapers
44
October 2015 Report
Issues vs. Personalities

The findings show that the percentage of stories that focused on issues
increased to 35.1%from 24.2% in September. There was a corresponding
drop in the frequency of stories that focused on personalities to 26.3%
from 37.1% in September. The ideal is for more election reporting to
focus on issues rather than personalities.
Figure 11: Issues vs. Personalities reporting
45
New Vision (50%), Etop (50%) and Daily Monitor (40.7%) carried the
highest percentage of issue-based stories. Bukedde (38.8%), Etop
(33.3%), The Independent (31.8%) and Red Pepper (31.7%) had the
highest percentage of election stories that focused on personalities.
Figure 11-1: Issues vs personalities reporting by publication
46
October 2015 Report
Background and context in reporting

The percentage of stories with background and context increased
marginally to 70.6% from 67.7% in September. However, the frequency
of stories without background and context remained relatively high
(29.4%).
The use of background and context provides readers with information
that puts new developments or issues into perspective. It allows the
audience to gain a holistic appreciation of what is going on. The absence
of background and context, on the other hand, can mislead audiences
(voters).
Figure 12: Use of background and context in stories
47
A breakdown of the findings shows that The Independent provided

background and context in all its election stories, while Vision Groups
regional newspapers, Orumuri and Etop provided no background in
any of theirs. Red Pepper (85.9%), Bukedde (85.4%) and The Observer
(82.8%) did a fairly good job in providing background and context. Daily
Monitor (59.3%) and New Vision (56.1%) should have done better.
Figure 12-1: Use of background & context by publication
48
October 2015 Report
Interrogation of candidate claims and promises

Once again, newspapers did not do enough to question the claims made
by the candidates and their agents. In October, there was no interrogation
in 63.4% of the 290 stories that carried candidate claims or promises.
By interrogating claims and promises made by candidates or parties,

the media act as watchdogs for voters, verifying the accuracy of what
politicians say and also holding them to account.
Figure 13: Interrogation of candidate claims & promises
49
Rupiny (100%) and The Independent (83.3%) led in interrogating

candidate claims and promises. The worst performers were Vision
Groups Orumuri, New Vision and Bukedde.
Figure 13-1: Breakdown of interrogation of candidate claims by newspaper
50
October 2015 Report
Sources of information in election reporting

The results show that party officials (25.6%) remained the most
common sources used in election stories, followed by parliamentary
candidates (17.8%) and presidential candidates (11%). However, there
was a notable growth in the use of ordinary people as sources from 2.4%
in September to 10.6% in October.
Figure 14: Sources in election reporting
51
Gender of sources
The findings show that women constituted only 17.8% of human sources
in election stories, a slight increase from Septembers 15.7%. Some
journalists argued that many women, including those in the political
class, did not want to be interviewed or quoted. Others admitted the
inherent bias in source selection that is informed by the prevailing
patriarchy.
Figure 15: Sources of election stories by gender
52
October 2015 Report
Visions Groups Orumuri (37.5%), Rupiny (33.3%) and New Vision

(21.8%) had the highest proportions of female sources. But their sister
publication Etop did not carry any story with a female source. Red
Pepper (92.4%) and The Independent (92%) also proportionately gave
more voice to male sources.
Figure 15-1: Gender of sources by publication
53
Number of Sources23
The problem of single sourcing remained in October. Some 59% of stories
carried only one human source while 15.8% had two sources. Just about
a quarter of the stories had the desirable three or more sources.
Figure 16: Number of sources
54
23 This refers only to human sources.
October 2015 Report
Red Pepper and Etop had the highest number of single-sourced

stories, both at 83.3%, followed by Bukedde (81.0%) and Rupiny (80.0%).
The Independent had the highest number of stories with three or more
sources, followed by New Vision.
Figure 16-1: Number of sources by publication
55
CONCLUSION
October saw a marked increase in volume of election stories as well as
space given to the coverage. However, in terms of the quality of coverage,
the results present a mixed bag, once again. In some areas there was
notable improvement from September, in others a decline, and in most,
stagnation.
Following are the key findings from the monitoring of newspaper
coverage in October:
The volume of coverage increased as political activity grew.
The presidential election continued to attract more attention than

the parliamentary election.
An overwhelming majority of the election stories were prominently
displayed above the fold on the pages where they were placed.
The tone of coverage was in general still mostly neutral, although the
frequency of stories with a negative tone rose to 30%.
The proportion of stories focusing on issues grew while October

also registered a corresponding decrease in the percentage of stories
focusing on personalities.
Former Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi continued to dominate

election coverage in general and front page appearances. But coverage
of incumbent Museveni on the front page grew significantly. New
Vision and some of the other Vision Group publications gave Museveni
decidedly more coverage.
56
October 2015 Report
The conventional straight news reporting style remained the

dominant approach, although it registered a significant drop which
was matched by a corresponding increase in the share of investigative
and interpretive election stories.
Politics continued to be the dominant topic at the expense of bread
and butter as well as policy issues that voters rated as most important.
Once again, most stories contained background and context. However,
an alarming 63.4% of stories did not interrogate the claims or promises
made by the candidates.
Members of the political classparty officials, presidential and
parliamentary candidates, continued to dominate the election story as
sources. However, there was a marked increase in the use of ordinary
people as sources.
There was only a marginal increase in the use of women as sources,

but men (82.2%) continued to dominate the conversation.
Most election stories once again relied on single (human) sources,
although there were marginal gains in the use of three or more sources.
The findings suggest that newspapers maintained, or even increased,

their interest and enthusiasm to cover the electioneering. However,
the little progress that was made on the quality front e.g. the use of
background and context, reliance on ordinary people as sources, and the
increasing attention to issues instead of personalities was undermined
by the stagnation in other areas e.g. the limited interrogation of candidate
claims and promises. The challenge of providing information that would
help voters understand what was going on remained.
57
ACME 2015

October Report: Monitoring Media Coverage of The 2016 Elections

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MONITORING MEDIA COVERAGE

OF THE 2016 ELECTIONS

MONITORING MEDIA COVERAGE

October 2015 Report

ACME Monitoring Media Coverage of the 2016 Elections

Monitoring Media Coverage....................................................................................6

Media Coverage of Previous Elections...............................................................7

THE MEDIA ENVIRONMENT................................................................................18

Media Ownership and Diversity..........................................................................21

Standards and Quality of Reporting...................................................................24

Volume of Election Stories....................................................................................27

Space Allocation to Elections.............................................................................30

Prominence of Election Stories..........................................................................31

October 2015 Report

Most Covered Presidential Aspirant................................................................34

Most Covered Topics..............................................................................................38

Issues vs. Personalities...........................................................................................45

Background and Context in Reporting.............................................................47

Interrogation of Candidate Claims and Promises........................................49

October 2015 Report

An overwhelming majority of election stories was displayed

Newspapers once again carried more stories (47.4%) on the

As in September, Mbabazi also took the biggest share of front-page

Politics (electoral competition, power play and the gamesmanship

ACME Monitoring Media Coverage of the 2016 Elections

The conventional reporting approach (straight news style) was

Stories that contained some background and context were 70.6%,

Political party officials (25%), parliamentary aspirants (17.8%) and

There was a marginal improvement in the use of women as sources

October 2015 Report

In July 2015, African Centre for Media Excellence (ACME) received

1. To regularly and objectively document and expose issues related

3. To enhance public confidence and promote the participation of

As the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe has rightly

ACME Monitoring Media Coverage of the 2016 Elections

their coverage of elections.1 Media monitoring can document whether

The purpose of ACMEs media monitoring project, therefore, is to assess

3. To influence journalists, editors and media owners to provide

4. To empower civil society and the public to demand adherence to

Unlike in previous instances where media monitoring reports came after

October 2015 Report

The media and elections

Provision of information to enable voters make informed decisions.

Provision of platforms for debate through allowing exchange of

ACME Monitoring Media Coverage of the 2016 Elections

Monitoring media coverage

Dedication of space and time to elections

Distinguishing between news and opinion

Equitable coverage of the candidates

A good mix of both episodic and issue-based coverage

Balance of attention paid to candidates/political parties and the

Independence of media houses and journalists

Most of these standards were captured in a publication titled Guidelines

October 2015 Report

which were published by ACME, highlight the responsibilities and

Previous media monitoring reports on Ugandan elections indicate that

State/public media have also been accused of denying access to

ACME Monitoring Media Coverage of the 2016 Elections

to public/state broadcaster UBC and the campaign advertisements he

The lack of rigorous verification and interrogation of the claims and

The Ugandan media have also been accused of succumbing to pressure

October 2015 Report

Like any other genre, covering elections requires journalists to report on