Media, Elections and Human Rights : A Study on Media Coverage of Elections from Human Rights Perspectives
Media has grown exceptionally diverse in Nepal over the past few decades. With more than 6,000 different outlets, including print, broadcast and online, Nepali media is today able to boast a wide reach, from policymakers to people at the grassroots. This diversity is truly encouraging. But, despite this growth, the media cannot fulfil its public service role if it does not cover issues of human rights and inclusion.
Nepal is a party to several international human rights instruments and the constitution of the country also expresses commitment to the principles of human rights and inclusion. Despite this, newsrooms produce little in-depth and comprehensive contents on these topics. A 2020 study by Media Action Nepal had shown that the content of Nepali media did not reflect an inclusive perspective.
In this context, Media Action Nepal (MAN), as a responsible CSO working to build responsible media in the country, conducted this study on the media coverage of elections from human rights perspectives with support from the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives to determine the pattern of media coverage of human rights and inclusion issues during the elections for the House of Representatives and Provincial Assemblies held in November.
This study employs three specific research methods – content analysis, literature review and consultations. The content analysis included a purposive mix of 20 media outlets (10 newspapers and 10 online news portals; three broadsheets and three portals from the Kathmandu Valley and seven broadsheets and seven portals from the provinces) for a period of 16 days (eight days before the election day, the polling day November 20 and seven days after the elections). From these media, a total of 7,459 news stories were analysed.
Likewise, relevant and latest studies, documents and publications were reviewed to prepare the background and set indicators for this study.
Fourteen journalists selected from 175 participants of the capacity building workshops through a competitive fellowship programme were consulted to find out the level of newsroom understanding and the trend of media reporting on human rights and inclusion issues.
And from this research, MAN found that only 1.9 percent (142 out of 7,459 stories published) of the news reports produced by newspapers and online portals covered Human Rights and Inclusion issues.
Furthermore, out of these 142 stories, 30 stories (21.13 percent) were related to women rights, 21 (14.79 percent) to social justice, 18 (12.68 percent) to education and health, 17 (11.97 percent) to youth employment and empowerment, 12 (8.45 percent) to the rights of people with disabilities, eight (5.63 percent) to the rights of farmers, one (0.70 percent) each on the rights of child and right to food, 10 stories (7.04 percent) to poverty alleviation, seven (4.93 percent) to the rights of senior citizens and 12 (8.45 percent) were related to the rights of minorities.
Corroborating concerns from LGBTIQ+ and Dalits that their voices do not find space in the media, only two news stories (1.41 percent) were on the rights of sexual and gender minorities and three (2.11 percent) on the rights of Dalits.
Surprisingly, none of the media outlets produced stories on good governance, an issue considered vital to voters during elections. These findings highlight a clear need to improve newsroom understanding of issues of human rights and inclusion, engage with media gatekeepers through dialogues and develop a media coverage framework for future elections that protects and upholds human rights principles.
This study is very important and relevant as it sheds light on newsroom awareness vis-a-vis issues of human rights and inclusion, particularly around the time of elections and also because it recommends an action plan for newsroom practitioners to follow to advance human rights and inclusion through their reporting.