IN the run-up to the Feb 24 nomination day, at least 44% of news stories about the 12th general election in Malaysia were pro-Barisan Nasional (BN) for the period between Feb 18 and 22.
On average, the six newspapers which were monitored by a citizens’media monitoring initiative had between 50% and 70% stories that portrayed the ruling coalition in a positive light.
The newspapers monitored were New Straits Times, The Star, theSun, Utusan Malaysia, Makkal Osai and Malaysia Nanban.
The ongoing media monitoring is being jointly conducted by the Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ), the Writers’ Alliance for Media Independence (Wami) and Charter 2000-Aliran with the support of volunteers. Monitoring began on Feb 18 and will be conducted until the day after the March 8 polls.
More information at CIJ and Aliran.