The pre-election lens of the public broadcaster

About publication

Authors: Damir Nikočević, Svetlana Pešić

Publishing year: 2016

The report “Pre-election lens of the Public broadcaster” by the Centre for Civic Education (CCE) was written as part of the programme Media and democracy. The CCE monitored the reporting of RTCG from the submission of the last candidacy for the 2016 parliamentary election (20 September 2016) until the end of the pre-election silence (16 October 2016). The main objective of this analysis is to inform the public about TVCG’s reporting during the campaign and initiate discussion about the impartiality and quality of its work as a public service of all citizens of Montenegro.

The monitoring report provides an overview of the representation of different political actors in the public service, specifically on TVCG1, during the analysed period, as well as of the way these actors were represented in the key news programmes before and during the election silence. As RTCG is a public broadcaster with national coverage whose purpose is to inform and educate citizens, and satisfy their needs for timely and accurate information, objective reporting is a key precondition for development of a democratically aware public and a culture of free electoral choice.

During the 26 days of monitoring, the CCE analysed the reporting of the public service using both quantitative and qualitative methods. The criteria for the selection of programmes on TVCG for analysis included viewership, involvement of party representatives and the focus on elections as a subject matter, as well as their potential impact on voters.