It has been already a week since the pre-election campaign has officially started. The "Liberali" magazine will monitor evening news programs for about two months before the end of the campaign. Analysis of major news programs on five TV channels (Rustavi 2, Imedi, Kavkasia, Maestro, and Public Broadcaster) will provide basis to determine what the media focuses on: candidates' programs or their pre-election strategy, how much time is allotted to each mayoral candidate, what issues are emphasized by the broadcasters and what sources they rely on when reporting news.
In an old experiment the Yale University researchers changed the order of news in video records of the same news editions. They showed three different editions to three groups, with a different first news story. After watching the news release the participants of the experiment listed important issues in the same order as it was in the news edition they had watched. The experiment proved the ability of media to determine the order of issues that society finds important.
After officially announcing the launch of the pre-election period, Gigi Ugulava disappeared from the first stories of news editions. According to IRI's ratings, Gigi Ugulava holds 46 percent of support in the rating of mayoral candidates.
Current mayor who the ruling party will name as its mayoral candidate again was not present in last week's top news stories any more. Prior to that, the only rival of Gigi Ugulava in the first stories in all news editions of "Imedi" and "Rustavi 2" was only criminal news in the country. However, Gigi Ugulava's disappearance from the first set of news stories is still counterfeit. It does not matter what topic a top story of a news program is about, Ugulava still "participates" in the number one TV news.
Air catastrophe on the territory of the car factory was the first news of "Kronika" and "Kurieri" on April 6. When presenting the story "Rustavi 2" presenter pointed out that the city mayor also visited the place. And on "Imedi" the first person to appear after the image of the burnt airplane was Gigi Ugulava. For 20 seconds the image was unchanged - the mayor and the head of the city hall's special agency on the place of the accident were obtaining details of what had happened. Chronometry of the commentary is almost the same in the TV story structure. Although Gigi Ugulava did not comment about the air catastrophe in any of the news stories, but his "doing instead of talking" was no less eloquent.
Especially that in the second and third modules of stories the city mayor is stating his opinion. Whatever the story is about - issuing cheap credit to "Georgian Bakery" through the city hall or international forum of economic development, the message of the mayor is unchanged: "We will employ more" and "much more needs to be done." Both phrases enable the audience to view Ugulava in the future perspective. While other mayoral candidates continue rivaling each other, arguing on the strategy of victory, Ugulava is working - each image that shows him depicts his work process.
Gigi Ugulava was in his "working role" in long TV-stories of the second module of April 9 "Kronika" and "Moambe", which were dedicated to the opening of the peace bridge on Rike and visit to the Heroes Square Estacada construction in progress.
The message of the mayor was identical, that any infrastructural novelty means more investments that will contribute to employment of more Tbilisi citizens. As the "Kronika" reporter pointed out, after touring the city Gigi Ugulava deserved praise from the president. The latter approved of the city mayor's "brilliant idea" to build a New York central park type green area along the Estacada in Tbilisi.
On national channels everyone else are in the first module of news stories:
Zurab Noghaideli with trips to regions accompanied by protest actions and "Russian money";
Kakha Kaladze willing to join the Noghaideli team with the failure of the Kala Capital business and the predicted end of career on the background of self-goal images (on the second day in "Maestro" news editions, he demanded from "Rustavi 2" and "Imedi" to show his full phone interview so that people had complete idea on his position and plans);
Nika Ivanishvili, who called the opposition "sheep". In the preview of "Kronika" the program producers refined the term and referred to the opposition as "political sheep";
Kartlos Gharibashvili with an important message that the road to the country's leadership lies across the mayor's post;
Gia Maisashvili with his refusal to raise the mayoral candidacy and on the background of open-handed dance and exercise;
And in the end, everyone together: Levan Gachechiladze, Irakli Alasania, Zviad Dzidziguri, Koba Davitashvili, Sozar Subari, Nino Burjanadze, Kakha Kukava, Davit Gamkrelidze. Stories related to the unified candidate contain about 10-15 comments. Illusion is created that journalists are trying to present position of all sides. But in fact it is totally impossible for the audience to understand the main point of the news story.
The First Channel offers the most different structure and news sequence to the audience. In "Moambe" mainly social stories take first place in the news program. Election topics, for example, are preceded by long reports on treating C hepatitis whereas about one month ago "Moambe" offered the audience a long report about the issue and this story overshadowed even the opening of the Larsi border checkpoint in the program. On the other hand, "Moambe" will dedicate "Moambe Plus" to local elections, three times a week. Mayoral candidates will be invited to the program and, according to the presenter, have the opportunity to gain hearts of the audience.
Certain topics can successfully serve as indicators of which channel chooses what direction for the next two months. The visit of the president and Gigi Ugulava to the city's construction sites turned into the top story of the news shows of "Rustavi 2" and "Imedi" whereas "Maestro" and "Kavkasia" allotted one of the last stories in the news program to the 'stroll' of the president and the mayor.
Vano Merabishvili's interview with "Commersant" titled "The war is not over yet" was the main story of "Maestro" and "Kavkasia" on April 7. National TV channels moved it to later modules and showed it with different emphasis and extracts.
The news that the royal wedding was a Russian project and Givi Targamadze offered Russians 50,000 USD for exploding the Stalin statue was broadcasted only on "Maestro".
Noghaideli's response to Merabishvili's interview was presented by "Kronika" with archive materials to 'open up' his character better: "You will soon read obituaries of Saakashvili and Merabishvili", "we will break their bones" and "it will cost them lives" - threatened Noghaideli in the archive materials of "Kronika".
"Topic-indicators" were stories about the action in front of the "Tbiliselebi" printing house. The Limited Company was established in 2002 and the Ministry of Finance decided to check it on March 25 2010 for the first time. The news found its way in main modules of news editions of all TV channels. However, on "Maestro" and "Kavkasia" the main axis of the story was sealing up the printing house with long sequence of images on the arrest of the action participants. National broadcaster stories started with images of clashes between the police and action participants and threats of the opposition members: "You will miss Bishkek", "Smells like revolution in Georgia". In the second part of the stories, it was narrated what caused the discontent of the opposition members and what the action participants protested against with the blockade of the street. Which one is the main story, closure of the printing house or threats of the opposition politicians? - By changing the order of the main issue and the background, TV channels manage to demonstrate their political loyalty.
Quantity of appearing on the air does not mean quality. Appearance of opposition faces in such abundance and negative context in the main stories of news editions works for the benefit of Gigi Ugulava, hidden in the second and third modules of the news.
P.S. For statistics of last week's media monitoring, go to the magazine's website every Tuesday.
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