Lebanese media monitors at work. Photo: IMS

A divided media failed to maintain impartiality in the run-up to Lebanon's Parliamentary elections on 7 June and thereby violated the new Electoral Media Law stipulating an obligation to ensure balanced coverage

This is the initial conclusion of the media monitoring of Lebanese media carried out by the Lebanese media NGO Maharat Foundation and the IMS-established Arab Working Group between 1 May and 2 June 2009. The elections, dubbed by many as 'fateful for the future face of Lebanon, saw the pro-Western and Saudi-backed 14 March governing coalition claim a narrow victory over the strong Hezbollah-led opposition backed by Syria and Iran. 

Biased media favoured main political parties

All Lebanese television stations and newspapers were monitored for a full month leading up to the elections, including a screening of political shows and electoral material propagated through these media. According to Mrs. Roula Mikhael, Coordinator of the media monitoring process for the Maharat Foundation, the findings showed that media coverage was characterised by violent messages by candidates and competing parties.

Media outlets already divided between the pro-government and opposition groups upheld their political positions and played a key role in the electoral campaigns. A large space of the Lebanese media was occupied - and in come cases monopolised - by seven to eight political leaders heading the main political parties. Independent candidates were virtually ignored by the main media outlets, seen as lacking in political weight and influence.

Positive trends

There were positive trends as well. In the wake of the Electoral Media Law, which was introduced by the Lebanese Parliament in October 2008 to ensure fairer and more responsible coverage by media outlets during election campaigns, the media did host politicians that had not previously been given airtime and publish reports and figures from the opposite camps.

However, although the law is a good start at trying to address the central role of the media during elections, many professionals in the media monitoring field find its clauses blurry and inconsistent.

Mrs. Roula Mikhael, said:

- The main observation that can be drawn is that the Electoral Media Law cannot be implemented in full because it fails to state that a media institution will not be held responsible for the content of information which includes words of defamation or libel and slander. However, we will make positive use of this experience and work to improve the legal text of the law.

The Arab Working Group and media monitoring

The monitoring of the media during the election campaign was carried out by the media NGO the Maharat Foundation together with the Arab Working Group, a network of Arab Human Rights organisations established by IMS. Similar monitoring in connection with presidential and parliamentary elections has been carried out in Tunisia, Palestine, Yemen, Syria, Jordan and Morocco under the assistance of the Arab Working Group.

The aim of media monitoring during elections is to generate quality documentation of the media's coverage of the election campaign to improve professional standards and ultimately benefit the media environment in the country in question. 

Who does the monitoring?

Fifteen young journalists and journalism students were carefully selected on the basis of professional integrity and academic achievement to carry out monitoring under the supervision of equally carefully selected managers and subjected to an intense two-day training course on how to monitor.

The monitoring system is based on a qualitative analysis of whether the information about selected monitored subjects is positive, negative or neutral. In addition, a quantitative analysis evaluates the total amount of space and time allocated to the candidates and parties during the elections. The results are compiled and analysed by professional researchers and will be presented to the Iranian public.

The final media monitoring report of the Lebanese Parliamentary Elections will be available from IMS in July 2009.