Utusan gave widest coverage to Bersih, study shows

Malay daily Utusan Malaysia gave the most extensive coverage to the Bersih 2.0 movement if compared with several other daily newspapers, a Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ) study has shown.

The research looked at all articles on the electoral reform group that were reported from two weeks prior to the July 9 rally and two days after it in Utusan Malaysia, The Star, New Straits Times and The Sun.

CIJ media monitor Ding Jo-Ann (left), who presented the report at a discussion session in Kuala Lumpur last night, said a total of 771 articles on the movement were recorded from June 25 to July 11, with more than half or 435 articles being from Utusan Malaysia.

However, there was hardly any cheer for Bersih 2.0 supporters as a staggering 94 percent or 407 of the articles painted the movement in negative light, while 27 others were neutral.

"There was only one positive article, where Utusan quoted (Bersih 2.0 chief) Ambiga (Sreenevasan) without calling her biadap (disrespectful) or degil (stubborn)," Ding said.

The research categorised articles that put Bersih 2.0 in bad light as negative by identifying descriptions such as "troublemakers", "nuisance" or relating it to the May 13 riots.

Little attention for Bersih and its demands

Articles that were purely factual, such as police figures or those that contained both positive and negative elements, were considered neutral.

In terms of sources, the research found that the four newspapers cited BN and the authorities extensively but gave little attention to Bersih 2.0 and its demands.

Interestingly, almost half of Umno-owned Utusan Malaysia's sources did not come from BN or the authorities, but were from the "Others" category, which comprises NGOs, opinion leaders and other stakeholders.

"The reason 'Others' is so high is because Utusan features almost everyone who wants to say something against Bersih, with one example being the Pahang Association of Village Chiefs," said Ding who also displayed a long list of NGOs quoted by the newspaper.

Meanwhile, The Star, New Straits Times and The Sun recorded 152, 147, and 37 articles respectively on Bersih .

Of these, the negative articles recorded by The Star, New Straits Times and The Sun were 100 (66 percent), 110 (75 percent) and 23 (62 percent) respectively.

Ding explained that while there were some positive articles on Bersih, most of them emerged when Bersih mulled calling off its rally after the Yang di-Pertuan Agong intervened.