Reporting The Reported: Content Analysis of TV News Channels for The First Quarter of 2024

Electronic Media in Pakistan have developed into dynamic and influential entities by providing ground-breaking yet real-time coverage. According to Mr Zaffar Abbas, a senior journalist, “24-hour news coverage has changed the country's information landscape, and television has been instrumental in this”. However, there has been a decline in people’s trust in the news. Gallup Pakistan’s 2023 report showed a 15% decline in media credibility compared to 2013. Several scholars have suggested that this erosion in credibility is a consequence of increased political coverage on news channels in a highly polarised media landscape. One research indicated this content bias, as respondents opined that 83.3% of the air time was consumed by political content. This insight presents a content analysis of 4 top-ranked news channels for the first quarter of 2024 to dissect this perception of loaded political coverage.

The study used a ‘systematic sampling method’, a research technique where every 15th item in the population is selected for inclusion. This method was chosen to ensure a representative sample of the news coverage. Under this method, coverage on the 15th day of the selected months was studied. The study excluded repeat telecasts. Only transmissions from 0900 hours to midnight, including news bulletins and talk shows, were studied. Furthermore, data were analysed using quantitative frequency analysis and frequency and percentage methods.

The TV News industry in Pakistan, primarily dominated by private news channels, operates within a capitalist system. This system often shapes content to cater to capitalistic preferences and retain audience engagement. However, during the first quarter of 2024, the major currents in the coverage remained limited to issues of general elections, political alliances and governance (mainly economy and legislation). On average, every news channel aired 24 main news items, out of which a staggering 49.72% of news items revolved around politics. This overwhelming dominance of political coverage left little space for other crucial issues (Figure 1). What's more alarming is that elements of sensationalism and subjectivity often overshadow the news landscape. A review of news coverage for the first quarter of 2024 proves this assertion, raising serious questions about the trustworthiness of the news we consume and the need for a more balanced and diverse news coverage.

The news channels during January mostly covered elections, discussing legal and political issues. On average, 62.9% of the total news content included matters related to general elections. Only 15.4% focused on governance and the economy. Additionally, the prime-time shows displayed a strong inclination towards political content, with four consecutive shows on every channel dedicating 100% of their airtime to the 'election symbol’s’ case in the Supreme Court, thereby escalating election hysteria.

The coverage during February included marathon transmissions on election results, electoral rigging, and some special programs on post-election coalition making. On average, 72.92% of the news content covered elections and politics, whereas only 8.02% covered governance issues. Again, 100% of air time in current affairs programs was given to political discussion. The sentiment analysis of the coverage presented that the tone used in talk shows had a general tendency to instil despair and erode trust in national institutions. Such is attributed to a spike in the hard lead and subjectivity of analysis by the discussants, where 57.1% of the discussants followed a subjective analytical hard lead. Moreover, negative tendencies in coverage were found to peak in February, where more than half of the analysis displayed a negative tendency. Therefore, it would not be wrong to say that political hysteria and negative tendencies in the news concert together.

March witnessed a shift from politico-electoral discussions to governance. News coverage of politics declined by 30% and was 42.55%. This decline in political coverage in March offers a glimmer of hope for a more balanced news landscape. Notably, with the decrease in political coverage, there had been a steady increase in coverage of governance and international issues (Figure 2). Furthermore, there has been an 85% decline in direct political discussions in prime-time talk shows. Still, the persistence of political overtones in matters related to governance paved the way for negative tendencies in the news.

April witnessed a transition from the first quarter. Issues of governance and international politics overshadowed domestic politics, leaving its footprint at a mere 20.53% of the total coverage. Despite the decline in political coverage, negative tendencies in current affairs have remained high, which is attributed to the political overtone used by analysts. This asserts that the problem is content preference and presentation, where organisational ethical and regulatory codes must be drawn.

In addition to sensational coverage, a unique feature of analytical framing was observed, where this study found that 39.37% of the news bulletin is an index of analysis over opinion rather than facts. Additionally, while multiple studies have analysed the impact of audio-visuals and expressions in news reporting, this study has identified stark contextualisation of news. On April 15, 2024, a news story on the killing of Amir Tamba (the alleged killer of Indian spy Sarbjit Singh) was reported by TV channels. One news channel presented the story within the international context of Indian state-sponsored offshore killings, whereas another channel framed it within the context of governance failures in Lahore. Such divergent and context-specific reporting generates confusion, fosters despondency, and diminishes trust in news, thereby exacerbating the existing information crisis.

Furthermore, another question before the selected data set was, ‘Does the news content cater to the public’s information needs’? The answer was ‘NO’. With immense power to shape opinions, the media must equally represent all segments vital to national development. In contrast, regrettably, a negligible 0.26% of the total news content covered IT, while similar trends were seen for arts, culture, tourism, heritage and allied subjects. For instance, January data shows that only 10% of news coverage is on these subjects. Moreover, their placement at the very end of the bulletin is generally not viewer-friendly.

In light of the above assertions, it would not be wrong to say that news media in Pakistan is architecting its demise, where lack of diversity and innovation is rotting its roots. In the words of Jon Stewart, ‘media sells sensation because it hasn’t tried anything else’. In the presence of many news stories, prioritising the sensational ones decapitates audiences’ informed decision-making. Under such conditions, there is a clear need for a realistic content preference scheme that reflects accuracy and truthfulness and caters to the citizenry's information needs. There is an opportunity for positive change in the media landscape. As the prescribed action matrix states, this change can be brought about through concerted efforts by the regulator (PEMRA) and media houses.