Volume 10, Number 7

ELECTION '97: CBC AND CTV NATIONAL
TELEVISION NEWS COVERAGE

THE 1997 CANADIAN FEDERAL election campaign was unique because of a belief amongst the electorate that the government was unlikely to change; that the only true battle was for the position of official opposition. Since 1945, the Liberals and the Progressive Conservatives have formed either the government or the official opposition in 15 consecutive parliaments. In the 1993 election, that pattern was broken with the decimation of the Conservatives, along with the traditional third party, the New Democrats. The Bloc Québécois and the Reform Party rose to fill the void.

Throughout the thirty-fifth Parliament, the Bloc retained their status as official opposition even though the Reform Party at times held an equal number of seats. Many Canadians resented the prominence of the separatist Bloc, and a majority of Canadians outside of Quebec told Gallup Canada that they would prefer to have the Reform Party as the Official Opposition.R.G. Edwards and Jon Hughes, "Plurality of Canadians Favour Reform Party for Official Opposition," The Gallup Poll, February 1, 1996

On April 27, 1997, the Liberals called the election knowing they had a solid lead in popular opinion polls. Mild criticism was directed at Prime Minister Jean Chrétien for an election call just 3-and-a-half years into the Liberal mandate, and pundits speculated as to whether the timing of the election, while flood waters were raging in Manitoba, was wise. No one, however, except perhaps Bloc Québécois leader Gilles Duceppe, predicted that the Liberals might actually lose.

The National Media Archive continued its tradition of monitoring national television news election coverage, and examined all the "National," "Sunday Report" and "CTV News" reports on the election from April 27 to June 1, 1997. Archive researchers analyzed all journalists' statements on the election campaign in order to determine the distribution of attention to the parties and the content of each report. As well, researchers noted the frequency and length of all statements, or "soundbites," from the five party leaders. The following study of the 1997 federal election campaign is based on 5230 journalists' statements and 82 minutes and 8 seconds of leaders' soundbites as presented on the English language CBC and CTV national television news reports.

Network journalists focus on Liberals

A fundamental rule of modern political campaigning is to maximize exposure on the nightly television newscasts. Numerous academic studies have shown that television news is a primary source of political information for Canadians and, as such, politicians are as likely to be concerned with being mentioned in the news as they are with the content of the news reports. Predictably, the incumbent Liberal government received the most attention from journalists, accounting for 25 percent of CBC and CTV total election coverage (see figure A).All CBC and CTV reports between April 27 and June 1, 1997 containing the day's election news were examined. Interviews of journalists were included when they followed a filed report. Profiles on constituencies were not included

Figure A-Journalists' Coverage of the Parties (April 27 - June 1, 1997)

Tories, Bloc given more attention than Reform by CTV journalists

While CBC and CTV focused approximately the same attention on the Liberals, their coverage of the Reform Party, the Conservatives, and the Bloc Québécois was significantly different. On CBC, the second, third and fourth parties, in terms of total election coverage, were Reform (18.4 percent), Conservative (15.6 percent) and the Bloc (14.6 percent). In contrast, CTV reports focused on the Conservatives (20.6 percent), the Bloc (17.8 percent) and Reform (15.9 percent).

CTV's decision to highlight the Conservative campaign does not conform to traditional news values, which tend to provide attention to political parties in proportion to a combination of three factors: how many seats were obtained in the previous election, present standing in the polls, and, most importantly, current events. The Tories, who elected just two members to the last Parliament, have been in second place in popular opinion polls since January 1997, but it was widely held that this support was unlikely to translate into seats given the regional distribution of voters.

A Globe and Mail May 22, 1997 editorial, "The significance of Reform," noted that the most recent Globe/Environics poll found that outside Quebec, the Reform Party-not the Tories -were Canadians' second choice after the Liberals. The editorial stated: "Reform commands 23 percent support nationally outside of Quebec, compared with the Liberals' 43 percent, the Conservatives' 21 percent and the New Democrats' 11 percent." Yet, during the fourth week of the campaign, when this poll was released, CTV focused 28 percent of its coverage on the Tories, compared to just 22 percent on Reform (see figure B). In fact, CTV journalists provided more coverage of the Tories throughout weeks 2, 3, and 4 of the campaign.

Figure B-Journalists' Weekly Attention to the Parties (April 27-June 1, 1997)

Was CTV's affinity for the Tory campaign due to the rationale that the party with the most "momentum," at least according to the pollsters, pundits, and journalists, deserves considerable attention? Or, were CTV journalists still adjusting to a political scene in which the traditional battle between Liberals and Tories is no longer the news standard? Whatever the reason, CTV reporters provided English speaking Canada with more news about the Conservative and Bloc campaigns than about the campaign of the party that had the best chance of becoming the official opposition-the Reform Party.

Policy issues play second fiddle in election campaign news

Figure C shows the networks' distribution of campaign coverage according to party and subject, namely, the campaign trail (daily agenda, rallies, etc.), the horserace (polls, predictions, etc.), leadership issues, campaign strategies, and policy concerns. As in previous election campaigns, policy issues did not form a prominent part of election news, constituting just 26 percent of CBC and 21 percent of CTV journalists' statements. Instead, reporters focused on tactical matters, the qualities of the leaders, each party's prospects, and the movement of the campaigns around the country. While CBC provided more information on policy concerns, CTV journalists focused a greater proportion of their coverage on polls and predictions. Otherwise, the networks were remarkably similar in their attention to the various aspects of the campaign.

Figure C-Election '97: Journalists' Coverage of the Parties (April 27-June 1, 1997)

Journalists most critical of Bloc campaign

The party most consistently under attack by television journalists was the Bloc Québécois and its leader Gilles Duceppe. On CBC, 157 critical remarks about the Bloc were made throughout the five week campaign, compared to just 33 positive assessments (see figure D). Similarly, CTV journalists made 144 negative comments about the Bloc compared to 53 positive comments about the party.

Figure D-Journalists' Assessments of the Campaigns (April 27-June 1, 1997)

For example, CTV's Peter Murphy reported on May 17, 1997 that "as Gilles Duceppe and the Bloc Québécois self-destruct, new polls suggest Charest is the biggest beneficiary." Or, on May 23, 1997, CTV's Rosemary Thompson reported that "When this campaign first began, the Bloc Québécois was convinced it would win a majority of seats in Quebec-a hope that's vanishing." And later in Thompson's report: "The Bloc's support is plummeting, falling 9 points [in Quebec] in less than a month." While CBC's reports focused proportionately less attention on the Bloc's "collapse," the theme was similar. CBC's May 27, 1997 report on the Bloc by Tom Kennedy began: "Here's one of the rarest sounds of this election campaign [laughter]. After a dreadful four weeks of haemorrhaging support, why is this man [Gilles Duceppe] laughing?"

Further, not all polls showed the same trends. An Angus Reid poll released May 29, 1997 indicated that support for the Bloc had actually increased in Quebec by two percentage points since the beginning of the campaign, while the popularity of the Liberals had declined by 9 percentage points. This particular poll pegged support for the Bloc at 38 percent in Quebec, which was in fact the Bloc's share of the popular vote on election day. However, the so-called "surge" in Tory popularity foretold by pollsters and reporters throughout the campaign translated into just 22 percent of the popular vote in Quebec on voting day. Ultimately, the Bloc won 44 of Quebec's 75 seats, the Liberals 26, and the Tories just 5. As in the English language national television news coverage of the 1995 Quebec referendum, journalists were quick to predict that the federalist forces would prevail, even though reality proved that the separatist sentiment in Quebec was very much alive.

Conservative campaign given top marks on both networks

On May 22, 1997, CBC's Neil MacDonald reported: "Charest's rise in the polls has people taking him much more seriously nowadays-both the journalists who follow him around and the Liberals." Journalists' statements directly pertaining to the state of each party's campaign (excluding discussion of policy issues) were more positive than negative regarding the Tory and NDP campaigns, but far more negative than positive when discussing the Liberals, Reform or the Bloc (see figure D).

Journalists widely attributed the Conservatives' increase in popularity to Jean Charest's performance during the English language leaders' debate-a somewhat precarious association given that the Tories' strongest gains in the polls were in Quebec. While the media were quick to declare Charest the winner of the first leaders' debate, Charest's popularity with Canadians outside of Quebec did not change significantly.

The Globe and Mail/Environics poll, the first national poll conducted wholly in the days after the English language leaders' debate, found that the Tories had indeed gained support in Quebec at the expense of the Bloc. The Globe's May 17, 1997 front-page report, "Tories gaining strength in Quebec" went so far as to predict that the Conservatives would "become the official opposition, with 50 [seats], followed closely by Reform with 47 seats and the Bloc at 17."

The "CTV News" also reported favourably on the Conservatives' prospects. On May 21, 1997, CTV's Roger Smith reported that "The Charest threat is reshaping Liberal strategy in Quebec. Polls say the Tory leader is especially popular with federalist women..." Seconds later, Smith continued: "The Tories are reportedly making big gains in the soft centre of Quebec politics, taking not just from the Bloc but also from the Liberals." On May 22, 1997, CTV's Paula Newton contended that "Charest knows he's in a tough battle with Preston Manning for the opposition chair." And on May 23, 1997, CTV's Sandie Rinaldo introduced the lead story of the night: "Charest was buoyed by the positive poll results and now he's working hard to convert them into votes. Charest seemed to be everywhere in Quebec today, as he hammered home his message that he is the only leader who can keep the country together. It remains to be seen whether Charest's personal appeal will mean victory in the voting booths, but his momentum seems to be growing."

CBC more realistic about the Tories than CTV

CBC's reports were less optimistic and, as the election would soon confirm, more realistic. On May 13, 1997, CBC anchor Peter Mansbridge reported: "There are no post-debate polls yet, nothing to firmly indicate whether the Tories have gained support from Charest's performance, but, as Terry Milewski reports, winning a debate is one thing, winning seats is another."

In Milewski's report, UBC political scientist Richard Johnston predicted that Charest's performance would translate into a gain of a "few percentage points to the Tories over the next week or two." But when asked if that popular support would translate into seats, Professor Johnston replied, "Probably not, except possibly in Atlantic Canada."

Similarly, Neil MacDonald's May 28, 1997 CBC story on the Tory leader's tour of Ontario concluded: "And so it went, grinding from town to town, from whistle stop to whistle stop, with just a few days to go and poll numbers that could certainly be better. Here in Ontario, Jean Charest is the anxious suitor amongst voters who will probably decide his future."

Throughout the five week campaign, CTV's coverage of the Conservatives exceeded CBC's both proportionately and absolutely. The Tories accounted for 15.6 percent of CBC's total election coverage, or 427 journalists' statements, compared to 20.6 percent of CTV's total coverage or 514 journalists' statements.

CTV venerates Tory leadership

Another notable difference between the networks was their treatment of Tory Leader Jean Charest. While CTV was significantly more positive than negative in its assessment of Charest's leadership, CBC was more critical (see figure E). On CTV, journalists remarked on Charest's personal abilities 82 times throughout the campaign. Twenty percent of CTV's journalists' remarks were neutral in tone, 29 percent were critical, and 51 percent were positive. In contrast, CBC's 52 assessments of Charest were 51 percent neutral, 26 percent negative, and 23 percent positive.

Figure E-CBC and CTV's Journalists' Remarks About Preston Manning and Jean Charest

Manning thrashed on CBC and CTV

In stark contrast to CTV's affable treatment of Jean Charest, Reform Leader Preston Manning received highly negative attention on both networks. CBC journalists made 45 comments about Manning's leadership throughout the 36-day campaign, 42 percent of which were neutral, 16 percent positive, and 42 percent negative. Similarly, CTV journalists remarked on Manning's personal abilities and characteristics on 54 separate occasions, 37 percent of which were neutral, 13 percent positive, and 50 percent negative. The Reform Party and Manning were consistently accused of being extremist, racist, and divisive by journalists and other party leaders.

National unity journalists' top policy issue

As figure F shows, federal/provincial relations, focusing primarily on national unity, dominated the discussion of policy issues on both networks, accounting for 31 percent of CBC's and 37 percent of CTV's journalists' statements on public policy concerns. On CBC, federal/provincial relations was followed by fiscal management (10.8 percent), employment (8.7 percent), health and education (6.9 percent) and taxes (6.1 percent). On CTV, the number two issue was employment (6.8 percent). The other issues were taxes (6.0 percent), fiscal management (5.8 percent), and health and education (4.9 percent).

Figure F-Journalists' Attention to the Issues (April 27-June 1, 1997)

Manning wins the soundbite war

While the Liberals received the greatest proportion of journalists' attention to the parties, Jean Chrétien was not the most frequently heard leader on the nightly news. Of the 48 minutes of CBC's and 34 minutes of CTV's leaders' soundbites (see table 1), Chrétien's soundbites totalled 10 minutes on CBC (21 percent) and 8 minutes on CTV (24 percent). However, Reform Leader Preston Manning was the leader with the most airtime on national TV news, accounting for 12 minutes of CBC (25 percent) and 10 minutes on CTV (30 percent).

Table 1: Federal Party Leaders' Soundbites on CBC and CTV National Television News

Alexa McDonough receives almost as much airtime as prime minister

The relatively obscure NDP leader Alexa McDonough gained national exposure during the 1997 election campaign. While commentary on the New Democrats accounted for just 9.8 percent of CBC and 7.9 percent of CTV journalists' statements, the NDP leader was a player in terms of soundbites, receiving 9 minutes and 33 seconds on CBC (20 percent) and 4 minutes and 56 seconds on CTV (14 percent). In addition to having the longest average soundbites of the five leaders on both networks (9.1 seconds on CBC) and (7.8 seconds on CTV), McDonough received just 38 seconds less airtime on CBC than Prime Minister Chrétien. As well, on CBC, Alexa McDonough received more airtime than any other party leader during both weeks one and five of the campaign.

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Last Modified: Wednesday, October 20, 1999.