PTI admits The News gives it best coverage, Jang average

ISLAMABAD: If the internal documents of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf on media monitoring analysis are any guide to determine which newspaper gave the party the best coverage, The News figures at the top in the categories of positive and neutral reporting.

The PTI media wing regularly conducts monitoring of what is being published in the top eight newspapers: The News, Dawn, The Nation, Express Tribune, Jang, Nawa-e-Waqt, Dunya and Express. The monitoring report is regularly presented in daily briefings is given to PTI Chairman Imran Khan.

The party has boycotted the Jang Group for what it  the media reports prepared by the party’s media cell from June 9 to June 22. When daily statistics were put together for an overall analysis with an intended purpose to see how far the PTI allegations of biased coverage are accurate, the findings were contrary to the perception created by the party. While The News led in the positive coverage, Jang’s reporting was somewhat rated equivalent to other newspapers and in cases, better than them.

As many as 49 news articles about PTI, published in The News between June 9 and 22, have been ranked positive by the party’s media monitors. They are the highest number of pro-PTI reports carried by any newspaper during the prescribed period. Dunya was second with 44 pro-PTI stories, followed by Express (40), The Nation (40), Express Tribune (36), Dawn (34), Jang (34) and Nawa-e-Waqt (34).

In the categories that the PTI include in neutral reporting, The News was again ranked first by reporting 18 such news items in the said period, PTI’s media analysis shows. The Nation stood second (16), followed by Dawn (12), Express Tribune (11), Jang (6), Express (6), Dunya (6) and Nawa-e-Waqt (3).

As far as the news reports considered anti-PTI, Dunya led with 26 such items, followed by The News (21), Jang (21), Express (19), Express Tribune (17), Nawa-e-Waqt (17), The Nation (15) and Dawn (9).

The above-reported figures are exclusively about the news reporting. Separate analysis of editorials and opinion articles has also been carried. None of the eight newspapers examined have written a single editorial that could PTI rank in its favour.

There were 49 neutral opinion articles and The News led by accommodating 12 such columns, followed by Dunya (11), Jang (6), Dawn (5), Express (5), Nawa-e-Waqt (4), Express Tribune (3), The Nation (3).

As many as six pro-PTI opinion pieces were carried. Jang led with two such opinion articles, whereas The News, The Nation, Dunya and Express published one each that could be ranked as pro-PTI. None of the eight newspapers carried a letter to editor that could be declared in favour of the PTI by the party’s media monitors.

Number of anti-PTI columns is 30. Eight of them appeared in Jang, five each were carried by Dunya and Express, four each by Dawn and Nawa-e-Waqt, three were published in The News and one in Express Tribune. The Nation didn’t pick any such piece.

There were three negative editorials; one each published in Dawn, The New and Nawa-e-Waqt. One anti-PTI letters to editor was published and that was in Express Tribune. One neutral letter to the editor was published and that was in The News. Out of 13 neutral editorials, four were carried by Dawn, three by Express Tribune, two by The Nation, and one each was written by The News, Jang, Express and Nawa-e-Waqt.