Column inches devoted to party leaders (top) and leading independents (above)
Researchers from the Insight Centre for Data Analytics have been tracking media coverage of candidates as part of their Insight4Elections data analysis project.
The researchers have monitored RTÉ, Irish Times, Independent, Irish Examiner, The Journal, Broadsheet, BBC and Reuters since campaigning started.
Gráinne Faller writes:
Unsurprisingly, Enda Kenny tops the pile with 150 articles to date across the tracked outlets. Gerry Adams notched up 115. Micheál Martin was in third place with 112, while Joan Burton is next with 109.
The gulf in coverage is perhaps unsurprising but will strengthen the argument of the smaller party leaders that they are not getting equal access to the electorate when it comes to the main media channels.
Lucinda Creighton and Stephen Donnelly clocked 36 and 34 articles respectively.
Among independent candidates Michael Healy Rae tops the pile with 19 mentions, followed by Shane Ross TD and Tipperary’s Michael Lowry.
Insight4Elections is a publicly available web tool where users can crumnch the numbers for themselves. Click here
Previously: Every Manifesto At A Glance
hardly surprising tbh
Quantity of coverage is meaningless unless you break down the tone. EG _ Gerry Adams got a great amount of coverage from the Indo but not great coverage or Kate O’Connell got a great amount of coverage from the Indo and doesn’t she look great.
The Insight centre should be ashamed of themselves for letting that graph into the public domain.
Some questions need answering immediately:
Are you or are you not still using Excel 2003?
Why does Shane Ross and Mary Lou McDonald have the same colour?
Why use those colours at all, my flippin eyes?
Why is the y-scale different on both graphs?
Just why?
So does this mean Sinn Fein is finally part of the establishment?
Don’t know if Broadsheet has come across this already, but here’s an interactive infographics thing that shows the frequency of issues in party manifestos:
http://www.openpractices.net/2016/02/16/issues-in-the-irish-general-election/
( h/t https://twitter.com/simonorafferty )
So we go out and vote and make the smaller parties into the bigger parties and the bigger parties into the smaller parties and the coverage will adjust accordingly then (or will it?).
considering kenny is such a coward in avoiding interviews, it’s surprising
And to give a whole programme to to just four candidates shows where RTÉ’s bias lies…
So should Michael Healy-Rae have been on the stage as well? Where do RTE draw the line?
I’m voting based on how many times I recognise the same people off de telly…oh and the nice colours.. And the wonderful stories they tell..