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Agenda – setting, framing, political opinion and voting intention in the context of the political campaign in order to elect the Mayor of Lima (2014)*

Jorge Acevedo**

Abstract

The paper explores the relationship between the agenda and frames set by the media, and the levels of information and perceptions of citizenship under 2014's electoral process. The methodology consisted of an analysis of the coverage that media gave to the election campaign, a survey to citizens in metropolitan Lima and interviews with journalists experienced in covering elections. The study has confirmed that the media play an important role, though not decisive, in building public perceptions in the context of the electoral process, basically on the main issues of the city, the profile of the candidates, their government proposals and certain facts of campaign considered as relevant. Media configure, also, the main channel of exposure to the campaign. An important sector of society recognizes that when deciding its vote takes into account the information, opinions and complaints that come through the media. But, at the same time, a sector of society recognizes strong biases of some media for or against top contenders. Likewise, the study allows us to state that media act as political actors involved in favor or against certain electoral options. The media options are located not only in the field of editorial sections, walking vigorously the informational level, which would configure a highly political rather than journalistic role. This type of media behavior in the context of election campaigns would be taken as normal for the Peruvian journalism and not necessarily as a practice that severely undermines the pluralism and independence of the media in the context of election campaigns. Finally, the paper presents initial findings on the relationship between media consumption, level of information, interest and degree of satisfaction of citizens regarding the functioning of democracy.

I. SUBJECT OF STUDY

The research has had as its main objective to identify, in an exploratory level, relations among the main agenda items and frames developed by the media on the top issues in Lima, candidates and their proposals for government, in the context of the 2014's municipal election campaign; and the levels of information and perceptions of voters about it. Likewise, the study provides preliminary findings about the relationship between habitual consumption of media (especially press, radio and television) and the levels of information and interest in politics as well as the degrees of citizen satisfaction with the functioning of democracy in the country.

* The research has been funded by the Dirección de Gestión de la Investigación de la Pontificia Universidad Católica del

Perú. It also received contributions from Instituto de Opinión Pública (IOP) and the Departamento Académico de Comunicaciones. In the study participated Sandro Macassi, professor of Departamento de Comunicaciones as an associate researcher. **

Professor and researcher of Departamento Académico de Comunicaciones de la Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú.

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The municipal and regional electoral campaign, which formal beginning in the case of metropolitan Lima was marked by the registration of candidates in July 2014, developed especially in the two months before the elections of October 5th. The five main candidates were: Luis Castañeda, leader of Solidaridad Nacional and former mayor of Lima between 2003 and 2010, who finally won by a wide margin; Susana Villarán, by the time mayor of Lima and leader of Diálogo Vecinal; Enrique Cornejo, representative of Partido Aprista Peruano (APRA) and former Minister of Transport and Communications of the APRA’s second government; Salvador Heresi, leader of Perú Patria Segura; and Fernan Altuve, leader of Vamos Perú.

The study combined a content analysis of media, with the application of a survey to eligible voters in the area of metropolitan Lima, and interviews with journalists and former media managers with extensive experience in covering electoral, processes both national and municipal, trying to understand the role that deliberately assume the media.

The fragility of political parties, public distrust in the performance of the main institutions of the political system (parties and representatives of government and opposition) and the protagonism of media in Peruvian politics, highlights the importance of building empirical, quantitative and qualitative approaches to the dynamics of the construction of agendas and frames within the framework of the election campaign involving media, citizens and various spaces of political mediation like family and social networks, social organizations, among many others.

While in Peru regional and municipal elections cover, besides Lima, various regions, provinces and districts, the election of the mayor of Lima is especially significant due to some considerations: the size of the constituency, about a third of total voters in the country; the fact that Lima is the capital city, seat of government which also houses major groups of economic and media power; the intense coverage that the media developed during the campaign; and, for all this, the elections of Lima are relevant because of the political dimension that take facing presidential and congressional elections of 2016. The election in Lima is usually considered a kind of political laboratory of what might happen later in national politics.

II. CONCEPTUAL BASIS

The basic conceptual framework of the research consists of theories about agenda-setting and framing as two of the main social and political effects of the media. The agenda-setting theory states that the media manage to influence -but not decisively- in the construction of public agendas, especially as a result of selection, prioritization and continuous repetition of certain topics that generate interest in the audiences (McCombs 2005, 2006). The media, however, would not have a definite impact on the opinions that people construct in relation to agenda topics, although they are one of the main sources for the construction of public opinion. The agenda-setting occurs because the media are a major source of information, analysis and opinion that citizens have especially at election time; and also because the content and "redundant" action of media generates a transfer of its agendas to the field of public concerns. The media are one of the basic filters that sieve the access to public space and, consequently, to the sphere of politics. Corporations and specifically those individuals and groups that control the media -owners, directors and journalists- are configured as a kind of gatekeepers of modern public space (Castells 2009).

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If politics and power are constructed mainly in the field of socialized communication, the presence (or not) in the media of actors and speeches can be definitive for its symbolic (and real) existence, as well as for their competition possibilities, conquest and sustainability in power. In articulation with the agenda-setting, the media also have an important role in building frames for interpreting political actors and their performances, institutions, certain decisions and their impacting role in the life of societies. The media generate an agenda of candidates' attributes in the context of electoral processes, mainly from processes of selection of some aspects of reality, the same that are located and highlighted continuously through different distribution channels of speeches, making the frame or framed of situations, characters, proposals and the competing political groups themselves. The researches about agenda-setting and framing support the conclusion that the media have relative success in establishing issues and behaviors in public opinion on which to judge the performance of authorities and politicians in general. The media contribute to shape the agenda and frame the issues and behaviors that will be subjected to public scrutiny and criticism. Therefore, for political actors, it is crucial not only a timely and important media presence, but also how they appear or are characterized by the media. Thus, while the agenda-setting relate to the facts, actors and issues that are covered by the media, the framing is related to "how" those facts, issues and actors are presented; in other words, in what kind of story and context that guides the interpretation of public and with what positive or negative attributes are the actors submitted (Pan and Kosicki, 2005). While the agenda-setting is based on the relevancy or prominence that the media give to the events, the framing is based on elements that can channel the understanding and appreciation of the facts, issues and actors (Scheufele, 2000). Finally, regarding the relationship between media and political culture -that is, the concepts, knowledge and political practices of a society- it can be said that regular consumption of media is associated with an increased level of interest and information about politics and confidence in the main democratic institutions, as shown by researches conducted in consolidated post-industrial democracies, the US and some European countries (Norris 2001).

III. METHODOLOGY

The methodology is based on three articulated research techniques: an analysis of news media content to identify key agenda items and frames; a survey to eligible voters, citizens of metropolitan Lima; and interviews with journalists and former directors of media.

3.1. Analysis of media content It was performed an analysis of media content, in the context of the election campaign, with the aim to identify the main topics on the agenda and basic frames in relation to the positive and negative attributes of the leading candidates for mayor of Lima. Also, it was identified frames that are usually constructed by the media in the context of election campaigns like: confrontation, consequence, morality and strategy.

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The units of analysis were newspaper articles which took on issues related to the municipal election campaign: news briefings, interviews, reportages. We identified and analyzed a total of 209 journalistic articles, 159 (76.1%) from newspapers; 40 from TV (19.1%); and 10 from radio (4.8%). The media were selected based on three criteria: the political-publishing position held by each media and/or media group; audience and/or readership levels of each of them; and the fact that some were, in particular cases, journalistic references to other media and key players in campaign. The newspapers selected were: El Comercio, emblem of Grupo El Comercio (GEC), considered as one of the most influential newspapers in the country, with a center-right political orientation; Trome, the newspaper with the largest daily readership in national level, especially in middle and working classes, and another publication of GEC; Correo, tabloid published by EPENSA group, controlled also by GEC after it bought -in 2013- 54% of shares of the first; and La República newspaper, owned by the group of the same name, which expresses a tendency of left-center. Copies (printed) were analyzed from 15 to 23 September 2014. The channels and TV programs analyzed were: the newscast “América Noticias - Edición Central” and the Sunday news show “Cuarto Poder” from America Television, channel controlled by GEC; the news show “90 Segundos” from Frecuencia Latina, one of the first three open signal channels with highest audience, and also with a tendency of center-right; Sunday news show “Panorama” from Panamericana Television, considered a benchmark for other media and for the political agenda in the country. As for radio, we analyzed “Ampliación de Noticias” from Radio Programas del Perú (RPP), a morning analysis and opinion program, based on interviews with politicians, analysts, business leaders and civil society. This radio station is the leading news radio in the country, belongs to the RPP group, which controls seven nationwide radio stations and a television channel in cable signal, and has a center-right orientation. It was also analyzed Rosa María Palacios’ program in Exitosa, from Radio Exitosa. It is a morning analysis and opinion program, based on interviews with politicians, analysts, business leaders and civil society, and calls from listeners. For television and radio, the analysis period was from 14 to 23 September 2014. 3.1. Survey in Lima As part of a general study on municipal elections in the metropolitan area of Lima, performed by the Instituto de Opinión Pública(IOP), a survey was conducted to 740 people, men and women of 18 years old and older, eligible voters and residents of Lima city, from 19 to 27 September 2014. The survey was applied in 32 districts that comprise approximately 96.7% of the population. The margin of error was ± 3.6%, with a level of confidence of 95%, assuming 50% -50% of heterogeneity, under the assumption of simple random sampling. According to the research proposal, the main lines of inquiry were:

Perception of the main problems of metropolitan Lima.

Perception of candidates.

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Voting intention.

Deliberation in social and family networks.

Consumption of media, specifically of the media and programs selected for the study.

The role of media in the election campaign.

Political ideology and political knowledge.

3.2. Interviews with journalists Six semi-structured interviews to journalists with extensive experience in media and elections coverage were held. Likewise, conversations were held with a dozen journalists during the process of coverage; however, it was not authorized to make a record of sustained dialogue and, consequently, to quote some of the information and opinions expressed by the people with whom we talked. The interviews had as main topics:

Views on the role of the media in the coverage of political issues.

Significant experiences within media coverage in the context of elections.

Dilemmas or tensions that are normally faced by journalists when covering elections.

Balance or evaluation of media coverage in the 2014 election campaign.

Alternatives and/or conditions to improve the quality of news coverage in the context of elections.

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IV. PRELIMINARY RESULTS

4.1. The media approach: agenda and frames of campaign and political role of the media

The study reveals that nearly two thirds of articles analyzed (64.18%) had a press release or news format in which some elementary questions concerning the facts of coverage are answered. This is a basic journalistic format, which usually does not allow contextualizing nor getting deeper in the facts that are reported.

Table 1

Journalistic formats used

Yes No Total

Individual, collective Interview 26 175 201 12.94% 87.06% 100%

Informative note 129 72 201 64.18% 35.82% 100%

Reportage 26 175 201 12.94% 87.06% 100%

Survey (quantitative) 11 190 201 5.47% 94.53% 100%

Audience participation 5 196 201 2.49% 97.51% 100%

Comment 7 194 201 3.48% 96.52% 100%

External report 26 175 201 12.94% 87.06% 100%

Editorial (press) 3 198 201 1.49% 98.51% 100%

Debate - 201 201 - 100% 100%

Article (press) - 201 201 - 100% 100%

Press release - 201 201 - 100% 100%

Opinion column 6 195 201 2.99% 97.01% 100%

Other 2 199 201 1% 99% 100%

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As for the number of information and opinion sources consulted to make the articles, it must be highlighted that in 82.5% of news stories analyzed, journalists have used only one source of information or opinion, a fact that constitutes a kind of practice and journalistic narrative which would drastically limit the possibility the media have to contribute to the construction of balanced information in which a contrast of divergent or conflicting versions on the same topic or event is offered.

Table 2

Plurality of sources of information Frequency Valid

percentage A single version of facts is presented 156 82.5 Two or more versions of facts are presented 33 17.5 Total 189 100

The research reveals that coverage of municipal elections has focused mainly on the statements and activities of candidates and other political actors as part of the campaign (36.27%). To a lesser extent, news have addressed the contents of candidates' proposals and those from their respective political groups (21.08%); implemented campaign strategies (18.14%); and results of opinion polls about voting intentions (14.22%). Immediatism characterized the media coverage of elections.

Table 3

Type of electoral news Re-count % of N valid column

Statements and activities 74 36.27% Government plans 43 21.08% Usage of campaign strategies: rallies, events organized by parties 37 18.14% Voting intention 29 14.22% Proposals on the electoral process 15 7.35% Moral and ethical quality 15 7.35% Activities to disseminate government plans 15 7.35% Accusations and denials among candidates 15 7.35% Activities of organizations linked to the electoral process 10 4.90% Usage of campaign resources: origin, groups that support it 8 3.92% Other electoral issues 6 2.94% Investigative journalism (unveiling and journalistic denounces) 6 2.94% Diffusion of candidates' records: resumes 4 1.96% Background – crimes 3 1.47% Electoral campaigns 2 0.98% Private life: home, family, daily life, habits, preferences 2 0.98% Governance 1 0.49% Professional quality 1 0.49% Circles of trust: taskforce 1 0.49% Relationships – links 1 0.49% Past life, semblance, biographical features 1 0.49% Others 9 4.41%

In terms of the agenda set by the media, it was found that the six most recurrent issues identified through content analysis were: reform of public transport (28.99%) on which much of the news regarding the municipal election talked about. The second topic was the corruption of candidates (18.36%), fueled primarily by two major sources: the various denounces made against the majority

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of candidates, and the debate on the political cynicism of an important sector of Lima’s electorate willing to vote for a candidate "who steals but does work"1.

The citizen insecurity was the third topic discussed in the media (15.94%). The latter issue is a problem deeply felt, not only by the population of Lima but peruvians in general. It has a sustained treatment over recent years, especially in the broadcast television and in tabloid press. So that, although the issue of insecurity and violence in the streets of Lima occupied a third of the information related to the campaign, it generally occupies privileged spaces in the media. The other three topics developed were: traffic congestion (5.80%), urban growth and planning (3.86%) and environmental pollution in the city (2.42%). As will be seen below, there is an important confluence of agenda items featured by the media and public concerns on issues or urgent issues for metropolitan Lima, although the order of priority is different. These results confirm that the media tend to accentuate what is extremely conjunctural and, in many occasions, things even anecdotal, showing activities or statements without much programmatic content. Likewise, the study shows that news tend to focus on the procedural aspects of the election, like campaign strategies, voting intentions and changes in trends rather than on substantive issues related to proposals to solve the main problems of the city. Regarding the leading actors in the news, media have focused primarily on four candidates. First, in the by that time Mayor of Lima, Susana Villarán (Diálogo Vecinal); in second place, in Luis Castañeda (Solidaridad Nacional), who was elected mayor of the capital city again; thirdly, in Salvador Heresi (Perú Patria Segura); and to a lesser extent, in Enrique Cornejo (APRA), candidate that due to a good performance in the debate organized in the week prior to the election catapulted himself in the voting intentions -and moving Susana Villarán to a third place.2.

1 In the middle of the campaign, there was a debate about the high level of tolerance of citizens regarding corruption of

authorities and public authorities, especially following the dissemination of the results of a survey made by DATUM International -a consultant enterprise- applied between 13 and 16 September, 2014. According to its results, 49% of people interviewed thought that the (by that time) candidate of Solidaridad Nacional, Luis Castañeda, "would steal but work more" if he was elected mayor; something that finally happened. http://peru21.pe/multimedia/imagen/t-247871 (Reviewed on: January 20th 2015). Four years before, in the framework of municipal and regional elections of 2010, a survey conducted by Instituto de Opinión Pública of Pontificia Universidad Catolica del Perú in September, showed that 49% of people agreed with the phrase "it is preferable to have a mayor who does not steal but does a few works"; and 39% indicated to agree with the statement "it is preferable to a mayor who does good works despite he/she steals". In: Instituto de Opinión Pública (2010: 7). 2 According to the official results of the election process set forth by the Jurado Nacional de Elecciones, Castañeda won

with 50.77% of the votes; Cornejo achieved 17.64%; 10.57% for Villarán; and 5.94% for Heresi. See in this regard: http://portal.jne.gob.pe/prensaypublicaciones/archivonoticias/Paginas/JEELIMACENTROPROCLAMOALUISCASTANEDAGANADORDELASELECCIONESMUNICIPALESDELACAPITAL.aspx (Reviewed on: January 10th 2015).

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Table 4

Leading actors in the news

Frecuency Percentage

Multiple candidates 46 22.0 Susana Villarán 46 22.0 Luis Castañeda 38 18.2 Salvador Heresi 17 8.1 Other candidates 28 13.4 Citizenship 10 4.8 Institutional actors 6 2.9 Leaders and members of politic parties (including alderman) 6 2.9 Enrique Cornejo 6 2.9 Specialists 4 1.9 Others 2 1.0 Total 209 100.0

Although the candidate Susana Villarán had more appearances in the news about the campaign during the period analyzed, most of the news stories highlighted the negative aspects of her administration like the problems to implement the reform of public transport in the city. Also, news articles highlighted certain weaknesses or negative aspects as her alleged lack of efficacy or little ability to manage her work team.

The opposite occurred with the image of former mayor Luis Castañeda, who had rather a markedly positive treatment from most media, especially those related to GEC, as shown in the following table.

Table 5

Rating of the media, fact or reported actor News articles

highlight more positive aspects

of the fact or leading actor / their actions /

proposals.

News article highlight more

negative aspects of the fact or leading

actor / their actions /

proposals.

Equitably highlight positive

and negative aspects of

leading actor / their actions /

proposals.

Don't highlight positive nor

negative aspects

Sub total

Citizenship 22.2% 55.6% 22.2% 100.0% Various political leaders and parties (including candidates for aldermen)

16.7% 50.0% 33.3% 100.0%

Luís Castañeda 39.5% 21.1% 5.3% 34.2% 100.0% Susana Villarán 21.7% 45.7% 15.2% 17.4% 100.0% Salvador Heresi 52.9% 29.4% 5.9% 11.8% 100.0% Enrique Cornejo 83.3% 16.7% 100.0% Multiple candidates 15.2% 30.4% 13.0% 41.3% 100.0% Other candidates 33.3% 22.2% 11.1% 33.3% 100.0% Specialists 25.0% 50.0% 25.0% 100.0% Institutional actors 16.7% 33.3% 50.0% 100.0% Others 50.0% 50.0% 100.0%

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The presence of a negative tone in the information having the candidate Susana Villarán as the leading actor increases in the case of the media controlled by Grupo El Comercio: 55.15% of newspaper articles emphasize the negative aspects of her performance and government proposals in front of the possibility for a second term, mainly the lack of a good work team and her inexperience in management; 13.79% highlights rather positive aspects. In the case of the candidate Castañeda, 46.15% of the news articles published by GEC had rather a positive tone, emphasizing his experience in municipal administration, and only 15.38% a negative tone based primarily on denounces about corruption during his term as Lima’s mayor. The content analysis as well as the interviews with journalists and former directors of media, allow us to state that peruvian journalism, unlike what happens in more institutionalized societies, would not enjoy -in practice- of the conditions and limits of freedom and institutional strength to develop a more autonomous coverage of electoral processes, much less committed for certain candidates or against others, as usually occurs in Peru. This is a phenomenon that has been identified in societies where journalism has not been strengthened nor professionalized in the sense of building a greater degree of autonomy and critical perspective regarding economic and political powers (Hallin and Mancini 2012; Mancini 1999, 2012). Thus, journalism would end up distorted because the electoral-political positions are not primarily located on pages or editorial spaces in the media but cut across the entire process of coverage and news production, permeating with accented biases the informative production. During decades the Peruvian media have had a role of political actor in the context of elections. In some conjunctures as the presidential elections of 1990 and 2006, the media have been part of political coalitions in favor of some candidates and against others3.

4.2. The public agenda and frames from the perceptions of citizenship

The applied survey shows that the six most important topics for Lima city from the perspective of ordinary citizen as consumers of the media4 are: insecurity (47.5%); reform of public transport (34.17%); and, to a much lesser extent, reducing traffic congestion (7.5%); regulation of informal trade (5.83%) and environmental pollution in the city (4.17%). Most of them, as has been seen above, took part in the media coverage of the campaign.

As shown in the table below, we have identified five overlapping issues among the six most important topics related to the city of Lima, both for the media and for the public, although there are differences in the hierarchy or order of priority. For example, while for the media the issue of reform of public transport has been repeatedly addressed during the study period and was ranked in first place, from the perspective of citizenship it is an important issue but was ranked in second place.

3 In 1990 the majority of media supported Mario Vargas Llosa’s candidature but finally an unknown Alberto Fujimori

was elected president of Peru. In 2006 various media groups as El Comercio supported strongly Alan Garcia and attacked Ollanta Humala candidature. 4 For the purposes of this study, regular consumers of media are those who read newspapers at least three times a

week; listen to radio news programs also at least three times a week; watch TV news at least twice a week and a Sunday news show each week.

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Table 6 Link between media agenda and public agenda

Matching topics Media agenda Citizen agenda

Order Percentage Order Percentage

Public transport 1 28.99% 2 34.17%

Insecurity 3 15.94% 1 47.50%

Vehicular traffic congestion 4 5.80% 3 7.50%

Urban growth and planning 5 3.86% 5 5.83%

Environmental pollution 6 2.41% 6 4.17%

It is interesting to notice that, from the perspective of citizenship, the issue of corruption -the second in priority to the mass media- is not as important compared to other listed items; and that to the media, however, the regulation of informal trade -the fourth in order of importance for citizens- did not have a significant treatment. Regarding the issue of corruption, it should be noted that citizenship itself would have achieved to set specific cases involving certain candidates, including denounces against the former mayor of Lima, Luis Castañeda, related to COMUNICORE (an emblematic case of corruption in his period of municipal government); but such cases do not necessarily constitute a priority item of agenda referred to the administration of the new mayor.

The regular citizen consumer of media can identify with some clarity that the agenda of the media has focused on facts related to the reform of urban transport, like the implementation of the so called “Blue Corridor” -implemented amid severe criticism from the media and various sectors of national politics-, allegations of corruption as well as administrative matters for the electoral process as cross outs against candidates, as shown in the following table.

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Table 7 The most important fact or event that you have heard, seen or read in the media during the

last week

Topic Unusual consumer Regular consumer

Re-count Percentage Re-count Percentage

Implementation of the Blue Corridor 5.

186 31.63% 40 33.61%

Denounces of corruption involving some candidates.

164 27.89% 32 26.89%

Cross outs against certain candidates presented to Jurado Nacional de Elecciones (JNE).

110 18.71% 23 19.33%

Critics made by candidates to voting intention surveys.

50 8.50% 12 10.08%

Information on campaign expenses of candidates.

14 2.38% 6 5.04%

The debates between the main candidates and their technical teams.

30 5.10% 4 3.36%

The commitments that the candidates have signed on some issues of the city.

17 2.89% 2 1.68%

Does not know / Does not answer. 17 2.89% - -

Total 588 100% 119 100%

In terms of the identification of editorial biases in favor or against specific candidates, this critic perspective of citizenship appears more pronounced in the regular consumers of media. The strongest biases have been identified in most of the media controlled by Grupo El Comercio (GEC). Thus, 30.70% of habitual consumers consider that “El Comercio” favored Luis Castañeda as part of the campaign; and 14% said the newspaper favored the candidate Villarán. From the opposite perspective, 43.86% felt that Villarán is the candidate to which “El Comercio” has criticized the most, and 23.68% thinks that Luis Castañeda has been the most criticized.

The 29.66% of habitual consumers considered that “América Noticias - Edición Central” favored Luis Castañeda, and only 11% said the program favored Susana Villarán during the campaign. In contrast, the 48.31% of regular consumers said that “América Noticias” criticizes more Villarán and 16.10% thought the program criticized more Castaneda.

The 24.14% of regular users argued that “Cuarto Poder” (América TV) Sunday program supported Luis Castañeda; and 15.52%, favoring Susana Villarán. By contrast, 41% believe that the program criticized more Villarán, and 20.51% said the program criticized more Castaneda.

5 It was a project of public transport corridor, driven by the mayor (and candidate) of Lima, Susana Villarán, against the

prevailing disorder in the peruvian capital city.

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Regarding the frames of qualities and negative aspects of the leading candidates, perceptions of surveyed citizens largely reflect the frames present in the media -especially on candidates Susana Villarán and Luis Castañeda. Villarán is credited with qualities that characterize her like the firmness in the exercise of authority and honesty; however, she is credited at the same time of lacking a good management team and not being well prepared for the job, reasons that would explain her inefficiency in the implementation of certain municipal policies. In contrast, people finds in Castañeda a politician with good experience in management and well prepared, but at the same time is characterized as corrupt and uncharismatic.

Table 8 Perceptions of strengths and negative aspects of the leading candidates

Candidate Qualities that characterizes him/her the best Negative aspects that characterizes him/her

the best

Susana Villarán Firmness and authority 14.04% Lacks a good work team 29.64%

Honest 13.57% Not well prepared 26.37%

Luis Castañeda Experience in management and administration

49.61% Corrupt 28.55%

Well prepared 22.15% Not charismatic 17.78%

Salvador Heresi Charismatic 12.79% Lacks political experience 6.71%

Experience in management and administration

8.11% Not well prepared 6.55%

Enrique Cornejo Political experience 8.44% Not charismatic 4.37%

Well prepared 7.66% Lacks a good work team 4.21%

Fernán Altuve Well prepared 5.46% Not well prepared 3.74%

Charismatic 4.37% Lacks political experience 3.28%

Regarding the potential incidence of the media in deciding who to vote for, we could say that it would be the regular consumers who might take into account the information and opinions that come from the various media -but not exclusively since there are other mediations like family and social networks. If we only sum the percentages of those who take into account as a first element "the opinion and comments from journalists" and "news and political programs", it would reach almost 30%.

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Table 9

The first element taken into account in deciding who to vote for

Topic No habitual consumer Regular consumer

Re-count Percentage Re-count Percentage

The opinion of their immediate families.

171 28.50% 36 30.00%

The opinion and comments of journalists.

67 11.17% 18 15.00%

News and political TV programs.

81 13.50% 17 14.17%

The opinion of people with great prestige.

56 9.33% 15 12.50%

The results of the surveys. 29 4.83% 5 4.17%

The opinion of their friends or colleagues and/or studies.

27 4.50% 1 0.83%

The front pages of newspapers.

12 2.00% 1 0.83%

None of the above. 147 24.50% 27 22.50%

Does not know / Does not answer.

10 1.67% - -

Total 600 100% 120 100%

The study allows us to state that, in general terms, interest in politics and the fact of being well informed about political issues are related to regular consumption of media. For Norris (2001) there would exist a positive link between media consumption and civic engagement, because -on the one hand- the interaction among certain socio-political predispositions encourages the selection and consumption of particular media. And, on the other hand, an increased access and regular consumption of media generate greater learning and interest on certain political issues. Thus, the relational process between consumption of media and civic commitments would have a virtuous character more than perverse or negative. Repeated exposure to information and politic analysis would generate in the audiences more interest for political affairs.

Also, regular consumption of media is a variable associated with a higher level of information about political events occurring in the country and, in general, knowledge about politics, as seen in the results of the following questions.

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Table 10 What year was the current Constitution of Peru enacted?

Topic Non habitual consumer Regular consumer

Re-count Percentage Re-count Percentage

On 1993 234 37.74% 63 52.50%

On 1979 64 10.32% 20 16.67%

On 2001 55 8.87% 4 3.33%

Does not know 259 41.77% 30 25.00%

Does not answer

8 1.29% 3 2.50%

Total 620 100% 120 100%

Table 11 What public office is Ana María Solórzano currently holding?

Topic Non habitual consumer Regular consumer

Re-count Percentage Re-count Percentage

President of the Peruvian Congress

189 30.48% 50 41.67%

Minister of Women 95 15.32% 27 22.50%

President of the Council of Ministers

49 7.90% 9 7.50%

Does not know 279 45.00% 33 27.50%

Does not answer 8 1.29% 1 0.83%

Total 620 100% 120 100%

However, the study reveals that there is a positive linear association between habitual media consumption and a higher degree of dissatisfaction with the functioning of democracy. This could be due to two reasons. First, the characteristics of a fragile democracy and in permanent tension like the peruvian one, whose longer period is about 15 years; and, secondly, the type of approach that the media constantly develop about politics and its main actors; treatment in which corruption scandals, the ongoing confrontation and other aspects relating to system deficiencies are highlighted.

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Table 12 In general terms, how satisfied are you with the functioning of democracy in Peru?

Topic Non habitual consumer Regular consumer

Re-count Percentage Re-count Percentage

Very satisfied 15 2.42% 4 3.33%

Satisfied 247 39.84% 33 27.50%

Unsatisfied 303 48.87% 75 62.50%

Very unsatisfied 52 8.39% 8 6.67%

Does not know / Does not answer

3 0.48% - -

Total 620 100% 120 100%

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V. CONCLUSIONS

The so-called traditional media (newspapers, radio and television), enhanced over the past three decades by the development of information and communication technologies have been the main means of information about events, important issues, candidates and proposals during the municipal electoral campaign in 2014. It is also necessary to emphasize other forms of regular communication in the context of campaigns: advertising on public roads, party activities, distribution of flyers and, in less degree, usage of Internet.

Overall, the agenda topics discussed and recreated (reworked) by the media during the period of study coincide with the main issues expressed by the citizens surveyed. However, the hierarchical or priority order has had differences. For people, Lima's main problem is the insecurity, while the media developed a greater coverage on public transport and reform efforts.

It should be noted, however, that in recent years various media -especially television news programs- provide an outstanding coverage to events related to violence and insecurity in the streets: murders, assaults and robberies, confrontation between mafias, among others. The study did not identify nor analyzed the volume of news and reportages about citizen insecurity beyond sections or spaces specifically related to the electoral campaign.

It is interesting to highlight that surveyed people differentiate clearly that the focus of the media in the period studied has been public transport, and that in connection with the campaign the topic of insecurity had less treatment. Likewise, citizens identified in most media accented levels of editorial biases in favor or against certain candidates.

People acknowledge that the media are among the main elements taken in account in deciding their vote. By the way, the media are not decisive but occupy a privileged place in the frame of information and assessments from which people vote. Regarding the leading actors of the news, media have focused primarily on four candidates: Susana Villarán, Luis Castañeda, Salvador Heresi and to a lesser extent Enrique Cornejo. While Villarán was the candidate with the highest number of dedicated notes, most of them stressed negative aspects of her administration as mayor. The opposite occurred with Luis Castaneda, who had more appearances with a positive tone. The study showed that media and journalistic spaces controlled especially by Grupo El Comercio (the newspapers “El Comercio”, “Trome”, “Correo” and the TV news shows “América Noticias - Edición Central” and “Cuatro Poder” de América Televisión) which framed with a negative tone most of the information about Villarán and her administration as mayor of Lima. In articulation with the findings presented in the previous section, we can state that the media play - in a deliberate way- an important political role in the municipal elections; acting that surpasses the traditional functions socially attributed to journalism: reporting and opening plural spaces for analysis and opinion in the context of an electoral process, so that conditions are built for citizens to make an informed vote.

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In contrast to a normative-setting character discourse expressed by owners and managers of media regarding the objectivity and plurality of sources of information and opinion as pillars of journalism, the editorial criteria and coverage during election campaigns set rather a journalism to the service of certain candidacies and, at the same time, oriented to damage the image and credibility of others.

The usual political biases expressed in the editorial pages and opinion spaces of the media are moved almost automatically to the selection process of the events that will or will not be covered, sources of information and opinion to be consulted and that rather will have no place in the public space, the types of basic frames (positive, negative or neutral) that will be used to present and, at the same time, assess the ability, experience and public performance of candidates.

From the information gathered through semi-structured interviews and open dialogues, it appears that electoral choices of each media can be assumed tacitly by journalists and reporters, according to the political career of the group that they belong to; or also according to specific directives emanating from the directors. As political actors in the public arena, the media groups’ owners define what candidate or candidates will be support during the electoral process and what candidates will be attacked and discredited. Usually owners transfer their decisions to the journalists through the directors. However in some cases into the media it happen a complex process of negotiation between journalists and their directors in order to get a much more plural coverage.

Finally, the study reveals that a higher level of knowledge and interest on politics is associated with a regular consumption of media. In Peru as others countries, a regular consumption of media and information sections would not necessarily lead to greater confidence nor approval of the functioning of democracy, but rather the opposite. The study has revealed that a high percentage of habitual consumers are dissatisfied with the way democracy works.

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