Regional reporters have expressed concerns that the media reports submitted by them on certain matters including the Presidential Election are being considerably altered by some mainstream media institutions. 

The manner in which the alterations are done, sometimes amounts to a violation of the election-related media guidelines and media ethics,  the Journalists for Rights organisation charged yesterday (27).

This, they added, is a concerning situation, because some media institutions are yet to adhere to the guidelines issued by the Election Commission (EC) concerning the Presidential Election, and their reportage on Presidential candidates can be observed to be heavily biassed.

“Although regional reporters try their best to report political developments in their respective areas in an unbiased manner, irrespective of the parties or candidates, when their content is submitted to some media institutions, those reports get edited in a manner that the original reporter finds unacceptable,” the organisation’s Secretary Dulan Dassanayake told The Daily Morning.

Recently, the organisation raised concerns about the importance of the media using the airtime in accordance with the relevant guidelines and media ethics and also in a manner that does not favour any particular Presidential candidate.

“The violation of the guidelines issued by the EC was not observed to such an extent during previous Elections. We know that many media institutions are working in accordance with their own agenda, and it can be seen everywhere in the world. However, media institutions have a responsibility to improve the people’s political literacy and direct the people’s attention to the country's situation,” he observed.

He added that at the very least, adhering to the guidelines issued by the EC and commonly accepted basic media ethics would make a considerable difference in terms of the responsible and unbiased reportage of Presidential Election-related matters.