– MMU’s operations detailed in project proposal
– Funding to be provided by international donors

FUNDING for the Media Monitoring Unit (MMU) will be made available via agreements with multiple international donor agencies, according to a senior Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) official.

The completed budget, which outlines the funding needed for the resuscitation of the MMU, was sent to Head of the Presidential Secretariat (HPS), Dr. Roger Luncheon, yesterday.

Also, the Guyana Chronicle was able to secure an exclusive look at the Commission’s 2015 project proposal, which details the operations of the MMU, over a five month period.

The Unit’s activities, according to the document, will include:
* Daily monitoring of Guyana’s mainstream print and broadcast media for conformity to best practices associated with professional journalism;
* Informing media practitioners in a timely manner of instances of breaches;
* The production of period reports on the Unit’s findings on media practitioners’ compliance;
* Compiling archival information on local media purposes for referencing purposes; and
* Providing informational and other support to GECOM’s Public Relations department.
These are in addition to other undertakings, which are outlined in a work plan for the Unit.
“The MMU intends to serve as a bulwark against the purveying of any form of extremism in the media that threatens to derail the electoral processes,” the project proposal said.
Additionally, the document underscored the objectives of the above stated activities of the Unit, once it is fully back into operation, including to: promote the maintenance of the highest professional standards in the media during the upcoming General and Regional elections; nurture a responsible media environment that is supportive to the country’s democratic processes; facilitate the building of harmonious relationships between and among GECOM, the media, the Government, political parties and civil society – a relationship that results in peaceful elections; and to positively influence the process of self-regulation by local media practitioners.
“(The goal of the MMU) is to contribute to the creation and maintenance of a media environment that is conducive to, and supportive of, the democratic processes in Guyana,” the project proposal said.

VITAL TO GECOM

The document also points out that a vital aspect of GECOM’s preparations for the smooth running-off of the upcoming May 11 General and Regional elections is the timely resuscitation of the MMU, considering that the Unit encourages and influences responsible and democratic media behaviour in the lead up to the polls.

“The MMU’s value to GECOM and the nation is that it is a necessary tool during election periods to keep partisan reporting of election-related issues to a minimum; rein in those elements of the media fraternity included towards irresponsibility and recklessness; promote equality, fairness and balance in news reporting; and to discourage the publication of media content that is racially inciting, socially and politically divisive, inflammatory, unsubstantiated, and generally against the national good,” the document said.
Given the MMU’s role, the project document also detailed the expected outcomes of the MMU’s undertakings.
Measurable qualitative improvement in media reporting of social, political, electoral and governance issued during the 2015 election period topped the list of the six primary expected outcomes.
MEDIA CODE
Once the MMU is fully operational, as per the last three elections, media practitioners will be requested to sign onto a self-regulatory Media Code of Conduct, which will guide coverage and reporting of election related issues.
The Code itself, according to the document, aims to contain the “excesses” of media manifested in previous elections, which contributed to pre and post-election violence.
It is also expected to assist in levelling the political playing field by encouraging balanced, equitable and fair coverage of the campaigns of all the political parties contesting the upcoming elections.
The document said, “(The aim of the Code) is to also position GECOM to be able to exercise some amount of influence over information communicated to Guyanese via the media, which is likely to negatively impact voter choice/preference or incite public mischief during the crucial election period.
“…the Code of Conduct became an integral part of GECOM’s arsenal of activities…amplifying focus on self-regulation among media houses throughout Guyana.”
The Media Monitoring Unit was initially established in 2001, but was revitalised in 2006 and since has come to be “accepted as an objective and credible arbiter” – as the document highlighted – of media practices.
“It is GECOM’s informed view and our considered opinion, based on previous experience and the experience garnered from international best practice examples, that the holding of free and fair elections, and elections free from fear, is inextricably intertwined with the media (practices)….and to responsibly discharge their duties in a manner that is underpinned foremost by the national interest,” the project document stressed.
In a prior comment, the GECOM Chairman Dr. Steve Surujbally, had underscored an earlier commitment made by Dr. Luncheon to resuscitate the Unit – a commitment that was endorsed by the three political parties based on the merits of such a move.

(By Vanessa Narine)