Presentations of Contents Related to Candidates for Members of Parliament in the 2019 General Election in Local Newspapers in Lampang and Songkla

Abstract

                The article titled “Presentations of Contents Related to Candidates for Members of Parliament in the 2019 General Election in Local Newspapers in Lampang and Songkla” is resulting from a research of the same subject. The research aims at studying how the contents related to candidates for Member of Parliament are presented in local newspapers in Lampang and Songkla. This study applies a qualitative approach and uses a theoretical concept of roles and ethics/codes of conduct of media as a framework. 
                The research methodology is to study the two leading local newspapers in Lampang, which are Mang Moom (published weekly, focusing on criminal news) and the Lanna Post (published weekly, focusing on economic, political, social and criminal news) and one leading local newspaper in Songkla which is the Pak Tai Focus (published weekly, focusing on economic, political and social news). These newspapers were published during the two months (between 23 January and 24 March 2019) designated for the election as specified in the royal decree. The study reviewed news, articles and news photos published in all pages to identify if there were any contents related to the political parties’ candidates; the amount presented; and the newspapers’ perspectives on the candidates. The analysis is in pieces and square inch.
                The study reveals that all three local newspapers reported on the candidates in 188 pieces, with 5,786.37 square inches, or calculating at 4.59% of news presentation’s space. The Pak Tai Focus had the best ratio in presenting (5.4% of space), and followed by the Lanna Post (5.31%) and the Mang Moom (3.21%) respectively.
                The samplings presented contents on Pheu Thai the most (32.98%), and followed by other parties (18.29%), Palang Pracharath (15.68%), Democrat (16.13%), the Bhumjaithai (10.16%) and Future Forward (6.76%).
                The Mang Moom used the most space (82.14%) to present positive aspects for Pheu Thai. The Lanna Post presented positive aspects for Pheu Thai (33.51%) and negative aspects for Palang Pracharath (29.61%). The Pak Tai Focus presented positive narratives for other parties (31.88%) and hardly reported on Pheu Thai and Future Forward.
                The recommendations are; the local newspaper should equally present news and contents for all candidates from all parties in order to create a fair competition for the election. The audience should receive news and information from multiple sources/channels to make an informed decision.