CPA Media Monitoring in 2009

The attack on the Sri Lanka cricket team while causing tremours in the cricketing industry in and out of Sri Lanka became a sensitive issue to the media. All Sri Lankans whether cricket lovers were glued to the electronic media for latest updates on the incident that took place near the Gadafi Stadium in Lahore on the 3^rd of March.

On monitoring for five days from the 2^nd of March to the 6^th it was observed that the largest space allocated for a single incident in the Sinhala media was reserved for the attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team. The space contained articles that covered a range of aspects like detailed reporting on the attack, the experiences and views of the cricketers soon after they were promptly flown back to the country, the ideas expressed by the President of Sri Lanka, the President of America, other VIPs and personalities condemning the attack, the editorials of newspapers on terrorism in the context of the attack, the views of the people, critical views regarding sending sporting teams to Pakistan under such insecure conditions, investigations in Pakistan on the incident and cartoons. For the 3 days after the event beginning on the 4^th of March 12 Sinhala newspapers published 93 news/feature articles on the issue, with seven of them making the headlines. 6 editorials were noted. The reporting was sensitive and emotional. There was suspicion raised on whether the LTTE was connected to the incident underlining the fact that the war was the most sensitive topic in Sri Lanka at the time. The suspicion was based on a statement made by the Minister for Media.

It was specifically significant to find 12 Tamil newspapers allocating 95 news items and feature articles during the three days like the Sinhala newspapers. 6 of the articles made headlines while one was an editorial. Not much of a difference was seen in the content.

The English media too reported the attack on the cricket team congruous with the other media. 89 articles were seen in 9 newspapers with 4 making headlines and 5 coming from the Editor’s desk. There were 2 cartoons and many pictures. The content too showed similarity. The Composite media coverage as a whole contrasted with the attitude towards other incidents that were observed during the recent past.

The Radio stations were the first to report on the attack on the cricket team interrupting the norm and beaming it as a special news item. They also kept constantly updating listeners. The Commercial Service of the SLBC, Lakhanda, Sirasa, Neth, Shakthi and Yes FM had included the event in its afternoon news bulletin. The Afternoon Special News Broadcast of these services (except for Lakhanda) had mentioned the incident on all its main news broadcasts from the 3^rd to the 6^th.

During this period there were many incidents that affected another community in the country. The tour of some foreign ambassadors in Vavuniya influenced by the sensitive nature of the war and the civilians affected by it and the assassination of two civil defense men in Buttala were among them. It was on the 4^th of March that an International Red Cross Worker died in a shell attack. That was the day after the attack on the Sri Lanka cricket team. The death of this person from the International Red Cross which is the only voluntary service that is providing relief to the displaced people who suffer in the crossfire of the war has received less attention than even the incidents mentioned in the second list. While The International Red Cross had issued a notice on this incident one Sinhala newspaper had reported the incident in a small column in the front page. Another Sinhala newspaper had published a small article in its front page on the 8^th of March. It was noted that his name was Vaduvel Wijayakumar and that his 9 year old child was also injured and being treated at the Pudumathalan Medical Center. The Sunday newspaper recorded that he died in a shell attack made on the new no-war zone declared by the Sri Lankan Security Forces for the safety of civilians. The other newspaper mentions the death as a result of a bomb attack. It is clear by reading both reports that he has been killed after he was admitted to the Pudumathalan Medical Center after being severely injured.

All three Tamil newspapers other than the government Tamil newspaper mention the death of the relief worker on the 6^th of March. Since the news was based on a statement issued by the Spokesman for the International Red Cross the daily newspapers that published it did so on the same day. The name of the deceased however is mentioned as K. Wijayarasa differing with the Sinhala newspapers. There is also a discrepancy in the name mentioned as the area in which the incident took place. In addition it mentions that he had joined the International Red Cross in 1997 and is a resident of Alawetti in Jaffna.

The two out of the three English newspapers excluding the government owned published two small news items in the front page. They mention the name as K. Wijeyrasa like in the Tamil media. It was of significance to note two news items on the incident in a Sunday newspaper. This discusses the danger to which the relief workers are exposed and the services performed by the Red Cross for the people of Vanni after reporting that the relief worker died in an artillery attack. The other reports indicate that the humanitarian work will continue despite the death of the volunteer worker. This is all that is reported based on the incident.