Kuwait: Women benefit from media coverage

Kuwait Times

KUWAIT: Two lecturers at Kuwait University agreed that women were the ones who mostly benefitted from media coverage of parliamentary campaigns, because it was an easy option for those who found it difficult to attend rallies. Mass communication professor Dr Khalid Al-Qihs said that there was a close link between democracy and media, which helped many women in their evaluation of the agenda of candidates. "The conservative nature of many Kuwaiti families makes the movement of women among campaign circles l
imited in some cases, which gives importance to media coverage of rallies and gatherings," he explained.

Al-Qihs noted that democracy and free media were two faces of a single coin, and media helped voters make the right decision and provided them with all the necessary information about those involved in the race and the performance of the government. Moreover, he said that the district system amendment made it more difficult for a candidate to communicate directly with voters, which in turn prompted many to seek the media. On her part, mass media professor Dr Heba Al-Musallam explained that although women a
ccounted for the greatest percentage of people benefiting from media coverage of campaigns, it remained "an insufficient source (of information).

She noted that different media outlets were government by their own policies and thus focused on the candidates that fell in line with these policies, explaining that the "media framing" theory revolved around the media's focus on one aspect and overlooking others. Al-Musallam also noted that the short campaigning time was not enough for candidates to present their agendas to voters in a thorough manner, and again the media offered a suitable alternative. The launch of satellite channels that were speciali
zed in following candidates' campaigns and seminars is also useful, she said. - KUNA