TELEVISION COVERAGE OF THE 1995 LEGISLATIVE ELECTION IN TAIWAN - RISEOF CABLE-TELEVISION AS A FORCE FOR BALANCE IN MEDIA COVERAGE

This research examines how television reported the campaign, parties, and candidates during the 1995 Legislative Election in Taiwan. Results of this study showed that state-owned broadcast television stations w ere far more likely than privately owned cable television channels to give greater coverage to the ruling party and its candidates, to use r uling party officials as news sources, and to offer more news coverage favorable to the ruling party than to other parties. We conclude that cable television has become a force for balance in coverage, diluting a pervasive pro-government party bias. The rise of cable television f rom virtual ''outlaw'' status to government-licensed status appears to have responded to a more liberal society and made a contribution to t he development of democracy, as have the expanded elections themselves .