The coverage was also generally more positive than that given to other political parties, it found.

Abac Poll Research Centre director Dr Noppadon Kannika said an examination of television news coverage showed that Thai Rak Thai dominated prime-time news television over the past month.

Television news treatment of Thai Rak Thai outstripped all other parties in both frequency and length of time, Noppadon explained to a news media briefing yesterday.

Abac Poll reached this conclusion after monitoring television news on channels 3, 5, 7, 9, 11 and iTV from 6am to 8.30am and 5pm to 8pm from August 12 to August 22.

Noppadon said the 391 news reports featuring Thai Rak Thai during that period constituted 67.5 per cent of the total number of news items on political parties.

The Democrat Party merited 113 items - or 19.5 per cent. The Chat Thai Party followed with 50 stories during the 11-day survey.

There were just 16 stories on the new Pracharaj Party - or 2.8 per cent of all reports.

The Mahachon and Thai parties were mentioned a combined nine times for a meagre 1.6 per cent of all reports.

When it came to total minutes of television exposure the Thai Rak Thai clocked in at 678 minutes, or 76.4 per cent.

The Democrats racked up almost 100 minutes for 11.2 per cent of the time pie.

Reports on the Chat Thai Party lasted almost 82 minutes, 9.2 per cent, compared with almost 21 minutes, 2.3 per cent, for Pracharaj.

Reporting on the Mahachon and Thai parties lasted four-and-a-half minutes and three-and-a-half minutes respectively for a cumulative total of almost 1 per cent.

Noppadon's team analysed report content and concluded stories about the Thai Rak Thai were more positive than those of other parties.

He believed if all political parties received equal coverage and all stories were positive, public perception towards other parties might equal or better that of Thai Rak Thai.

Also yesterday, the Democrats alleged Thai Rak Thai ministers were using coverage of government achievements as covert electioneering.

Party deputy spokesman Apichart Sakdiset claimed a television item on the Agriculture Ministry's "Q" mark for farm-product safety and quality featuring minister Sudarat Keyuraphan was campaigning. He made similar allegations about another item featuring northern longan farmers praising the government's price-guarantee policy.

Apichart said these two examples illustrated the unfair access Thai Rak Thai had to television.