MERGED: Irresponsible Media

[wanderlust]

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First posted 11:40pm (Mla time) July 22, 2005
By Solita Collas- Monsod
Inquirer News Service

I THINK I may have been one of the fiercest critics of President gloria
Macapagal-Arroyo over the years, with my criticisms particularly focused
on, but not limited to, her economic policy. I also admit that I may have
imposed higher standards on her because she is an economist. But in any
event, I would like to think that these criticisms were based on solid
grounds rather than on conjectures and speculations. And they were
definitely not partisan or ideological in motivation. The objective was
always to look out for national rather than personal interests.

Which is why I want no part of what has to be called the lynch-mob
mentality that has seemed to grip the nation, fed by, I am sorry to say,
the media, which, more often than I am comfortable with, cannot seem to
distinguish between generating news and reporting it. When that happens, a
vicious cycle occurs: We generate our own excitement, then we panic
because of it, and people get caught up in the hysteria, which then
results in generating more excitement....

Take for example the June 27 nationwide broadcast where the President
apologized for her lapse in judgment. Who was immediately asked to react?
Certainly not the man-on-the-street. Tremendous emphasis was given to the
opposition's reactions, starting with the jailed Joseph Estrada, which
were predictably unfavorable; and much less emphasis (and I think
column-inches or air-time analysis will bear this out) on the reaction of
administration stalwarts, which were predictably favorable. Even more
unfortunate, the "I am sorry" part of the President's statement was
focused on, practically ignoring the rest.

Let's just follow one thread in that reaction pattern: Susan Roces on the
basis of the President's statement and her (Ms Arroyo's) eyes, accused her
of stealing the presidency -- not once, but twice -- and of insincerity.
No one bothered to ask what in the Arroyo statement, or for that matter
the tapes, could possibly have been the basis of that accusation. But it
has caught hold of the public's imagination. Anecdotal evidence of this
phenomenon: My upholsterer in Subic asked me what should happen now that
President Arroyo had admitted that she cheated in order to win. Is it any
wonder that a very large majority of the population want her to resign or
be impeached?

And yet one recalls, the President made no such admission. But the
opposition fanned the flames, repeating the accusation that she stole the
elections with practically every breath they took. This was duly recorded
by the media. And while I may be casting too much blame on a sector to
which I belong, there were at most only feeble attempts to bring balance
to the reporting.

Couldn't there have been at least an attempt to determine whether those
conversations could have indeed resulted in stealing an election? Because
if the attempt had been made, some timing inconsistencies would be
revealed. The conversations took place from May 27, after all the
Certificates of Canvass (COCs) were already in Congress. With all the
security attendant to those COCs, not even a Houdini (much less a Virgilio
Garcillano) would have been able to alter them to suit his evil purposes.
The "dagdagan, dagdagan" [vote-padding] theory falls apart.

Couldn't there have been a brief review to remind ourselves of what
transpired in the run-up to and the aftermath of the elections? Because if
there had been one, the releases of the poll groups Social Weather
Stations and Pulse Asia at the time would show that Ms Arroyo had
overtaken Fernando Poe Jr. in the polls and as of the week before the
elections, the difference between them was statistically significant
nationwide. While Metro Manila and Luzon and Mindanao could go either way,
the lead in the Visayas was so commanding (57 percent Arroyo, 20 percent
Poe) as to ensure her victory. Which is what happened.


Also, Bill Luz of the election watchdog group Namfrel was quoted as
saying: "We didn't see enough electoral anomalies at the national level to
have a material effect on the national results"-i.e., of course there was
cheating (there always is, and this must be punished), but nobody stole an
election.

And a year later, the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines
(CBCP), through Archbishop Fernando Capalla, said: "It is the view of the
bishops that the results of the elections reflected the will of the
Filipino people." Unfortunately, not much attention was given by the media
to this statement.

And finally, amid all the furor over the latest survey results, surely it
would not have been too much to report that in one survey (June 28-30),
while 18 percent wanted resignation and 20 percent wanted status quo, 26
percent of those surveyed wanted more information. This was totally
ignored.

Also ignored is that in the latest Social Weather Stations survey, 62
percent were in favor of a truth commission-which means that whether they
wanted resignation or impeachment, they also wanted the facts. (Perhaps
their cool heads struggling to overcome their warm hearts? There may be
hope yet.)

Am I saying that media are in some way to blame for this lynch-mob
mentality? Another bit of anecdotal evidence here: When asked what they
thought would be the outcome of their demonstrations against Ms Arroyo, a
spokesman said, "It depends -- on the media and the military." Not
necessarily in that order, would be my guess.

But we must also blame ourselves. Surely it cannot have escaped our notice
that most of those making the noise are also-rans and people with
self-serving agendas. We should all refuse to be railroaded by these
people who don't want facts to get in the way of their conclusions and
their ambitions.

[unofficialplayer]

...this is where that news bit posted by Bayou Pinoy in another thread comes in...

From: http://news.inq7.net/lifestyle/index...d=45142&col=14

To quote:

"...Of course, again, it’s in Cebu -- the deviant in national politics and collective negative mindset. In the eternally optimistic and relentlessly entrepreneurial Cebu, Shangri-La Mactan opened the biggest ..."

deviant, as in not one with the lynch-mob.

[Bolshoi]

Guys, what can you say about our media here in Pnas? is it mature enough to deliver news to the public or not? Especially on our recent political crisis.

[arnoldsa]

I think it's both bai...

Naa may uban nila nga mature, naa pod immature..

[Blongkoy]

Media must sell like hotcake.

The traditional thinking is that the more controversial the media are, the more they sell.

Maturity or immaturity has very little to do here. Center is business --- like profiteering at all cost.

[Bolshoi]

Para nako kanang mga dagko na issue especially political issue na affected ang tourism dili na angay e broadcast abroad. Tourist stop visiting our country due to this issue. Other kababayan stay abroad mahibulong gubot na kayu ang pinas nya sa Manila ra diay?

Affected gyud atong economy. too bad for the pilipinos

[giver_bert]

we should remember that media is primarily a business out to make profit for its owners and stockholders.. that is the way of the world in business.. if the larger scope of audience wants such kind of report and it would guarantee a boost in rating then feed them crap..

that’s the kind of freedom we have in the philippines, people just solely focusing on enjoying the prerogative and most of the time abuse it without a thought on the responsibilities that goes along with it..


OT: Bolshoi: i'm afraid applying your idea of screening news to reach overseas forfeits the very essence of reporting.. each and everyone deserves a thorough and comprehensive account on a particular issue, even if it may entail a negative impact.. personally i see it as an indirect deception to foreigners and non-resident citizens.. i share the same sentiments with you on media's move to exaggerate issues though..

[diem]

there as aspects of Philippine media that are both mature and immature... it's really depending on what field this thread is about...

I can only assume this is about our NEWS media... I think they're professional, there just covering the what's happening as it is... they're just like firemen.. they only work when there is a fire...heck, they start out by sniffing if there's smoke... the bigger the fire, the more the coverage. In the business of news, bad news travels fast and easy... I just wish that the news organization would work harder on finding some GOOD news... the first GOOD HEADLINE i would see I would definitely cut out and frame it on the wall...

There is an aspect of media which I'm really concerned about that is the entertainment media... the shows produced for primetime..like the teleseryes... i just wish their material could contain some relevant values... they should not only focus on entertaining for ratings but also educating and enlightening

[arnoldsa]

If there's a newspaper nga mature, then for me it is MANILA BULLETIN...

Grabe kaayo ka moderate ilang Headlines... Balanced sad ug dili biased...

If for example ang headline sa Inquirer kay "Cabinet Members Resign".... ang sa Manila Bulletin kay "Filipino-American Friendship Day Commemorated Today"

Murag ingon ana ba... hehehehe...

[s.n.m.p.]

With all due respect sa Manila Bulletin, okay man na sya. Pero mura man na siya ug newsletter nga nag report ra sa mga activities sa gobyerno. Way paki' unsay nahitabo sa palibot. Media is not only to inform but educate and enlighten the people of the issues of the day. Ang trabaho sa media isulti ang tinood dili kay tabunan ang mga nahitabo. Usa sa nakapahugmo sa diktaturya ni Marcos mao ang media. Busa di nato angay ipanghimaraot kung ang media magsulti sa tinood.

Kung ang media mouthpiece ra sa gobyerno, then dili na tinood nga media. Dapat sa media balanced ug sa ginaingon ko na dili mahadlok mosulti sa tinood. Kada newspaper naay editorial stand. To compare one to the other misses the point. Kung kita tao naay lain lain nga thumbmark ang media aduna usab kana mao ang ilang editorial stand.

Unsa may basehan nga makaingon ka nga mature or immature ang media? Kung pabor sa gobyerno, mature. Kung dili pabor sa gobyerno, immature. Mao ba ni ang inyong ipasabot?