Cheers, not jeers

BY JAZMIN BANAL

THE INTERNET opens a world of information. From entertainment, politics, and business to your daily memes, Era, and Marites, you can find data, scoop, and downright propaganda.

Logging on to Twitter (now X), I follow @cmfr or the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility. Lately, it has been delivering journalism review articles, analyzing the reporting made by Philippine news outlets, all in the name of media ethics and responsibility.

In “Selfies with Alice Guo: Media ok with highly irregular arrest” (September 26, 2024) for example, CMFR faulted print and broadcast media for disregarding the Indonesian authorities’ role in the arrest of former Mayor Alice Guo after she fled the country and the inappropriate behavior of the Philippine authorities following such arrest. In “Who dropped the ball? Reports on Guo’s escape should focus on accountability” (September 7, 2024), CMFR lamented the lack of media efforts in identifying the government lapses that had allowed Guo to leave the Philippines in the first place.

Other articles gave shoutouts — jeers or cheers — depending on the level of responsible journalism displayed by media practitioners: “JEERS to media for the continued practice of reporting public accusations made against public figures without independent verification” (September 26, 2024), and “CHEERS to Rappler, Interaksyon, and BusinessWorld for providing the relevant background of lavish parties hosted by his parents, Ferdinand and Imelda, in reports on Marcos Jr.’s  67th birthday bash” (September 24, 2024). In the former, it was shown how journalists reported on two separate matters — the accusation by Representative Gerville Luistro that the Office of the Vice President supposedly directed the Commission on Audit not to submit audit reports to the budget hearings and the announcement by former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV that arrest warrants will be issued in a month or two by the International Criminal Court — without investigating the validity of the claims and getting the side of other parties. In the latter, the focus was on the difference between reporting with history and context and reporting only within the narrative presented by the Presidential Communications Office.

The monitoring and accompanying critique are not limited to politics. In saying, “CHEERS to the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) for its investigative report on Grab” (July 26, 2024), CMFR acknowledged the journalistic efforts to analyze Grab’s surge pricing, which supposedly refers to the increased price of a ride based on its algorithm and serves as incentive for drivers. Such investigation showed that despite this system, the waiting time did not improve for the public and the drivers were not driven to cater to the demand for transportation.

Now, media bashing is not uncommon when it comes to PR engines, trolls, and citizens with partisan leanings. Look where that has taken us. The noise has become deafening, the scene distracting. Those who can benefit from insightful news avoid the news. According to the Digital News Report by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, Filipinos’ interest in the news was 69% in 2020 and 46% in 2024. Even the presence of an ombudsman in a media organization is of no help as it mainly seeks to address complaints about unfair media treatment, concerned only with avoiding liability (on the part of the media entity) and protecting reputation (on the part of the news subject).

This is why I find the CMFR approach to be timely and clever. It is direct, calling out things as they are, never mind that those monitoring and those who are being monitored belong to the same profession, burdened by pakikisama. It is unflinching, rebuking the “breaking-news-with-updates-to-follow” phenomenon on social media, which practice capitalizes on getting clicks through real time posting with catchy headlines and entertaining reels. It is motivating, because it identifies the points that deserve commendation and emulation. It is also productive, helping the reader not only to keep up with current events but also to uncover the patterns and biases of reporting and thereby learn to sift through the fake news and lazy reporting.

This mission of exacting responsibility should be further developed and emphasized in journalism schools and media literacy trainings, even in governance courses and sibika classes. In this time of easy access to a gamut of social media content, it’s never too early for our children to learn about critical thinking. In this season of investigations in aid of elections, it’s never too late for those in power to observe professionalism. Press freedom, the role of media as a watchdog, is much too precious to be wasted in jeers. Journalists must not be complicit in wrongdoings./PN