Students' reviews, The News Media, Uncategorized

Fair, Foolish, or in a Fix (Media Monitor, Aug. 20-26)

Students may post their media monitor in their own platforms (Facebook, Twitter, tumblr, WordPress, etc) and paste the link in the comments section (click “Leave a Comment”),  or paste the paragraphs here (in the comments box). 

Rants will not be given any points. In your media monitor,please explain the ethical principle involved, either as good practices, ethical violations, or ethical dilemmas. Examples of ethical principles as discussed in class are: 

 – truthfulness, accuracy, contextualization

– independence

– minimizing harm

– accountability

     …. or the following provisions: 

Avoiding “improper emphasis”; “distortion of truth by omission”
Airing all sides to a conflict

  Correcting substantive errors

   Avoiding denigrating or   “degrading any person by reason of sex, creed, religion, belief, etc

   Being conscious of the presumption of innocence in crime stories or publishing/ airing an accusation

    etc.

(Note: the software does not allow multiple hyperlinks or more than two hyperlinks)

 

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19 thoughts on “Fair, Foolish, or in a Fix (Media Monitor, Aug. 20-26)”

  4. 2012- 15827

    Daily news provides us with latest updates on the political, economic, and entertainment issues both in the local and international sphere. All the media platforms dedicated for public service remain the primary linkage between citizens and the government. But given the freedom and power, the role of mass media progressed from a mere connection to an arena for social interaction. However, the problem with the users of mass media today is that they seem to be very passive. They fail to critically analyse the information that mass media is projecting and they tend to view every bit of information as true. They forgot that they hold the same power as the mass media not only in criticizing the way of governance but also in assuring that each individual enjoys the rights he is bestowed with.

    An August 25, 2014 article from Manila Bulletin (http://www.mb.com.ph/3-arrested-p75m-shabu-seized-in-buy-bust/) about a buy-bust operation in Quezon City caught my attention. In the article, the author indicated the names of the three suspects as well as their age, occupation, and home addresses. In my opinion, there is no need to include such information as it was an intrusion into the individuals’ privacy. Also, I think that the information provided was not relevant to the execution of the crime. Therefore, it may be considered a violation against the rights of the three named suspects.

    As media practitioners, we must be extra careful in handling and disclosing information to the public.

    Like

  8. My BC 102 class requires us to listen to a particular radio station regularly. And so the one assigned to my group was 92.3 Aksyon Radyo Singko. I was only used to listening to Orly Mercado’s show entitled All Ready but since I didn’t have anything to do in particular that Monday (August 11, 2014), I decided to listen some more. The show, hosted by Martin Andanar and Erwin Tulfo, Punto Asintado, was next in line. The two morning programs, which focus on news, tackled the arrest of a drug dealer in Quezon City. QC Mayor Herbert Bautista then slapped him because of his rude behavior. The two shows labeled the drug dealer as Chinese, which clearly did not have anything to do with his monkey business. On a side note, even TV news programs labeled him Chinese. As I see it, it violated the provision in the Journalist Code of Ethics that says, “I shall not, in any manner, ridicule, cast aspersions on, or degrade any person by reason of sex, creed, religious belief, political conviction, cultural and ethnic origin.” We do not label Filipino drug dealers or users as “Filipino drug users/ dealers.” In our discussion, it was said that ethnicity or origin may be placed towards within the report so as to provide additional information but not to the extent that it becomes part of the headline. But what newspapers, TV programs, and radio programs did was they headlined his being Chinese.

    Meanwhile, the slapping incident became a very hot topic that it became one separate topic of the shows other than the arrest of the alleged drug dealer. Orly Mercado said that he wanted the Mayor to apologize and that people should focus on the real issue. On the flip side, Mr. Tulfo and Mr. Andanar focused more on the slapping incident that the former said that slapping the drug dealer was not enough. According to him, if he were there, he would do more than that. He would get the gun of the police beside him and inflict serious harm on the person. For me, that was totally uncalled for. According to Journalist Code of Ethics, “I shall conduct myself in public or while performing my duties as journalist in such manner as to maintain the dignity of my profession. When in doubt, decency should be my watchword.” In my opinion, Mr. Tulfo used his job as a broadcast journalist to air those words. He should have acted with greater caution because children listening might think that it is okay to hurt or kill someone because that person did something bad. (I was with a little kid when I was listening to them and he asked if it’s okay to do that). Even if what the drug dealer did was wrong, it is not the job of the broadcast journalist to say such words or do such things. We should let the justice system do its job instead.

    Like

  9. Filipinos have always been known to have an inclination for the sentimental. Be it a family-centered tearjerker or a tragic romance, the general audience is often fond of things that tug at the heart strings. That kind of style is evident in the kind of commercials and teleseryes that become hits and eventually become trending popular culture topics in the Philippines.

    While that kind of theme and direction works for the entertainment industry, I don’t think it should cross over to news reporting.

    (Article link: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/609396/pangasinan-mayor-killed-on-eve-of-anniversary-sons-wedding)

    As I was looking for interesting reads in the Inquirer.net page, one particular article title stood out from the list under the current news column.
    “Pangasinan mayor killed on eve of anniversary, son’s wedding”
    It was a statement almost ripped from a romance-action flick; like a phrase to describe the climactic scene in your typical Filipino box office starring maybe Robin Padilla. It made me wonder however, if the whole wedding part was a relevant detail at all in the course of events or is this an example of improper emphasis.

    While it is a necessary detail that the mayor was out inspecting a venue for the event when he was shot down, I don’t see why the fact his son was having a wedding had to be part of the title. The fact that his son was getting wed is not a pivotal detail to the mayor’s assassination at all so headlining the story as such seemed more of a subtle attempt to garner emotional attention. It’s not a major offense probably, but it did make me furrow my eyebrows a bit. It reminds me of TV Patrol during times a celebrity passes away and how they often thrust loved ones into the spotlight turning supposedly solemn wakes into a drama setting. This kind of strategy of course sells, and in some way makes certain stories more memorable because of the sympathy-factor involved. It does however, in my opinion, also some way takes the attention away from the injustice that actually happened and the gravity of the actual crime.

    Journalism is supposed to be, as much as possible, stated in a very matter of factly manner. While it is in certain angles still a business and a livelihood for many, using sensationalized titles like this should be left to entertainment magazines.

    Like

  10. Many news organizations have inflicted a certain level of harm to the families of the Bulacan State University (BSU) students who have died last week during their field trip in a river in Bulacan.

    News organizations like ABS-CBN News, GMA News, and News5, and even print media organizations have revealed the names of the students who have met a tragic demise during their academic field trip, which authorities have found to ignored the rules set by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED). These news organizations could have emphasized and focused on the negligence on the part of the BSU officials. Instead, these organizations revealed the names of the dead students. This has harmed the reputation of the students who passed away. The organizations also interviewed the survivors, who have experienced trauma and were made to reopen the healing wounds by recounting the last moments that their fellow students were still alive.

    Like

  11. One of the trends on the internet today is the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. One of the first celebrities to do it in the Philippines is Kris Aquino. On her show “Aquino and Abunda” last night (Aug. 25), they broadcasted a short video of other celebrities doing the challenge. Although Kris explained the good cause behind the challenge it seemed more like she was just advertising herself and her good will more than the actual cause. Although Kris may have raised awareness about ALS and the charity, the video seemed like it was highlighting Kris more than anything because at the end they focused on her and even said something along the lines of “and the celebrity who made it all happen” (referring to Kris). I just got the impression that it was more about Kris advertising herself and getting on board the trend than helping out the charity. 

    This way of presenting the facts may affect its credibility because it raises the question of whether she was doing it to help the cause or promote herself. 

    Like

  12. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HCtgpwlQ0Y

    Above is a YouTube compilation video of Jiggy Manicad’s three failed reports in GMA 7’s ’24 Oras’.

    The first few seconds of the video showed Manicad’s first mistake in terms of reporting the right and proper news to his audiences. He said, “Mike, nasa labing libong libong extra nga ang kukunin nga daw…” Even though the video only showed the part where he committed a mistake by not saying the exact and right number of extras or by sharing a very vague information, I managed to find the full version of the interview to see if in some way, he at least tried to rectify his error. The full version of Manicad’s interview, however, justified that there was no correction of substantive errors.

    On his third report (according to the order of reports in the video), Manicad said, “Labing walong oras ang inabot bago matunton ang bangkay ng isang batang pitong taong gulang na nalunod sa Pasig River. Aksidente lang umanong nahulog ang ilog sa bata… o ang bata sa ilog.” It was an obvious mistake and even though he corrected himself, the message sent was still unclear to people. I guess in some way, people would automatically get the hint of him correcting himself when he said “…o ang bata sa ilog,” but to some, especially to overthinkers in which I can actually relate to in so many levels, it might probably appear as if it was one way or the other. The river might have fallen to the child OR the the child might have fallen to the river. I know that to some people this is purely illogical, but I think the main job of a reporter is to clarify and give accurate details to his or her listeners to avoid misunderstanding and passing of wrong information.

    On his second report, however, Manicad apologized for his mistake and corrected himself promptly. “Yung composition kanina nakita natin yung pagdagsa rin ng mga tae… ah, sorry po… ng mga tao.” His coverage was clear, and to that, I praise him for it is great to correct oneself when one has committed a mistake, honest or not.

    Media is a very artistic yet articulate world. It is important to know what is right and what is wrong because no matter how conscious or unconscious we are in terms of the amount and intensity of our mistakes, communication is irreversible. All the wrong things we say and even the ones we say that are right, once said out loud, can never be taken back.

    Like

  13. 2011-00873
    Media Monitor for Aug. 20

    Last Aug. 25, I watched the cover of TV Patrol about the people signing the petition for the impeachment of PNOY. There was this portion on the news segment where they said that people there didn’t even know why they are signing in the first place. To solidify their claim, they interviewed people who said that they really didn’t know what was happening, and that they just signed.

    In the code of ethics, journalists are supposed to show all sides of the story. As I have seen on the news, I am quite sure that not all people were unaware of the situation. But they just only showed those who were ignorant of it.

    Like

  17. Media Monitor: Aug. 20-26

    Today, August 26, 2014 a news article was released on ABS-CBN New online. The article is entitled: “Give Miriam a chance, Bernas tells PNoy”. The article is all about an interview done by Fr. Joaquin Bernas on the show “Beyond Politics” in ANC. In the said article, the opinion of Fr. Bernas regarding speculations that the president wants to have his term extension, were stated.

    I believe that there was an ethical provision violated here. The article failed to avoid “improper emphasis”. While it’s true that Fr. Bernas said “PNoy must give Miriam a chance”, it’s not really the main point of the said interview and he only said it in a joking manner. The title given to the article was very misleading; if I didn’t bother to read the whole story or listen to the interview I would probably think that Fr. Bernas was somehow endorsing senator Miriam Santiago for the 2016 elections.

    Below is the link of the said article:
    http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/08/26/14/give-miriam-chance-bernas-tells-pnoy

    Like

  19. There was an audio report released by n5e.interaksyon.com entitled “Menor De Edad na rape victim, pinagtawanan lang daw ng pulis?” The news was about a complaint on the Women’s and Children’s Desk (WCD) of Dasmarinas Cavite. It was said that after filing a complaint against the suspect, the police on duty just laugh and disregard the issue. The reason behind this was that the suspect is a relative of Mayor Jennifer Austria-Barzaga, the City Mayor of Dasma.

    According to the code of ethics, journalists should treat sources, subjects and colleagues as human beings deserving of respect. During the interview, Raffy Tulfo keeps on throwing questions to PO2 Mariano. She never enough time to explain their side. An ethical journalist should always give both sides of the story. How can the reporter do this if he wants to emphasize that the police on duty are wrong and that they held liable for that given only the side of the victims.

    Here’s the link of the audio report:
    http://n5e.interaksyon.com/videos/9BCDA537287841E/9/audio-menor-de-edad-na-rape-victim-pinagtawanan-lang-daw-ng-pulis

    Like

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