FIRST OF FOUR PARTS
(excerpted, quoted verbatim, unedited: grammatical and idiomatic errors have not been corrected)
For substance, the authors got points except as otherwise stated under “notes” for the student.
(blog admin’s note on the fifth post here: There is a continuing debate as to whether or not children who have been killed should be named in news stories as news subjects. Some news editors argue that since they are deceased, the restraint should be relaxed. i disagree with this – but there it is. This debate has not been resolved.)
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The Derailing of the Public by Student mediamonitor2014.wordpress
On the article: “MRT train crashes through barrier” from The Philippine Star:
“… journalists viewed the story in a macro-level perspective. They were agreeable in giving out facts that support their claims, however they were not able to gather the story in a more “humanly experience” by interviewing passengers or witnesses. In another level, journalists are supposed to “give voice to the voiceless”, in this case, the victims of the incident. In the context of truthfulness, the concept of triangulation is vital to be able to satisfy the contents of the news report. Being able to conduct triangulation involves all the sides of the story to be able to achieve a sound and unbiased report of details. Thus, in this example, we also see the violation of the first policy in The Philippine Journalist’s Code of Ethics which states that “…I recognize the duty to air the other side,” something the news lacked. They featured a lot of important stakeholders such as government officials and DOTC representatives that are strong voices to the issue, but its strongest hold would be the inclusion of what those who experienced it may think. What did the passengers feel? How do they see Philippine transportation after this incident has happened? xxx”
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Media Monitor by Angel or mannequinreverie
“… Philippine Daily Inquirer: I found two articles that devoted themselves to the purpose of airing all sides to a conflict. The issue was between Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV and the Makati City government; the former accused the latter of being more corrupt than those involved in the P10-billion pork barrel scam. An issue like this can easily blow up in a sense that one side can be highlighted more than the other thereby leading to unnecessary biases.
“… they made sure to air all sides of the conflict by laying down the arguments of each side and therefore allowing the readers to decide for themselves. They’ve accommodated Sen. Trillanes’ allegations in the article, “Trillanes: Scam in Makati bigger than pork theft”. But they didn’t stop there. They made sure to seek out the Makati City government to respond to those allegations; they’ve featured their side in the article, “Makati gov’t to Triplanes: What corruption?” By placing these articles together, the Inquirer managed to present the issue objectively, air all sides equally, and give the readers a platform to weigh each side critically.xxx”
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Weekly Media Monitor (Aug. 20-26) by gianco in giancoante.wordpress
Article: lifestyle.inquirer.holdup-gangs-still-on-the-loose-in-makatis-chino-roces-avenue
“According to the preamble of the Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics, it is the duty of a journalist to seek the truth and to provide a “fair and comprehensive account of events and issues.” This is the primary duty of a journalist that is, unfortunately, not always carried out in the media.
“ “These are dangerous times to be working or living in the vicinity of Makati’s Chino Roces Avenue…”
“The article starts out with this sensationalized statement about Chino Roces Avenue. It is the job of a journalist to objectively present the truth–not to strike fear into the hearts of the people with a hasty generalization.
“ “In recent weeks, the situation has become too prevalent and so close to home, with at least four Inquirer employees being held up on different occasions.”
“The example above was taken from the third paragraph of the article. The article fails to give a detailed account of the holdups. There are no specific dates and times–only the phrase “recent weeks”. The use of the phrases “at least” and “different occasions” shows that the journalist is even unsure of the facts.
Another thing to note is that the journalist reports that the victims were Inquirer employees. What about the other victims in the area who aren’t Inquirer employees? Would this article have been written even if the victims aren’t Inquirer employees? A journalist should avoid media bias and give voice to the voiceless.
“ “What adds insult to injury is that the cops seem helpless, if not oblivious, to the crimes…”
“The opening line of the fourth paragraph shows another hasty generalization. The journalist does not provide evidence to support his/her claim.
“ “one of the police officers was said to have commented that they lack manpower and that the criminals know what areas to avoid.”
“The journalist failed to identify the police officer from whom he/she got the information. A journalist should identify sources whenever feasible because the public is entitled to know the reliability of the sources.
“The article is written almost like a personal rant. There are no specific dates and times for each occurrence of the holdups. The victims are all identified as Inquirer employees, showing possible media bias. The sources are not identified and there is no evidence to support the journalist’s claim of police incompetence. Worst of all, hasty generalizations abound. The article is proof that there are journalists out there in the mainstream that cannot even carry out the most basic of duties: to provide a fair and comprehensive account of events and issues.”
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Media Monitor by By Shain Bianca
“(On) 92.3 Aksyon Radyo Singko… show, hosted by Martin Andanar and Erwin Tulfo, Punto Asintado ….which focus on news, tackled the arrest of a drug dealer in Quezon City. xxx
“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.xxx
xxx . QC Mayor Herbert Bautista … slapped him (the suspect) 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.xxx”
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(Note for the post below: Dear Student serendipity: As discussed in class, names of minors involved in crimes, whether as suspects or complainants, should be concealed; likewise, the real names of individuals who are complainants/subjects of rape, sexual harassment, acts of lasciviousness, etc., should also be not disclosed; but in all other cases, generally, adult suspects/accused should be identified in news stories, otherwise the crime report would be incomplete, vague, and abstract (unless there is a compelling reason not to name them).
The case studies discussed in class for “minimizing harm” and not destroying an individual’s reputation unless warranted, involved stories based on blanket accusations published as news stories without any basis whatsoever, or without the news organization having verified the accusation (independent ways of verification were taken up in class when i discussed whistleblowers’ stories — pls confer with your classmates). The nature of crime reports would have been taken up in your J101: that is, an investigation report by the police verified by the reporter can be the basis of a news story taking into consideration all the standards of journalism (being balanced, factual, etc.).
This post does not get any points but since you may not have yet taken up J101, I will allow you to submit another one, with deductions, to be fair to your classmates, in addition to next week’s media monitor — but only for this time).
By serendipity 2012- 15827
“xxx An August 25, 2014 article from Manila Bulletin (mb.com.ph3-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.
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