“The silence of Bongbong Marcos on attacks vs press freedom in 2nd SONA speaks volumes”
by Cherry Salazar of the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) July 24, 2023
at:
https://pcij.org/article/10476/marcos-silent-on-attacks-vs-press-freedomagain
Here is a snippet, a small excerpt of the article, used here non-commercially for academic purposes: Observations and analysis in the interview — part of lectures presented to classes since 2022 — are based on existing data on the state of Philippine free TV now, where two-thirds of all free TV franchises and frequencies are owned and operated by religious sects supportive of then Duterte and now Marcos. That’s 20 out of 30 TV channels: A phenomenon I called the new crony press or the new crony media. How did we get here? This domination of the free TV landscape by religious sects deserves to be investigated.
Excerpts of the article (all paragraphs in green background are verbatim from the PCIJ, blog admin no longer put each paragraph in quotes to avoid confusion because there are existing quotation marks on direct quotes within the article, so I color-coded them and indicated here that the source is the PCIJ).
(previous paragraphs identified interviewee by name and profession, so — as is journalism and stylebook practice — the succeeding paragraphs used the pronoun and surname only)
From PCIJ: ‘Crony Press’
“When martial law was declared, the first thing that was done was to shut down all news organizations and the relatives and friends of the Marcos family took over those news organizations… in a similar form, it is now developing today,” she said.
From PCIJ: While the pandemic fast-tracked the pivot to digital media consumption, surveys show that television remains the top news source for Filipinos.
From PCIJ: Lambino observed that two-thirds of free television and live-streaming channels were owned by religious sects that were supportive of the previous Duterte presidency and the current Marcos administration.
From PCIJ: These include Sonshine Media Network International (SMNI) of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, founded by the televangelist Pastor Apollo Quiboloy, who is on the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)’s “most wanted” list on trafficking charges; INC TV and Net 25 of the Christian Era Broadcasting Service International and Eagle Broadcasting Corporation, owned and operated by Iglesia ni Cristo (INC), a religious group known for bloc voting; ZOE TV of the Jesus is Lord (JIL) Church Worldwide, founded by former presidential candidate Bro. Eddie Villanueva; and UNTV of the Members Church of God International, most known for Bro. Eli Soriano’s Ang Dating Daan.
From PCIJ: Quiboloy and INC endorsed the tandem of Marcos and Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio in the 2022 presidential elections.
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From PCIJ: This “crony media ownership” results in a diminishing space for free and independent news organizations, Lambino said.
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From PCIJ: Attempts by independent media groups to enter into partnerships “are met with threats,” she said, citing the case of ABS-CBN, which lost its broadcast franchise in 2020.
From PCIJ: In 2022, ABS-CBN was supposed to get a 34.99-percent minority stake in TV5, which would have allowed it to return to free TV. But the P2-billion investment deal fell through when TV5 owner Manny V. Pangilinan was threatened with an investigation for allegedly violating the prohibition against monopolies.
From PCIJ: ABS-CBN also switched off dzMM Teleradyo operations due to financial losses, then entered into a joint venture with Romualdez’s Prime Media.
From PCIJ: For Lambino, this is proof that only those close to the government are “left free to broadcast without threats of harassment, while those remaining independent news organizations constantly face threats of being shut down and investigated.”
Besides, media ownership also affects the quality of news content the public consumes.
From PCIJ: Lambino observed that most news reports now lack context and are “single-sourced” with many journalists relying on government press releases for their reports.
From PCIJ: “While journalists and reporters within these media organizations remain independent and continue to struggle for a free and independent press, there will always be a constant clash with the interests of the owners because the owners have their own interests to protect, and that is to continue supporting the present administration,” she said.
From PCIJ: “It has implications on the kind of democratic space that we have right now because when people do not have information, they are not able to make informed decisions,” she added.
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For the full article, an eye-opener on the state of the media now, pls view at: https://pcij.org/article/10476/marcos-silent-on-attacks-vs-press-freedomagain
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