Disenchantment with Media

Now that that’s out of the way, some more thoughts.
I think a lot of people are rightly disenchanted with the quality of media here in the Philippines. It is a personality driven circus, paparazzi masquerading as serious journalists with rare exceptions. Pardon my language but I feel as if media are acting like pussies, filing a complaint against the police with the Commission on Human Rights over the incident and simply refusing to even acknowledge the possibility that they may have overstepped some boundaries. As I said, from my own reading of the “pulse of the nation”, many people believe that this incident has showcased the arrogance of our media but unfortunately are unable to have their say because of course, media controls the mainstream sources of “information”. I suppose it would be too much to expect to read a headline saying “Media Admits Lapses In Coverage”.

Editorials in the aftermath of the Makati Standoff continue to hit the police for alleged harassment but none that I have seen have even made a substantial examination of the concept of “press freedom” or delineated their responsibilities in a democracy vis-à-vis law enforcement operations.

Media has also been talking about a “chilling effect” in the wake of the confrontation, saying that journalists feel threatened that there will now be impingements in the way they gather news. What’s the impingement? That they have to follow the law? Granted that there are many dangers to real journalists, I don’t believe that the Makati Standoff is the best platform from which to cry “press freedom”. If anything, I think it’s an opportunity for media to step back, conduct an honest assessment of themselves and reign in their excesses in the interest of restoring media credibility in this country or even just granting their profession the respect it deserves.

As seen from the footage, media attached itself to Trillanes, forming a shield around him and refusing to evacuate even after being warned that an assault was about to take place. Media were even heard cheering along with rebel soldiers when police General Barias left the building after pleading, “Come out. Please help your police”. Incredibly, media even showed live footage of the positions of the Special Action Forces as they prepared to storm the building.

Today, security officials and media representatives held a dialogue to air out their sides and while I only caught the tail end, I was dissatisfied with the conclusion offered by the executive director (and I paraphrase) that government had agreed to adjust to media practices. Now that’s the chilling effect for me, given the level of media we presently have.

Resorting to clichés, I am a strong believer that media is an important pillar in our democracy. But in the same vein, an irresponsible and unprofessional media is just as guilty of practicing and encouraging a ‘culture of impunity’ that other sectors have been accused of. That media claims to be doing this in service of the public is something I take strong exception to and while the pickings are slim, this one faceless member of the public’s respect will go to the media outfit that admits that coverage of November 29,2007 was less than desirable and exceeded the bounds of press freedom.