PJR Reports May-June 2009

7/29/2019 PJR Reports May-June 2009

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OT ALL privatetragedies make it tothe news. But thanks tothe conventional news

values, a private grief can become

n By Kathryn Roja G. Raymundo

Nnewsworthy if the story involves a person ofprominence.

Before her death Trinidad

Trina Arteche Etong was notprominent. Her name alone wasnot enough to make her death

the stuff of which front-pageheadlines are made. But TrinaEtong was married to one of ABS-

CBN 2s leading news anchors,Ted Failon, born Mario Teodoro

Failon Etong.When the pol ice named

Failon a suspect in the death of

Etong, when they told the me-dia that they were not ruling

out murder, the story, while re-maining a private and personal

tragedy, morphed quickly, per-haps too quickly, into front-pageand top segment news, and lead-ing news programs fordays of coverage.

It is understandable

that Trinas deathshould have beentreated as a story

about Ted Failon,the anchor of ABS-CBN 2s primetime

news program TVPatrol World and

co-host of the ra-dio program T a m ba la n gFailon a tSanchez (the

WHATSiNSIDEI n s t e a d o f

r a i s i n g

s t a n d a r d s ,

foreign

m e d i a

o w n e r s h i pm a y lo w e r t h e m

At tacks

a g a i n s t

jo u r n a li s t s

c o n t i n u e d

desp i t e Wor ld

P r e s s F r e e d o mDa y

Turn topage 12

The k i ll ing of

Ms. P i tao led

to a r a ce fo r

exclusives

a n d n o t m u c h

else

MAY-JUNE 2009............................... .................................... .................................................................................

PhotosbyLITOOCAMPO


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A COMMUNITY

JOURNALISTLOOKS AT MEDIA

Media corruption distorts

the news and debases thejournalist

CORRUPTION

RE COMMUNITY journalists easier preyto corruption than their Manila-basedcounterparts because those working forcommunity papers and broadcast stationsare poorly paid?

n By Pachico A. Seares

ANot truenot about the mea-

ger pay, but about a journalists

falls being the necessary resultof economic hardship.

Neither is it true that Ma-nila-based journalists are be-

yon d corru pti on becaus e th eyenjoy higher salaries and morebene fits.

Economic woes exact a heavytoll on journalists values, but

corruption of media feeds notjust on money probl ems. Thereare the weaknesses of the person,

the flaws of the profession, andsocietys tolerance of graft in

many sectors.With the powe r of med ia to

buil d or dest roy any one s pub-

lic image, its inevitably thetarget of corruption. Per-petual tension, if not hostility,flows between journalists and

news sources. And a pay-off ora buy-out, if standard PR(public relations) doesnt

wor k, is a rea dy opt ion .

The clout of the corrupteeCorruption reaches out with

little regard for press card or thenews organizations address.

What the corruptor considers ishow much good or harm thecorruptee can do, the

mediums clout, its circulationfigures, and its influence overthe audience.

These command a higher

price: reporters in the big pa-pers, top-rated radio commenta-tors, better-known and avidly-

read opinion columnists.Be i t in urban center or

countryside, the same mo-tive prompts the use ofgrease. The corruptor wants

to distort the kind and flow ofinformation: to speed up goodnews, kill or delay bad news,or give bad news a spin in the

payors favor.

What corruption doesWh atever th e pur chas e or

barter pr ice , th e ef fects are

equally devastating on pressfunctions.

Media corruption distorts thenews and debases the journalist,

who soon enough casts aside pub-lic interest for the corruptors

interest.The clash of interests is more

insidious as collusion with the

payor is illicit. Breaking publictrust, like sleeping with the en-emy, is usually not transparent.

And the audi ence ofte n fai ls tocatch on.

In pious declarations at pub-lic forums or over drinks at the

bar, many jour nal ist s saytheyll defend press freedom tothe deatthen yield to

corruptions siren song.What results isnt journalism

class theory but for real: Thecorruptee no longer impartiallysifts facts from fiction or checks

for accuracy. He cant tell thestory as it is, and neither can he

give an unpolluted opinion. Cor-ruption influences each decision

the journalist makes.Mayette Q. Tabada, who

teaches at the University of the

Philippines in Cebu and at St.Theresas College, worries aboutmedia corruption and how it dis-orients students exposed to the

real world of journalism by in-ternships and training sessions.She says novice writers confu-

sion over gray ethical areas maynot result in media corruption,

but early habits always deter-mine later ones.

Students are told that cor-

ruption may not condemn thecorrupted journalists soul butthat he forfeits his freedom.Wit h the practi ce virt ual ly un-

checked in some newsrooms, fu-

ture journalists wonder if thatis true.

Forms, extent of corruptionCases of media corruption are

not documented: no blotter en-tries exist on the crime. But

theyre talked about in news-rooms and coffee shops, and

many tales are true.Consider the forms corrup-

tion can take:1. At a press conference in a

department store owned by apolitician, some reporters went

home with a box of new shoesunder their arms;

2. In a small city, some re-porters get P500 a week from a

paymaster in exchange forstories about a politician beingpublished regularly, with the

promise of a hefty increase whenthe election campaign starts;

3. In one province, anyonewith a tape recorder, a memberof what they call the tamburongbrigade, or a phony journalist,can dupe the mayor of a far-flungtown by setting up an interviewin exchange for a meal and P100

to P300.4. Some local radio stations

run public affairs one-on-one

interviews, which are invoiced

as pay-before-broadcast com-mercials;

5. A government office offersnot just coffee and snacks but

lunch: attendants keep pokerfaces when someone loudly re-minds colleagues about lunchnot being free even as he heads

for the buffet table;6. An anchor person calls a

public official, saying he wants

him to sponsor the birthdayparty of his five-year-old son at

this restaurant; how much asponsor pays and how many of-ficials sign up as sponsors only

the reporter knows;7. An editor calls a PR man

to tell his client, a public official,that hell accompany his wife to

The three articles that followall by working journalistsare part ofPJR Reportseffort to look into andaddress the continuing problem of media and press corruption. Contributions on this topic and its ramifications arewelcome....................................................................................................................................................................................................

MEDIACORRUPTION

Cebu media: No easier prey to corruption than their Manila counterpartsARNI ACLAO/SUN.STAR CEBU

ALLAN CUIZON/SUN.STAR CEBU


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Manila and he needs plane tick-

ets for two.The forms of corruption can

be tricky . Jerry Tundag, edito r-

in-chief of Cebus daily newspa-per The Freeman , says: To think

of corruption and draw images

of cold hard cash is to be hope-

lessly outdated. Changing

lifestyles bring with them new

weaknesses that can be exploitedin more ways than just good old

money changing hands.

The extent of corruption var-

ies from city to city, province toprovince, newsroom to news-

room. Theres no way to quan-tify how many of a localitys

media are tainted. Its only by

word of mouth. But the sources

to be believed, if one can makethem talk, are the corruptors

themselves or their reps.

Improvement of methodsMethods of payment vary. In

urban centers, notably Manila,we hear of money being sent byATM and routed through PR of-

fices or persons. Were told about

cartels of reporters, editors and

photographers that deliver ser-vice span ning a sect or or sec-

tors of the newspaper or broad-cast station or multiple news

outlets.

In the countryside, though,

there has been little improve-ment. The good old envelope,

which spun off the banal clich envelopmental journalism,

remains the easy way to trans-fer cash. A reporter said, Go to

the rest room shortly after apresscon. Crumpled envelopes

in the trash bin tell you they

went there not to pee but to check

how much they were getting.

Spotting corruption signsCorruption is committed on

the sly: under the table, in dark

pubs. Transacted in whispers orcoded cellphone messages(clinic karon, meaning its

payroll time today). No audio/

vi deo record, no pap er tra il .

Banks are secretive, they dontopen up without a court order.

And journali sts arent public of-

ficials; publishers dont lifestyle-

check their editors or reporters.What to do then?

Editors can spot signs of a sell-out in reporters copy: contrived

focus, one-sidedness, frequencyof praise, repeatedly favorable

stories, omission of adverse re-ports, and the like, all aimed at

favoring the secret client.

Lawyers call them badges offraud. To editors, theyre tell-

tale signs of corrupted reporting.

Leo Lastimosa, anchor ofABS-CB Ns dai lyBa li ta Pa t ro l

and vice-chairman of KBP

(Kapisanan ng Brodkaster saPilipinasBroadcasters Asso-

ciation of the Philippines) Cebu,

says he doesnt use suspicious

stories until the cause of suspi-

cion is removed.

If the badges of fraud or tell-tale signs keep popping up, that

may be the time to confront the

suspected journalist.

But the human factor ofkeeping cordial relations, on top

of the scarcity of talent in thenewsroom, is what prevents the

confrontation. The editor is usu-

ally silent until the breach of

ethics explodes into a commu-nity or industry-wide scandal.

But not to Eileen G. Mangubat,

former editor-in-chief and now

publisher of Cebu Daily New s .The paper has a simple black-

and-white rule about envelopesno envelopes ever. Anyone

caught will lose his job.

This summer there were

three incidents of envelope-giv-ing in the Cebu Daily New s: by a

presidential aspirant and by two

schools. The presidential

wan nab e, Man gub at say s, wasrebuffed, and the two P1,000

bills in the two other cases weredonated to charity.

Proof or evidence requiredThe need for proof is whatbugs the effort to punish and stopcorruption. Proof or evidence is

part of due process.Yet, what s require d is not

the kind demanded by a pros-

ecutor (prima facie evidence) or

a judge (guilt beyond reasonabledoubt).

What satisfies labor laws will

do. Due process is met in a

mechanism that gives the jour-

nalist a chance to explain, withexpulsion as ultimate punish-ment after lesser sanctions like

reprimand or suspension.

After all, the paper or broad-

cast station peddles credibility.Loss of confidence in the journal-

ist is enough reason to fire him

but, as exponent of fairness and

jus ti ce, the new s org an iza tio nhears him out first.

The few people Sun.Star hadfired preempted that by re-

signing. Sun . S tar Cebu execu-tive editor [admin operations]

Michelle P. So, who overseesthe papers rewards/sanc-

tions system (RSS), said the

vo lu nt ar y ex it sh ow ed th ey

understood how fragile trust is

in the news business.

Enforcers neededCurbing media corruption

wil l suc cee d onl y if (1) a news

organizations leadership is seri-ous about it, and (2) the com-munity and media practitioners

exert pressure on their peers.

Each newsroom must havean enforcer or panel of enforcersthat sends the message: We

won t clos e our eyes to corrup-tion. News and opinion copymust be scrutinized, not just for

the dangling participle or anunchecked fact but for possible

sell-out on values. Every report,even rumor, of cash-giving orfavor-exacting must be checked.

Isolde D. Amante, Sun . S tar

Cebu s managing editor for

news, regularly looks into com-plaints of mis-reporting and

sniffs for any hint of corruption.Newsroom enforcement can

only be as effective as thestamina of its chief enforcer, usu-ally the editor-in-chief. The pub-

lisher can only support with aclear policy against corruption,but the pri nci pal ef for t sta rts ,and can end, with the editor-in-

chief.Alex Pal, ed itor of th e

Dum ag uete Post and a PhilippineDa il y In qu ir er correspondent,be li eves that ed itor s can domuch to reduce corruption byensuring that each printed orbroadcas t story adheres to stan-

dards. Pal notes that stories

about politicians are usually

one-sourced, and thus prime ex-amples of puffery.

But not all newsrooms are

enthusiastic about policing theirranks. Some journalists have

dampened hopes of reform orchange.

Erwin Ambo S. Delilan, edi-

tor ofAg ila , a tabloid in Bacolod,says, You cannot expect any-body from media to become thenext heroes of the Republic, to

be hon est and fai r whe n he orhis family is languishing inhunger. Most journalists, hesays, dont want to be canonizedas saints of the media industry.

He says one local paper paysonly P4,200 a month for its re-porters, while a broadcast net-

work pays only P3,800 a month

for its reporters.

Questions to publishersBut Antonietta Lopez, a

Bacolod correspondent for Th ePhilippine Sta r, asks: If a pub-

lisher cannot afford to pay re-porters, why go into the busi-ness?

Another question to publish-ers is why some of them frown

on unethical practices and yetask their reporters to do errands

equally questionable, such asben din g the rul es to get a VIPpass at the airport, getting acustoms clearance for an impor-tation, or a permit for a side busi-

ness. One publisher even or-dered a reporter to secure fam-ily-vacation rooms from a hotel

featured in his paper.Wors e st il l ar e publ is hers

who tol erate or enc our age badjournalism as long as they bringin the money for the paper.

They require their reporters tosolicit ads from politicians and,an informant swears this is true,for editors to sell the Page 1 sto-

ries.Bacolods Lopez asks publish-

ers to spare reporters from situ-

ations that can put them in com-

promising positions with asource.

Society and peer pressureNewspapers and broadcast

stations whose publishers andeditors-in-chief dont mind if

their reporters and writersthrow values out the windowmay still find hope in youngjou rna li sts joi nin g in many

news outlets. Infused with ide-alism taught in journalismschools, they can agitate for

change in newsroom practices.Competition among media

rivals may spill over from cir-culation-advertising war to arivalry on good journalism

practices. A mantra I keep tell-ing editors and marketing crewis that good journalism is goodbusi ness .

An exc elle nt sour ce of pres-sure on the practitioner is theinfluence of journalism councilsthat promote standards and val-ues. In Cebu, we have the goodfortune of having the Cebu Citi-zens-Press Council (CCPC) andCebu Press Freedom Week(CPFW), both active in theirmandate of promoting a free andresponsible press.

Peer pressure is also a deter-rent. Advocates of corruption-free journalism can help stymiecash-giving attempts atpresscons. Journalists who cantexplain their wealth are gossipedabout by colleagues who canquickly explain their own pov-erty.

It still holds true, and I be-lieve it ardently: A newsroomdeserves the people who workthere. So does the communitythat supports the news outlets.They can reduce corruption andraise standards and values ifthey try hard enough. With in-

pu ts f rom Cher ry An n T . Lim an d

Michelle P. So n

Pachico A. Seares is editor-in-

ch ie f o f Sun . S tar C ebu and

Sun.Star Sup erbalita (Cebu) and

executive director of Cebu Citi-

zen s-Pr ess Coun cil (CCPC).

A la w y er , he te ac he s Med ia

Is su es an d J ou r n a li sm La w &

Eth ics a t U.P. in th e Visa yas Ceb u

College. He served tw o term s as

trustee of Philippine Press Insti-

tute (PPI).

He w as U.P. Sy ste m s Gaw ad

Plaridel awardee in 200 8 and , in

2009, awardee in journalism for

both Province of Cebus Garbo

sa Sugbo Awa rds and Per las

Founda tions Valua ble Filipino

Aw ar ds .

MEDIACORRUPTION

............................................................

TabadaALLAN DEFENSOR/SUN.STAR CEBU

ALEX BADAYOS/SUN.STAR CEBU


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REPORTINGCommunity Medias Catch 22

Corruption in the media happens because the

media allow it to happen

called AC/DC (Attack Collect/

Defend Collect) journalism, apractice in which journalists getmoney for attacking or defend-ing a particular person or cause.

At press conferences , the lo-

cal hacks, often wearing hugepress identification cards, stayon long after the event is fin-

ished and other journalists havedisappeared to file their stories.

They would wait for the enve-lopes containing money, usu-ally P1,000, to come their way.

Whe n a story is pub lis hed,some of these corrupt press prac-titioners even go back to theirsources to show them the story

and to again ask for money.Bajo said that the subjects of

the storyespecially if they aregovernment officialsare forcedto give money so that whateverscandal or issue theyre involvedwont be reported, or, if it is, thestory is biased in their favor.

In communities where

newspapering is a poorly-fundedone-person enterprise, in whichthe publisher is also the editor,reporter and marketing/adver-tising executive, corrupt prac-tices are particularly rampant.If these newspapers do hire re-porters, normally they are notgiven salaries. Without regularwages, th e reporters ha ve noother recourse but to ask forand/ or accept money from newssources.

Bajo, who also writes forSun.Stars Super Balita-GeneralSantos, describes them as mem-bers of the underw orld mediathat instead of treating journal-ism as a profession, considerjournal ism as solely liveli hood.

One of the newspaper-mem-bers of the underworld media,PJR Reports learned, goes to theextent of billing private compa-nies after it publishes the firmspress releases. One company was

surprised because it did not sendthe published press release to thenewspaper, and said it wouldhave been entirely appropriateif they had just been asked to

place an advertisement.

Food coupons forjournalists

Meanwhile, a governmentdepartment, given its limitedresources, has creatively ad-dressed the problem about press

practitioners who ask for gaso-line money after covering itspress conferences or events.

The tack it has taken is togive food coupons to be con-

sumed at the canteen, AllenEstabillo, M in d a N ew s writer,

n By Bong S. Sarmiento

Mlina dito (theres no gaso-line here).

There was none indeed,since those words, written in

white paper, were conspicu-ously posted at the en-trances of two governmentinstitutionsa military bar-racks and a municipal hallin the Central Mindanao re-gion.

The writing on the wall maynot mean anything to the gen-eral public but it does to thosefor whom the message is

meanti.e., media practitio-

ners. In fact, when I was cover-ing the conflict last year be-

tween the military and the Mororebels, the journalists I was with

knowingly looked and grinnedat each other when they saw thesign,

To ask for gasoline moneyfrom story sources has becomecommon practice among manycommunity media practitio-

ners, and it is just one of themany forms of corruption that

have plagued their ranks fordecades.

Patricio P. Diaz, a journalist

in Mindanao for about 60 yearsnow, agrees that the tentaclesof corruption in the Philippine

mediawhether at the national

or community levelhavenever been cut, but have in factmorphed in synch with the

times, with envelopmentaljournalism now yield ing to themore contemporary ATM jour-nalism.

Corruption in the media

happens because the media al-low it to happen. As a conse-quence, the treatment of storiesis slanted, spineless and sani-

tized. Moreover, corrupt prac-

tices (in the media) sacrifice in-depth analysis of the issues that

amount to mis- anddisinformation, Diaz, also theauthor of three books aboutMindanao, told PJR Reports.

That corruption in the Phil-

ippine media does existand isevolving in step with technol-ogyis widely known outside thecountry, as noted in the 2008

Asi a Pac ifi c Hum an Dev elop-ment Report of the United Na-

tions Development Programme.Moving up the technological

ladder, in the Philippines in the

1990s, envelopmental journal-ism, a phrase born in the1970s, is now known as ATM

jour nali sm, the report said

Reporters can now receivediscreet and regular pay-offsthrough their automated teller

machine (ATM) accounts. Of-ten, the accounts are in thenames of relatives, rather than

of the reporters themselves, itnoted.

The Philippine Press Instituteabhors corruption among prac-

titioners, succinctly summed inits Journalists Code of Ethicsunder paragraph five, which

states: I shall not let personalmotives or interests influence me

in the performance of my du-

ties; nor shall I accept or offerany present, gift or other con-sideration of a nature whichmay cast doubt on my profes-sional integrity.

The usual culpritCorruption in the commu-

nity media nevertheless re-mains because of, among otherreasons, the notoriously low of

community journalists. Theamount of money involved in

corruption is often degradingenough to allow the journalist

to buy a few kilos of rice.Some community media

practitioners write favorably

about their sources in exchangefor as little as P50 to P100, says

Ramil Bajo, correspondent of ThePhilippine Sta rin South Cotabato-Sultan Kudarat-Sarangani-Gen-

eral Santos area.In local media circles,

crooked journalists are calledtigbaseros, from the local term

tigbas meaning hack, buttheir corruption takes manyforms.

One of the most common isasking the source of a story for

money right after an interview.But the journalist may also pro-long the conversation to suggest

that the interview session willend only when money changeshands. This is different from so-

OR AD SOLICITING?

MEDIACORRUPTION

INDANAO,P H I L I P -P I N E S W a l apong ga so-

Photos by BONG S. SARMIENTO

Wherenewspapering isa poorly-fundedone personenterprise,corrupt practicesare particularly

rampant


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......................................................................... ......................................................................... 17 MAY-JUNE 2009

told PJR Reports.

Given that salaries in thecommunity media are low,some outfits are addressing it, asin the case of Bombo Radyo-Koronadal, but in a manner that

could spark heated debates.The radio station encourages

its reporters to look for adver-

tisements, which should be thedomain of the marketing de-

partment as has been the prac-tice in national newspapers.

We dont have an account

executive (for our branch) be-cause he or she would be the onlyone to get a commission. Report-ers are allowed to solicit adver-

tisements so they will havehigher take home pays. Every-one in the station is in fact al-lowed to get ads, even the secu-rity guards, said Chris Pedrola,

assistant manager of the radiostation.

The commission for everyadvertisement placed is five

percent. An entry-level reporterfor Bombo could thus receivemore than the minimum daily

wage rate in the region.The minimum daily wage,

as pegged by the Regional Wagesand Productivity Board, standsat P233 for those working in the

non-agricultural sector.Diaz, the veteran journalist,

deplored the practice of the ra-dio station but Pedrola was

quick to the defense.

Theres a condition in it. Wedont allow reporters to solicitadvertisements from institutionsor sources whose cases or issuesare being reported by the sta-tion, Pedrola told PJR Reports.

Diaz, a recipient of the Life-time Achievement Award inthe 2002 Titus Brandsma Me-dia Awards, suggests ways toweed out corruption in the com-munity press.

Media establishments

should pay their editors, report-ers and broadcasters respectablesalaries and allowances com-mensurate to the demand oftheir work to give them respect-ability and dignity, he says.

(On the other hand) editors,reporters and broadcastersshould be conscious of the re-spectability and dignity de-manded of journalists by thejourn al is m pr ofes sio n an dshould have the will to resist

temptation, Diaz added. n

Bon g S . Sa rm ien to is bas ed in

South Cotabato and is a corre-

spondent of BusinessWorld. He

also writes for several news or-

ganizations in Mindanao.

W

HILE WORKING in a communitynewspaper in 2000, an older journalisttold me, pa re hin di ka m ag su-survivesa Bulacankung hindi ka m anghihingi.Of course, he was referring to cash from

local politicians and police officers at that time, whichjournalists call pamasahe, (transportation money) forthe boys, or allowance.

THE WAGESOF CORRUPTIONNot all so-called legitimate journalists inthe provinces are exempt from corruption.Some of them are in fact the biggest bribetakers in the profession

n By Dino Balabo

I was only in my first threemonths of covering Bulacanthen. I had heard about corrup-

tion from fellow journalists butnever really paid attention to it.But as the days went by, I real-

ized that almost everyone wasgetting something from various

sources.

Two years later, I received atext message from a ranking po-

lice officer saying o k e y n a

nam an, tuloy na uli ang palarong

pa m bans a. Pasy al na lan g ka yo

dito.

I asked a fellow journalist whowrites for a national daily whatit was all about, and he explained

that pa laro ng pam ba nsa wascode for jueteng (an illegal

numbers game) and the messagemeant that the allowance for

jour nal ists was availa ble aga inafter a brief lull. .

The practice of handing cashto community journalists hasbeen ar ound fo r long er th an

most veteran journalists can re-member. In fact, the journalistswho used to cover Camp Olivas

in Pampanga say that gettingthese handouts is one of the

many reasons why people withno training in journalism wantto be journalists, or at least

have a press identification card.Legitimate journalists de-

scribe these creatures as pin abililang ng suka, pag-uwi, journalistna . (sent to buy vinegar, theyreturned home as journalists).Of course, the legitimate ones

know that to be a journalist, youmust take a four year journal-ism course, or at least undergo

training from which the basicskills and ethics of the craft canbe init ially lear ned.

But not all so-called legiti-mate journalists in the prov-

inces are exempt from corrup-

tion. Some of them are in factthe biggest bribe takers in the

profession.In his book, Of the Press ,

Bong Zapata Lacson of the Soci-ety of Pampanga Columnists

(SPC) said community journal-ists are easy prey to politicians.

Lacson wrote: Politics is war

with its own bree d of dogs . Asrabid. More vicious. No politi-

cian worth his post is withouthis own kennel, even if all he

can afford are stray mongrels.In this doghouse feed and breedthe politicians stock-in-trademutts and houndshis coterieof advisers propagandists and

publicists, and paid hacks in-masquerade as mediamen.

A common warning on the

gates of the Roman villas at thetime of the Caesars. Beware of

Dog. But be most aware of me-dia dogs. It is not difficult to dis-tinguish them from your com-

mon pressman. No, dogtags willnot help in identifying them.But by their bark you shallknow who their masters are. By

their bite you shall know howthey are fed. By their drool youshall know them.

The question now is why do

community journalists yield tocorruption?

First, they are hardly paid,or if at all, receive only starva-

tion pay. I was once asked bythe publisher of a communitynewspaper based in Bulacan to

write for his paper. Our conver-sation ended the moment I asked

him how much he would pay for

every article published. His an-swer: umorbit ka na lang, wala

pa ka m ing per a. (Just make therounds. We dont have anymoney yet.)

Second, journalists includ-

ing correspondents for nationaldailies usually spend moremoney in news gathering than

what they ac tual ly get if th estory is published. (That is as-

suming that their story will bepublished, but in most cases, the

reverse is true).Third, not too many com-

munity journalists undergotraining workshops like theones offered by the Philippine

Press Institute (PPI), the Na-tional Union of Journalists ofthe Philippines (NUJP), the

Center for Media Freedom andResponsibility (CMFR), the Phil-

ippine Center for InvestigativeJournalism (PCIJ), and the In-stitute of War and Peace Report-

ing (IWPR).As participants in a num-

ber of traini ng workshops con-ducted by the said groups inpast years, I learned valuable

lessons on ethics and the con-duct of the profession through

exchanging information with

fellow journalists and the re-source persons.

Fourth, the old school

mentoring method in journalismis hardly practiced today. Jour-nalists and their editors hardly

see each other face to face, muchless talk to each other on how toimprove a journalists story.

In the past as my mentor

Jose Pavia of the PPI used to tellme, a journalist had to person-ally submit his/her story to the

editor who will then ask what thejournalist s story is all about be-

fore taking the copy. That way,the journalist can re-write his/her copy then hand it to the edi-

tor. That practice is gone as sto-ries today are sent through emailand other high-tech means.

Is there a solution to the

above cited problems?Yes. There is always a solu-

tion to any problem. But it muststart from the journalist himself.

The problems I mentionedabove are economics-based. It issaid that the survival of commu-nity journalism, especially thenewspapers, depends on the state

of the local economy. And we allknow how poor the country is,specially our communities.

But as journalists, we mustnot wait for our politicians to leg-islate us from poverty and toimprove the economy. We mustourselves act now by upgrading

our skills as journalists so we candemand better pay.

The unsolicited advice I re-ceived from an older journalist I

mentioned at the start of thisarticle challenged me to provehim wrong by not only surviv-

ing but doing well without com-promising my dignity and that

of my profesdsion by asking vari-ous sources for money.

As a journalist, I know that our

profession is a very competitive

one. Thus, the need to upgradeones skills through training. Fur-ther training has allowed me to

be part of other publications asidefrom the community newspaper Iused to write for, and has strength-

ened my independence and capac-ity to resist corruption and other

temptations.With regards to that

publishers advice, (umorbit ka nalang), I told myself, I will not writefor any paper that doesnt pay.

Journalism is a profession, and Iam entitled to a professional fee. n

Dino Balab o is a corr esp ond ent

of the Philippine Star, PilipinoStar Ngayon, Mabuhay, a n dCentral Luzon Business Week

MEDIACORRUPTION

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LITO OCAMPO

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Documents

PJR Reports May-June 2009