Media organizations examine role in nation-building

CLARK, Pampanga – Philippine media went on soul-searching mode Thursday as leading journalists converged here to discuss issues plaguing the news industry and examine their critical role in addressing the country’ problems.

More than 50 journalists from leading newspapers, television, and radio stations across the country attended Media Nation, the first Philippine Summit for the News Media at the Holiday Inn hotel. A group of young professionals called pagbabago@pilipinas organized the meeting with the support of commercial sponsors and foreign funding agencies.

Broadcast and print journalists debated on the power of Philippine media to shape public opinion as well as their failure in bringing about positive change in society. Some of the most heated discussions revolved around the ability of the media to influence the voters" choice of leaders, as the prospect of a repeat of the 1998 presidential polls loomed large over the coming May elections.

Luchi Cruz-Valdes from ABS-CBN noted that although the Philippine media had made much progress in providing award-winning reportage, journalists were still "powerless in effecting critical change in society" as seen in the recurring political problems of the country.

Another contentious issue was the priority that some media agencies give to profit, measured in the broadcast industry through high ratings, over the primary role of providing public service through substantive news coverage.

Jessica Soho from GMA News, one of the media convenors, cautioned against sacrificing the need to provide balanced coverage for the sake of profit. "We should not lose sight of our responsibility. Otherwise, nothing will happen to us," she said.

In the print media, senior journalists also spoke against putting the blame on economic factors for sloppy reporting.

"We are the ones saying what’s the news right now. That’s not the market’s fault," said Rina Jimenez-David, columnist of the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

"You can make money out of telling the truth," added Marvin Tort from BusinessWorld. "It’s just a matter of how you market the truth to a particular customer," he said.

The Philippine STAR joins the two dailies as co-convenor for print in the media conference. Among sequestered media agencies, the main problem that surfaced was the self-censorship that most of their staff exercised due to government meddling in news programs.

Pagbabago@Pilipinas president Bart Guingona said the meeting, which had as its theme "Leading the Way in our Unfolding Nation," was meant to examine how the media could help bring about change as well as renewal in the face of the country’s numerous problems.

George Lewinski, senior producer of the popular public radio station KQED in the US, gave the keynote speech at the opening of the conference Wednesday night. He spoke about ethical questions that American journalists grappled with, as well as the image problem that they have when it comes to credibility.

He said an emerging trend in the US is the appointment of an ombudsman, usually a respected senior journalist, in media agencies to act on complaints against erring staff.