EDITORIAL – The story must be told responsibly
A group of no more than 20 people protesting the rice crisis led off yesterday's morning newscast of a tv network. If an agenda had nothing to do with the choice of lead story, then the choice made was very poor indeed, in light of clearly bigger stories that came later.
Of course, it was early in the day and the possibility of the protest escalating cannot be overlooked. But anticipation is a poor substitute for available fact. And fewer that 20 people protesting in a land of 90 million people is, well, just less than 20 people protesting.
Besides, the people who were protesting clearly did not gather in spontaneous reaction to the rice crisis. The banners and streamers, which incidentally outnumbered them, were clearly prepared in advance. There was even a lad with a megaphone marshalling the chants.
No evidence can be clearer that there are forces at work in this country who are out to destabilize the government for their own political gain and never mind the cost to the entire population.
It is very obvious that there are people who are beginning to take advantage of the rice crisis to whip up a situation that can make things really difficult for everybody, a situation that is ripe for those who thrive on chaos to achieve their ends.
Filipinos should realize that while there may be some trouble with our rice situation, it is not as if there is no more rice to be obtained. More importantly, it is not as if we are about to explode into food riots.
If you see long lines of people buying cheap government rice, it is not because there is no more rice but precisely because people want to buy cheap government rice that they are willing to line up to make that preferred purchase.
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It is therefore up to the responsible sectors of the media to tell the situation as it really is, instead of trying to tell a story and project a picture that, while not exactly false, does not put things into context and therefore does not tell the whole truth.
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