Yesterday marked the start of another week celebrated only in Cebu, a unique event we call Press Freedom Week. As much as possible it is calendared the same week in September when former dictator Ferdinand Marcos imposed martial law upon the entire country.
The purpose for this is obvious; it is to remind us of what rights and freedoms we lost on Sept. 21, 1972. For the next nine years or the duration of martial law and even up to his exile in 1986, Marcos would muzzle the press. Only he and his cronies decided what news came out and what the people could see, hear, and read.
But that was history, let’s fast-forward to today. While the press of today may not face the same challenges as our counterparts of that turbulent era did, we do have unique challenges of our own.
Not the least of these challenges is the ongoing pandemic. This has made it more difficult for some of our colleagues to get stories or reach their sources. The resulting economic slump brought on by the pandemic has also led to the downsizing or even closure of some media outlets.
Then there is the rise of non-traditional news sources. Some of which have become the sole source of information of many people. These are “news sources” that really don’t verify if what they are spreading is true or not, or worse, deliberately spread misinformation for their own selfish purposes.
Then there is what people call the changing face of the media. Rapid digitalization has made it difficult for some media formats to function, if not made them totally obsolete.
And while these challenges don’t necessarily pose a threat to freedom of expression or of the press they have the tendency to remove, or make people forget about, the venues where they can still express their mind.
And while the press as a whole does enjoy freedom of expression, and to report on what we find relevant, for the media there is always that possibility that we will step on the toes of the powerful and pay the consequences for it.
Recall last year that the powers-that-be were able to shut down one of the biggest networks in the country. And while the closure was blamed on taxes, it was already proven that they had no deficiencies in that regard.
Despite those apprehensions and the risks, the media will continue to play its role as government’s watchdog and the source of information because that is our job. It’s a tough and thankless one, by the way. Many people who misunderstand our role or purpose are more than happy to tell us how they think our job should be done.
Join us in celebrating this week. We mean that figuratively, of course, we should all still stay home because of the pandemic. We do, however, ask you to be aware or at least consider, the benefits our freedom of expression, this freedom of the press, has brought to society.