Philippine media
is the most accessible information distributor in the country. Not every person
has the privilege to use the internet while a television is the most common source
of what is happening around the globe. Especially the current events in the
country that everyone needs to know. So it is important for the media
practitioners to follow certain standards, rules and regulations that will
respect the rights of the masses.
KBP
or Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng
Pilipinas, is the forerunner in
implementing the rules and regulations to be followed by the different networks
for a more professional and ethical broadcasting practices in the Philippines.
KBP also puts strict responsibility on what should or should not be broadcasted
in different media practices.
Based
on their “Broadcast Code of the Philippines 2007”:
Part I: Program
Standards, Article 1: News and Public Affairs, Sec. 3: Fairness and Objectivity,
“3.a.
News reports shall be fair, factual, and objective. (G)
3.b.
Receiving bribes, gifts, privileges or any
Consideration
to favor one side of a story, stop a
story
from airing , or put any person in either bad or
favorable
light is prohibited. (G)
3.c.
Side comments expressing personal opinions while
a
news item is being reported or delivered are
prohibited
to prevent the listener from mistaking
opinion
for news. (S)
3.d.
When presented as part of a news program,
editorials
or commentaries must be identified as
such
and presented as distinct from news
reports.
(S)”1
On what I gathered from the interview of Ms.
Pinky Webb with Mr. Rene Saguisag on ANC,2 there are times where she
shows unbalanced interest on the issue on hand, which is Saguisag’s opinion on
Chief Justice Renato Corona’s impeachment trial. There were times in the
interview where she puts Mr. Saguisag on hostile grounds. For example, her line
of questioning about the flag raising ceremony in the Supreme Court plus the
Mass after, where nine justices were present is somehow biased in tone. She
seems to denote that the presence of those justices was a misconduct and
Saguisag must raise a contradiction or criticism about it. Another one is where she asked Saguisag
“…hindi ba magulo yun?” after where she asked about the prosecution’s plans on
bringing the motions dumped by the Senate up to the Supreme Court. Again she
wants Saguisag to go to a predetermined answer hence the question “…hindi ba
magulo yun?”. Lastly, she suggested that the impeachment is either an attack to
Corona or the judiciary system of the Philippines, Saguisag answered her by
saying that she should not confuse the people about attacking Corona or the
judiciary system because the truth is it is an attack to the case and
misconduct allegedly committed by Corona.
News
and Public Affairs is about the people not the reputation of the station. If
you are a station and you are worried of what you can and cannot ask in TV
because it might hamper your reputation then you are not a fair station. You
are also not objective. Why? It is because the objective of being in the
industry of News and Public Affairs is to serve the people, not to popularize
the station. News and Public Affairs is a public service, not a popularity
contest.
References:
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