Jose “Pinggot” Zulueta. The Media Activist 1992. Published with express permission from the artist (thanks much!). Asinta images. Right-clicked from www.asinta.netfirms.com
By Student #15
quote “The article “Burma Junta Ignores UN; Activists Arrested Nightly” in the October 5, 2007 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer is laudable in several ways. First, it referred to the country in both is popular and historical names (Burma and Myanmar) and the same for the city in question (Rangoon as Yangon). The attention given to such details emphasizes the rather colorful history of Burma (Myanmar) and its condition under the military rule, as well as the changes that took place over the years. The current state of affairs was also historicized by relaying the significant events in 1962, 1988 and the elections of 1990, hence dismissing any form of trivialization of the events that took place and are taking place in Rangoon. The gravity, historical among others, of the situation is given proper recognition as a connection to its nation’s state.
quote ” Aside from providing readers with a clear background on the Burmese State, the report also emphasized different points of view from various nations and individuals affected by the country’s current condition. Among these sources are the US Head of Mission Shari Villarosa, residents of Rangoon, and representatives from organizations such as Crisis Action and the European Union.
quote “If there is a point to be criticized about the article, perhaps it is that the story was the product of merging several stories from newswires such as AFP, AP, and Reuters.” closed-quote.Oct 7, 3:23 PM — [
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By Student #15 |
quote "In the September 25, 2007 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer, the article entitled “Cris Mendez’s Ma Gets Offer to Settle Case” by Jeannette I. Andrada, the mother of suspected hazing victim Cris Anthony Mendez was reportedly offered a sum of money in exchange for the family not filing a case in court. According to the report, the sources cited requested anonymity; however, they are very close to the Mendez family. Apparently the measure of credibility of the source was their proximity to the family of Mendez, however, because actual relations were not clearly stated, this credibility could still be questionable.
The statements of the mother were also translated into English from Filipino. Given that there are no direct translations of some Filipino words to English, it could be questioned why the exact words were not placed instead. Perhaps direct quotes would have done better.
quote "The story was not followed up (at least regarding the issue of an out-of-court settlement) by the newspaper. A later report from the Philippine Collegian where Mendez’s aunt Ely Andaya confirmed that an unidentified man had indeed offered the family an out of court settlement to discourage them from going to court." closed-quote.Oct 7, 3:11 PM — [
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By Student #15 |
quote "On September 21, 2007, the Student Alliance for the Advancement of the Democratic Rights in UP (STAND-UP) organized an event to commemorate the 35th anniversary of the declaration of Martial Law. The event was attended by several student organizations, fraternities and sororities, who spread leaflets, flags and placards on the floor of the Palma Hall lobby in UP Diliman. Moments after the program began several reporters from different media organizations arrived. Some, if not most of the photographers began rearranging the placards that the student organizations had arranged, and began taking photos at the angle they desired.
quote "The program was moved to the front steps of the said building, and the reporters not only followed but began rearranging the attendees as well, making them sit and stand where they (the reporters) saw fit. Some even rubbed their chins as if in contemplation of a stage performance. The program included several performances from theater groups. Even as the performances began, the photographers continued to take photos of the protesters and spectators. After the first performance, the photographers asked one of the performers to pose and freeze in the final position the group had executed. After this performance, the first of many, most of them departed.
What is quite disconcerting about this event is the apparent manipulation of the scenes they are supposed to photograph. It is not their business to create photogenic scenes out of the symbolic practices of these groups, or of any other group for that matter, or create scenes that would look controversial or pleasing. It is supposed to be a media practitioner’s role to be an observer and not a director. Finally, these events should be covered completely and not in parts. The various groups present had different angles covered and different ways of expression and commemoration of that historic event. When not covered as completely as possible, some vital aspects may be missed." closed-quote. Oct 7, 3:06 PM —
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By Alex Monton |
quote "Most of the Filipinos have made watching soap operas a part of their lifestyle. Be it fantaserye, hard drama, adventure or what not, Filipinos really patronize these kinds of shows. This phenomenon can be attributed to several factors, but what I will emphasize in this comment is the placement of these types of programs in the programming schedule of the channels (i.e. ABSCBN and GMA7). Since soap operas are placed in the primetime slot, this means that these shows are accessible to a lot of people — people from all walks of life and people across age groups. I admit that I am one of those people who are able to watch soap operas often, and one thing I noticed among the soap operas that are being aired today is the proliferation of saying vulgar words or “pagmumura.” In one episode that I watched, the furious contravida shouted a bad word because the protagonist was able to escape from her. In another instance, two two characters were casually conversing when the other one suddenly blurts out this bad word to express his anger. Of course there may be other similar instances, but the bottom line of all these is that including vulgar words in shows, especially in primetime shows, is a violation of the code of ethics. Why is that? According to the General Program Standards of the KBP Code of Ethics, “programs shall not use dialogus, actions, and other similar manifestations which are obscene, blasphemous, profane, deregatory or vulgar.” So in effcet, these vulgar words must not be included in the scripts to begin with. Given this,I think the writers, directors, producers and whoever else is involved in the production of soap operas should start considering the inclusion of vulgar words in their script. They must be aware that their shows are really accessible to everyone, even children. As it is also said in the code of ethics, “In the production and airing of programs, it shall always be considered that children are a part of the audience.” closed-quote. Oct 5, 1:38 AM — [
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By Kmart (Student#11) | [J192 MWX]
[Post unedited by blog administrator]Post on ‘Good Practices’:
quote “The article “Animal Day Debate: Should Manila Zoo be shut down” published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer October 4, 2007 issue presented different views on the current Manila Zoo issue. The views, though not exactly opposing, presented different takes/solutions on the animals’ welfare–present and future situation.The article contained statements from the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, Animal Welfare Coalition, Philippine Animal Welfare Society and Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau. It also contained a statement from the chief of the Manila Zoo Zoological Division to clear the definition of a certain animal condition.” closed-quote. Oct 5, 1:16 AM — [ XXXXXX
By Sheena Serrano student #18 | Fourth Blog Entry
By: Sheena Serrano student # 18 - Comm 192/MWX
(Unedited by Blog Administrator)
quote "Mr. Alvin Murcia, one of the writers of People’s Journal wrote a story today, October 3, 2007, regarding the killing of two business executive’s from an IT company in Makati by a lawyer. The incident happened in Pasig City yesterday at around 2:30 pm. It was a typical police story except that the writer published the address of the suspect. First of all, it’s still not proven whether that person is guilty and yet with the way the article was done it made it seem like he was already sentenced. Second, it’s wrong to publish the address of the suspect or of the victim. Hate crimes might start and people who are innocent yet close to the suspect might be hurt because a certain reporter deemed it necessary to publish the address of the suspect. It would greatly affect the family of the suspect because they will be ostracized from society. Their neighbors and friends might treat them differently by virtue of being related to a suspected murderer." closed-quote. Oct 3, 7:47 PM — [
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By Student #7 | J 192 (final blog entry)
quote "There was a report in tonight’s Saksi on a survey done by the UP College of Social Work and Community Development. This is about the growing number of sexual harassment (on women) cases in public vehicles. They found out that 43.1% of the respondents actually experienced sexual harassment. It was also reported that the drivers, “kunduktors,” and the passengers themselves are the ones who commit these harassments. However, the sponsor of the survey was not disclosed. It was just mentioned in the report that the woman (who I presumed to be the head of this research) experienced sexual harassment in a public vehicle. Even the sample size and sample design were not given. They did not specify how they came up with the respondents. Questions like, “What is the description of their population?”; “Is this only for Metro Manila?”; “How did they conduct the survey?”; “What kind of public vehicles are included in their findings?” among many others, emerged. In this case, the audience could not really gauge how reliable this survey is." closed-quote. Oct 3, 1:10 AM — [
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By student no. 4 J192 |
quote "Last September 30 (Saturday), Pilipino Star Ngayon published an article entitled, “Basura sa Senado, irerecylce.” The article talked about the organization of recycling programs for the Senate and its officials. Such include garbage segregation and use of back pages of non-private documents. However, it is quite noticeable that all information and quotations came from only a single person, Senate President Manny Villar.
This is a violation of the Code of Ethics, which states that single-sourced stories must be avoided, and gives much emphasis on a fair and balance treatment of news by getting the sides of all the parties involved. Such single-sourcing could have been avoided had the writer (I forgot to note her name) asked reactions and comments from the people involved, the Senators on the top list." closed-quote. Oct 1, 7:51 PM — [] —
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By Madel Martin | Comm 191 – WWX
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quote “Does the marital infidelity of a police officer have to be aired in the primetime news?“TV Patrol World” reported on September 25, 2007 as part of the evening news’ intent to deliver the latest news and information happening in other provinces, especially in Visayas and Mindanao, a news item of a police officer who was caught by his wife having extramarital relations through a sex video. Normally, I would not care about the news because it was short and it happened in the Visayas. But, while the news item was being delivered, I was bothered by the fact that the news was so unfitting to be included in the primetime news. It was very “tabloid” material, sorry for the word. For me, those kinds of news should just be left to the tabloid pages and not be reported to the whole public for them to know about the private life of a person.Another thing to point out in the news story is the source, which is the cell phone video alone, that allegedly shows the sex video of the police officer with a woman who is not his wife. The report was solely based on the video without even finding other sources that would confirm it. The report did not even air all sides involved in the scandalous situation.Still, I think that the news item should not have been aired in the first place. Although the police officer was not named, maybe in their area all people know him or have an idea of it. In the end, the police officer’s image and reputation will be ruined. Also, I believe that stories that deal with family and marriage problems of private persons should not be sensationalized so as to gain more viewership or higher ratings. Most importantly, the credibility and integrity of the news program is being sacrificed by just airing a 3-minute news item about a not newsworthy subject. It’s just a waste of airtime.” closed-quote. Oct 1, 11:39 AM — [
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By Kmart (Student#11) | [J192 MWX]
[Post unedited by blog administrator]Post on Single Sourcing:
quote “In the September 25, 2007 issue of Malaya, the article entitled “Palace not bothered by UN review of RP’s human rights situation” by Jocelyn D. Montemayor only presented the views of Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye and parts of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s speech.Moreover, at least 2/3 of the article only quoted or referred to President Arroyo’s speech last September 24, 2007 in a business forum in Iligan City.” closed-quote. Sep 30, 6:35 PM — [
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By 04-38458 | J 192(Unedited by the Blog Administrator)
quote "This is on an article using basing only on a single source. An article was published in the Philippine Star: US still sees RP a great place to do business despite ZTE scandal.The story is about the reaction of the US government amid public clamor on the ZTE deal controversy. Ambassador Kristie Kenney was speaking during a visit at the PNP headquarters when this issue was asked.Throughout the article, the journalist just addressed Ambassador Kenney and her views, which represented US already. This should not be taken wrongly, as what Ambassador Kenney says can be expected as the stand of US on a certain issue. However, it could have been better if the article also included the opinions and insights of other American non-government organizations or at least American businessmen, as these are the persons that can support Ambassador Kenney’s views. It really could have been better if the journalist added up on her sources to really make it represent US." closed-quote. Sep 27, 12:56 PM — [
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Student # 9 | unedited by blog administratorthe (9-26-07 7:55 p09) previous blog under student # 9 is also in partial fulfillment of the requirements for J192
This is my 6th and final blog..:)
quote "While still browsing around the website of Malaya (www.malaya.com.ph), still on Business Circuit (dated today) by Amado Macasaet, I chanced upon another article by the same writer. It was some sort of political blind item. I thought blind items are supposed to be for entertainment writers only. In the article, an “A1″ source told him that a “ranking COMELEC official” has a daughter with another(also married)woman. From what we have learned throughout the duration of our ethics class is that journalists should always, always have more than one source (according to the PPI Code of Ethics also)" closed-quote. Sep 26, 1:39 PM — [
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By Student # 9 | unedited by blog administrator
quote "We attended the 8th extension project of the Communication Research project entitled “Nagpapatrol 24 oras”, dissecting the two top television news programs in primetime. The content of the news was analyzed and it was said that there were more soft news (entertainment and the like) contained and soft news was used to “hold” the viewers into watching the news until the end.The recent “scandal” in the Supreme Court involving SC Judge Consuelo Ynares- Santiago, who allegedly accepted a bribe of 10 million pesos, was first written in an article by Amado P. Macasaet in his column in Malaya. Now the SC asks him (he is the publisher btw) to explain why he did accuse Judge Santiago of the bribery. Probably, this story needs more sources or maybe the writer does because if he cannot give an explanation about his accusations then he will be cited in contempt of court.In the website of Malaya, Macasaet said, “I must tell everyone that my instinct tells me that I might help serve the ends of justice if the Supreme Court can find it necessary to conduct an investigation to get at the truth.” Instincts won’t help if you don’t have hard evidence or reliable (and preferably not off the record) sources." closed-quote. Sep 26, 1:13 PM — [
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By student #8 | j192
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good practice
quote "The National broadband Network(NBN) issue had gone a long way since it started. It got messier and scandalous each day. The media had been feasting on every development each day as if we’re watching a ‘soap opera’. But amidst this festivity, I remembered one good practice done by GMA 7.I was watching 24 Oras last Sept. 18 and came across their news feature about the NBN. I think it was good of them to actually take time to research about what the national broadband concept really is. I presume that not every Filipino is aware of how the national broadband works and yet they are plague with all the scandals of the NBN contract with ZTE. I must admit, I too, was also enlightened somehow.24 Oras also got many sources to help explain how the national broadband works. They explained that the NBN has the goal of connecting all government offices and agencies for a faster and more efficient service. The Department of Transportation and Communication as well as The University of the Philippines (UP) were one of the sources. UP has what is called Dilnet which connects the UP system that makes the transfer of files and other activities faster.Their feature of the broadband process for me is a good practice. They researched more about the history, implications and importance of the topic. They did not just dwell on the personalities and developments of the issue. As a reporter, one must be knowledgeable about a certain topic and must get all the possible sources that are experts on it." closed-quote. Sep 26, 9:50 AM — [
By 04-38458 | J 192In today’s issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer (Sept. 25), one of the stories featured on the front page is on the results of an SWS survey regarding the satisfaction rating of PGMA and other government officials. According to the report, this was done from Sept. 2-5, the span of time when the Governemnt-ZTE deal was attacked because of anomalies.I think this article is an example of good practice because the journalist cited when and who conducted the survey. He also explained the results of the survey. The article even published a graph showing the results of the previous surveys on the same topic.Sep 25, 9:28 AM — [ Edit | Delete | Unapprove | Approve | Spam ] — About Student #7 | A correction on my Sep 18th comment: The product was “Kidney Care” not “Kidney Saver.”Sep 25, 8:29 AM — [ Edit | Delete | Unapprove | Approve | Spam ] — About student no. 4 J192 | This is to laud GMA 7’s new Sunday show, “Kap’s Amazing Stories”. The said show features incredible and shocking stories from various parts of the world every week. Most stories contain ghastly elements, which I think, at some point may be sensitive for children and young adults. Nevertheless, the host, Sen. Bong Revilla had been responsible enough to warn the audience earlier that stories of such matter were sensitive ones, and thus parental guidance is of significance. In some cases, when stories which include dangerous acts are presented, he reminds the audience not to imitate nor attempt to do such acts.Some programs nowadays often ignore such ethical deed of warning or reminding the audience when unpleasant acts are on screen. A quick flash of warning on screen or a warning o reminder by the host himself is a good practice when the need to present “language, photographs, visuals or graphics which are insensitive to men, women and children (PPI expanded code of ethics)” is unavoidable.Sep 24, 10:16 AM — [ Edit | Delete | Unapprove | Approve | Spam ] — Mostly good practices, and a few minor lapses taken note of by students Haydee Bautista – Comm 191 WWX | When I happened to tune in to QTV Channel 11 one Saturday morning, I chanced upon “Kids on Q”, a one-hour program for children at around 10 am, hosted by child celebrities like Ella Guevarra of Starstruck. Its segments consist of features of places, events and activities where kids could really relate to. I would like to commend the program for adhering to the KBP standards (although the station is not a KBP member) on programs for children stating that these “shall afford wholesome entertainment opportunities and cultural growth”. This program can be considered an alternative to children’s programs that contain combat violence like cartoons and animes.
However, there were segments where the child host features a product or service (for instance, in one of their episodes, they featured an Italian restaurant, the name I forgot; and a maker of bangles and accessories). The child host encourages the viewers (particularly their fellow children) to purchase the featured product or service. Of course, these are sponsors of the program so it somehow goes against the rule that “children’s programs shall not encourage children to purchase the product specifically for the purpose of keeping the program on air.”Sep 21, 2:29 PM — [ Edit | Delete | Unapprove | Approve | Spam ] — About By 05-67354, student#22 | J192
(unedited by the blog administrator)Philippine Star on September 15, 2007 on its Entertainment section, page C-12, published a photo of Willie Revillame and Bea Alonzo singing together a song in a Wowowee episode that was held abroad. The photo was identified as “Willie with a lady from the audience.” This incident is an example of a failure to identify a photo properly and misleading to the audience. This might be a minor mistake but deskmen should be perfectionist in all aspects so that readers should have high confidence in newspapers and so that a paper’s credibility can not be questioned, in one way or another. However, I haven’t seen a correction for this error.Sep 20, 1:49 PM — [ Edit | Delete | Unapprove | Approve | Spam ] — About 05-67354, student#22 | j192
(unedited by the blog administrator)A segment in Jessica Soho Reports had shown about hazing. It depicted an initiation of a neophyte in a sorrority wherein a certain lady was being hit by a paddle on the back of her thighs. The problem for this, i think, is that even though the faces were not shown in the video,the motion of the hitting and the sounds of the neophyte were painful for the audiences. The video that showed the viewers the excruciating pain the neophyte felt during that initiation was of violence and could offend audiences. So, the program must have had not shown the video clip that clear so as not to offend the viewers.Sep 20, 1:48 PM — [ Edit | Delete | Unapprove | Approve | Spam ] — About 05-67354, student#22 | J192
(unedited by blog editor)An article titled Mind Your Body by Willie T. Ong, M.D. was published on page D-2
of Health and Family section in the Philippine Star last September 11, 2007. The article was about where can people find healthy and at the same time affordable meals. At first, I thought that varieties of food chains and restaurants will be featured in the story but I was bothered when the writer just stated that when you want to find healthy and affordable meals, you must go to Goldilocks. The author enumerated four criteria that people should consider when buying food or eating in a restaurant: cleanliness and safety, healthy choices, affordable price, and just the right portion. It was even said that the mentioned restaurant has an affordable price range. All of these, I believe, are true for some people but for others, it may not be that way. The writer might had cited some other restaurants which have the same qualities that were mentioned in the article to avoid misleading the people that only Goldilocks have these four important qualities. I think this is a form of single-sourcing that misleads the readers in a way because the way the article was written was generalized– that only Goldilocks restaurant contains the four qualities that a restaurant should have.Sep 20, 1:47 PM — [ Edit | Delete | Unapprove | Approve | Spam ] — About Student # 9 | Unedited by blog administratorToday, one my journalism classes visited the office of Inquirer.net and we had a chance to see how an online news organization works. A question was raised if the online version still follows the “code of ethics” since it is online, because the internet as we all know is a free medium.Apparently, they still have some rules to follow and still practice being ethical. In addition to that the are very strict about “on the record”. They rarely have anonymous sources and practice having multiple sources on their stories.Sep 20, 12:53 PM — [ Edit | Delete | Unapprove | Approve | Spam ] — About Student # 9 | Unedited by blog administratorTwo Saturdays ago, in Jessica Soho Reports, a segment about hazing was shown. An anonymous fraternity was shown doing their “initiation rites”. This segment was probably spurred by the latest UP hazing tragedy. The image seen was a man kneeling or something like that, and someone else was hitting him with a paddle, and only their upper body parts (head and neck) are blurred.We just recently discussed in class the article on the beheading of the soldiers, and I think the same thing applies hat even if you blur a certain part of the body, the fact the the motion (of violence) is still shown is enough fir the network or program not to show the video clip.Sep 20, 11:19 AM — [ Edit | Delete | Unapprove | Approve | Spam ] — About Student # 21 A. Antonio | A. Antonio #21 – Journ 192
(Unedited by Blog Administrator)Last Tuesday, September 18, I was watching “Umagang Kay Ganda”. It is a morning show of the ABS-CBN station. It featured a short clipping of National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and its purpose to mankind, etc. The story was very interesting and informative so I didn’t really have anything against it. It was only midway through the clip that I realized the ulterior motive of showing it. A crawler suddenly appeared on the screen where it says “This is brought to you by Sky Cable. For inquiries please call #s…”) Actually, there was already an existing crawler below where news advisories were being flashed and the crawler of the Sky Cable was a second crawler on top of the original one and was way bigger. It was so distracting and I didn’t like the way it blatantly advertised Sky Cable in a morning show and using a good story to cover up for it.According to the provision of the KBP Television Code, it states that “Text crawls, either electronic or manual shall not be used for any other purpose except for news bulletins and last minute program changes and advisories in the public interest.” With this clearly imposed, I do not understand why such programs keep violating rules for the sake of additional remunerations from advertisements. I hope the KBP would be more strict in implementing its policies and that the head of the shows would give time to read their KBP manual once again and stop playing blind to their responsibilities.Sep 20, 6:41 AM — [ Edit | Delete | Unapprove | Approve | Spam ] — About Student #7 | Yesterday, Unang Hirit showed an interview with an old lady who had kidney problems. Regine Tolentino was acting like a reporter and she was asking the lady’s condition. The lady complained about the pain she felt before she tried this new medicine called Kidney Saver. And I realized it was an advertisement as I noticed the label on the upper-left side corner of the screen which said “PAID ADVERTISEMENT.” Well, I believe it was a good practice. In this way, the audience will not be confused or deceived. It was also right that during the introduction of the product, there was also a sign which said, “NO APPROVED THERAPEUTIC CLAIM.” This will also help the consumers decide to whether or not buy the product considering that it has not been tested for any therapeutic benefits.Sep 18, 3:34 PM — [ Edit | Delete | Unapprove | Approve | Spam ] — About Sheena Serrano student #18 | Third Blog Entry
By: Sheena Serrano student # 18 – Comm 192/MWX
(Unedited by Blog Administrator)Single source articleBomb plots foiled with 7 ASGs’ arrest by Associated Press in TempoToday (September 12, 2007), in the provincial news section of Tempo, the Associated Press reported that the police was able to arrest 7 Muslim militants who were allegedly plotting to bomb tourist and shopping locations in Mindanao. They were said to be planning to divert the attention of the Military in Basilan and Jolo. The suspects were also said to be members of the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) and the Indonesian-based Jemaah Islamiah. Three of those arrested was said to be bomb experts. What is wrong with this article is that it solely relied on the claims of Deputy- Director Avelino Razon. There were no other interviewees or sources to prove that the 7 suspects were really members of ASG or Jemaah Islamiah. For all we know they could simply be innocent citizens arrested for a crime that they don’t have anything to do with. Even the improvised explosive devise which was said to have been made by the suspects was not confirmed by other people or even witnesses. It makes us readers wonder if the report is true or fallacious since the associated press did not make any effort to confirm the details of this incident aside from the statements of Deputy-Director Avelino Razon.Sep 12, 10:52 AM — [ Edit | Delete | Unapprove | Approve | Spam ] — About student #12, J192 | I know I’m not supposed to read Manila Bulletin but I couldn’t avoid it… my father reads it every Sunday! Anyway, last September 9, I read an article about Loren Legarda’s proposal for a National Strategic Missing Children Recovery Program that aims to help find the children who are kidnapped or taken away from their parents and guardians. The article described in detail the aims and strategies of the said program. However, I had noticed that the story was single-sourced. The details of the story came from Legarda’s Senate Bill 1385 only. Even if a quote about the proposal did appear in the story, it came from Legarda alone. No other sources of information apart from Legarda and her own Senate bill appeared; in short, the “news” story was one-sided and unbalanced.This was a clear violation of the expanded Journalist’s Code of Ethics which states that single-sourced stories must be avoided and that there is always the need to get two or more sources in order to clarify all sides of the story. Even if the story was not that sensitive or controversial, it is still the reporter’s duty to make the story fair, accurate and balanced. Such violation might distort the reader’s perception of the issue being discussed in the article.Sep 11, 1:04 PM — [ Edit | Delete | Unapprove | Approve | Spam ] — Mostly good practices, and a few minor lapses taken note of by students student #4 J192 Last September 1, I watched GMA 7 news and current affairs program Saksi, hosted by Arnold Clavio and Vicky Morales. It was the height of public attention on UP student Chris Anthony Mendez, an alleged victim of fraternity hazing. On his report, Arnold Clavio mentioned Chris Anthony Mendoza instead of Chris Anthony Mendez. He did not even asked an apology on air for mistakenly mentioning the surname of the student, although his co-anchor Vicky Morales stated right after his spiels the correct one.This is a clear violation of the Journalist’s Code of Ethics which states that it is the duty of the journalist to correct substantive errors promptly. Although such an error wasn’t quite a big issue, for it might be a mere slip of the tongue, it is still his responsibility to correct himself. Such deed of not correcting himself affects the accuracy of the report.Sep 10, 2:33 PM — [ Edit | Delete | Unapprove | Approve | Spam ] — Mostly good practices, and a few minor lapses taken note of by students student no. 4 J192 | Although GMA 7 is no longer a KBP member, it is not an excuse for them to practice unethical procedures in their programs. I often watch “Kapuso Mo Jessica Soho” and often do I observe the same violation from time to time in some of its segment reports.Last August 25, the program featured a report entitled, “Plastik Para Sa Inang Kalikasan”. A plastic bag worker from Negros was interviewed where he related on his native tongue how Yabang Pinoy bayong and bags are created from pandan leaves. The information obtained from the man was undoubtedly an essential element in reporting the said topic. However, no designation was attributed to him. In fact, he was not even named. The fact that the man, who was not of prominence, contributed to the completion of the story but was not acknowledged, clearly violated the KBP code which states that “voice and video clips of persons involved in the news shall be properly identified.”Sep 10, 2:06 PM — [ Edit | Delete | Unapprove | Approve | Spam ] — Mostly good practices, and a few minor lapses taken note of by students Student #20 | The Inquirer article titled “Debt, population growth keeping us poor — Lagman” (2 September 2007) appeared almost like a collage of excerpts of Rep. Edcel Lagman’s speech. It had the Albay congressman as its sole source. I suggest that reporter Norman Bordadora and his editors remind themselves of their “duty to air the other side” of the news (No. 1, PPI Code of Ethics). They have to give the reading public the fair and accurate news they deserve.Sep 7, 9:26 AM — [ Edit | Delete | Unapprove | Approve | Spam ] — About student #8 | J 192
(unedited byu blog administrator)In the issue of The Philippine Daily Inquirer dated August 5, 2007, there was an article entitled “Art of Widow in Yellow kicks off Ninoy Month”.This article mainly talked about the paintings of former President Corazon Aquino and is a form of a single-sourced story.The story was included at the frontpage of the PDI but I think it should have been placed on other sections for feature stories.The article purely talked about Cory Aquino and her painting hobby. It somehow served as an invitational for her upcoming exhibit.The article was somehow long but mainly discussed her paintings. There was even descriptions of each painting which were quite relevant to her life and family.The article only had Cory as the source and was more of a personality sketch rather than a news story.It was quite misleading for the readers who were actually expecting a news story at the front page.The story for me should have been more informative.Sep 6, 7:00 AM — [ Edit | Delete | Unapprove | Approve | Spam ] — plunder and justice student # 9 | J192Unedited by blog administatorYesterday, a few tabloids released a story that a Sigma Rho member let his lips loose and said he was one of the alleged members of the fraternity who hit Cris Mendez. He also mentioned other members of the fraternity who were there during the alleged hazing. Today, however the witness cannot be contacted already. Maybe he was scared to be the next victim.In the Inquirer (article by Norman Bordadora), the NCPAG SC Chairperson Paolo Ante was removed from his position and recommended for expulsion. Meanwhile, a known member of the frat, Iloilo Vice-Gov. Rolex Suplico said that there were no concrete evidence to prove that the initiation rites were the reason for Mendez’s death. Fraternities continue there notion of “physical initiation” due to the fact that their alumni allow it. The story has good sources, and many statements were taken (from Dean Brillantes of NCPAG, Father Robert Reyes and Suplico).Sep 6, 4:30 AM — [ Edit | Delete | Unapprove | Approve | Spam ] — About student #5 | This is about the Aug. 8, 2007 issue of the Philippine Collegian. On the Opinyon page (page 9) of the said issue, an article by Collegian writer Noel Hernaiz, titled “For Chris S. A.”, appeared. In the said article, Hernaiz comments about the columm of Chris Agrava. Hernaiz wrote that Agrava’s columm has no social relevance and that all he writes about are all about his travels and experiences. Here Hernaiz calls Agrava, though not explicitly, “pot bellied”. What is even more intriguing about this is that Agrava’s columm “Return to Sender” appears on the right side of the page, its regular spot in the page.Here, Hernaiz’s article was a clear attack on Agrava’s. However, there are no ethical provisions against a journalist commenting against another’s work. There are provisions, however, against a journalist personally attacking a fellow journalist. Hernaiz clearly violated such provisions by calling Agrava names and ridiculing his phusical appearance.What was more agrevating of the situatuin was the articles’ placement. PLacing an article commenting about a writer and/or his work beside that writer’s work would undoubtedly lead a reader to verify the claims of the commentary. In this case, however, the commentary also has comments on the writer himself. This may lead the reader to incorrectly look into thing in the same way as the commenting writer did. i talked to Collegian EIC Jerry Abella about the matter and he said that he would refer it to his staff.Sep 5, 11:03 AM — [ Edit | Delete | Unapprove | Approve | Spam ] — Mostly good practices, and a few minor lapses taken note of by students Student #7 | J192
There was a report this morning in Umagang kay Ganda about the so-called raid in San Mateo, Rizal. The house, which allegedly contained guns, was described as “imbakan ng baril.”
However, the footages shown were in contrast with the statement. The policemen, at least six of them who were caught on cam, held armalites and were running to enter the said house. The scene was breathtaking. It seemed like the house contained high-powered weapons and the owners of the house were strong and numerous. But they didn’t get the suspects and the only weapons shown on cam were a handgun, a few pieces of bullets and a knife. The news was reported as if these weapons proved that the house was truly an “imbakan ng baril.” The question is, where are the guns? Are there really guns in the first place or this was just another intelligence flaw which the reporter covered? I believe that this is irresponsible reporting which violates the Journalists’ and KBP Code of Ethics. The footages did not support the statements which may deceive or cause confusion to the audience.Sep 4, 3:45 PM — [ Edit | Delete | Unapprove | Approve | Spam ] — About Camille Mendigorin – 5th blog entry | A TV advertisement of the newspaper Philippine Star features a woman passenger standing in a bus and a guy standing beside her, staring at the woman’s body. The TV commercial suggests that the guy may be staring at the woman’s boobs. This was even more implied as a camera shot showcases the woman’s cleavage showing from her dress. Apparently, it turned out that the guy was actually trying to look at and read the newspaper, which is Philippine Star, tucked in the woman’s arms. At the end of the commercial, it was shown in written text the advertisement’s main message – “Philippine Star, the only paper you read from cover to cover”. With regards to this commercial, how can one use the idea of reading the paper from cover to cover when the guy could only see half the front page as the newspaper is tucked in the woman’s arms? Though it turned out that the guy was staring at the newspaper, it was very much implied and suggested at the early portion of the TV commercial that he was staring at the woman’s boobs. Clearly, the advertisement simply wanted to use and joke about men staring at women’s bodies. Because of this, I find this advertisement offensive. This behavior of the guy shouldn’t be made a laughing matter as the commercial presented it with humor. Moreover, there is a more effective and accurate way of delivering the advertisement’s tagline without using this type of situation. I would like to compare this particular advertisement with another TV commercial of Philippine Star featuring a man sitting on a bench for hours, just reading the newspaper. It carries the same message, that “Philippine Star is the only paper you read from cover to cover”. This presentation has conveyed more accurately the advertisement’s tagline. Advertisers should always be careful with the messages and the content of the commercials they present. One ought to remember that based on the regulations by the Advertising Board of the Philippines, “advertisements should be presented in good taste and should not offend the sensibilities of the audience.”Aug 31, 12:27 PM — [ Edit | Delete | Unapprove | Approve | Spam ] — About Student # 19 | I was riding a jeepney last Tuesday night, August 26, when the FM radio station 90.7 Love Radio aired a news flash with its disc jockey projecting a child-like voice while reporting. At first, I thought that Rica, the DJ for that hour, was merely cracking some jokes like what most of the FM radio stations usually do in between commercial breaks. However, it turned out that she was talking about real events. She reported the death of actor Ramon Zamora, which was followed by other news bites. It was really confusing and disturbing because she sounded like a child instead of reporting seriously, using the real tone of her voice. Personally, if I were a relative of Ramon Zamora, I would be greatly offended because the report about his death was treated with such impoliteness. Some of the other passengers had the same idea, too, and were also surprised that what we heard was a real news flash. The KBP Code of Ethics for Radio says that “good taste should prevail in the selection and handling of news.” The radio station did not meet this ethical standard because it failed to report the news properly. The DJ should have recognized the difference between entertainment and public service, which is part of media responsibility. News carries important information that interests the public. Therefore, it should be distinguished from advertisements, jokes or any other kind of information.Aug 30, 11:58 AM — [ Student # 21 A. Antonio | A. Antonio student #21 (unedited by blog administrator)Last Tuesday night (August 28) at 10:55pm, while I was switching radio stations, I came across a live concert telecast in a local barangay. This concert was sponsored by 97.1 Barangay LS FM. What caught my attention was when a local band by the name of Silent Sanctuary sang the song “Rebound” and added a curse word in the chorus of the song. It goes, “Tangna, rebound mo lang pla ako…” It was really absurd to hear a band play and curse on air no matter how ‘heartfelt’ the song was.The act that was done by Silent Sanctuary was a violation of the radio code which does not allow any form of vulgarly and displeasing taste in words. Even if it wasn’t LS FM’s direct offense, it is their responsibility and accountability as a carrying media outfit to remind the bands to be careful of their language. To add to the injury, the vocalist of the band was trying to hype up the crowd by making ‘toilet’ jokes that goes, “First time nyo ba magkaron ng concert? Mga virgin pa pala kayo! First time nyo kaya na virginize nyo kami.” After a few minutes they made an apology statement, “Hindi nga pala pwede magsalita ng bastos, pasensya na sa mga nakikinig sa LS, hindi namin alam.” Despite making an on air apology, I believe a disciplinary action should be taken by the KBP to penalize the violation made. What has happened is not to be emulated and must be reprimanded immediately. As the saying goes, “Ignorance of the law excuses no one.”Aug 30, 4:07 AM — [ Edit | Delete | Unapprove | Approve | Spam ] — Mostly good practices, and a few minor lapses taken note of by students student #12, J192 | froilynn@yahoo.com | IP: 125.60.241.232(Unedited by blog administrator)Record companies and radio stations can be too money-oriented these days! When I switched on the radio last Saturday, August 25, I first heard the song “How Do You Fall In Love” by Jose Mari Chan. I was very surprised, however, to hear the DJ announce the title of the album (Love Letters and Other Souvenirs) and its label/brand (Universal Records) from which the song was taken! The KBP Radio Code doesn not allow that!The station that made this serious error turned out to be Yes FM 101.1 and it violated a provision from the KBP Radio Code which says that “the mention of the label or brand of the record played or the title of the LP album from which the selection is taken shall not be allowed.” It committed a blatant act of album promotion-in short, a shameless plug. Isn’t it enough to let the song speak for itself and let the public look for the album if the song is any good? Why should record companies and radio stations ignore ethical principles in order increase album sales, anyway?Aug 28, 12:42 PM — [ Emeline Andrade – Comm 191 Last August 22, 2007, while I was watching TV Patrol, I came across Kim Atienza’s report on an earthquake occurrence. In his report, what he indicated as its intensity was actually its magnitude. The measurement in the news was expressed as a Hindu Arabic Numeral. According to a lecture we had during our visit to PHIVOLCS last month, magnitude uses Hindu Arabic Numeral to indicate its value whereas intensity employs Roman Numeral. To my dismay, the wrong term was used in the entire report together with the misspelled text “intesity” flashed on the screen. The mistake may seem minor at first. However, the two terms, magnitude and intensity are different. Our lecturer said that magnitude measures the amount of seismic energy released during an earthquake while intensity indicates its effects or the probable damage in a given area. This violates the provision of KBP with regard to factual and accurate news reporting. The KBP code also says that “the supervision/evaluation of content, format and presentation of news broadcasts” is the responsibility of the editors and deskmen. Newscasts are supposed to inform the audience with accurate data and give appropriate warnings during disasters. Erroneous reports may cause confusion and even panic among the people.Aug 27, 3:45 PM — [ Student #15 | Our Practice Involves AccuracyThe front page of the August 23, 2007 issue of The Philippine Star carries the headline “Palace, Senate Gird for War”, written by Paolo Romero. The story chronicles President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s response to Senator Panfilo Lacson’s revival of the “Hello Garci” issue in Senate. A quote from the President is published with the article: “I embrace work and leave just to the pythons of hate to have a monopoly on the politics of destruction.”
The front page of The Philippine Daily Inquirer carries a story entitled “I have a peace to win” by Juliet Labog-Javellana and Gil C. Cabacungan on the same story. The difference, however, is that the quote from the President reads as “Titans of hate”, as opposed to The Philippine Star’s “Pythons of hate”.
At this point, whoever was right or wrong in quoting the President is immaterial. Needless to say that in the journalism practice, it is of importance to quote sources, interviewees and subjects with utmost care, as comments and quotes inevitably affect the presentation of the story to the reading public. While a story may be well-written (as both stories are, in this case) discrepancies in the actual terms used by the subject being quoted affects not only the story itself but the credibility of the writers and the publication as well. Misquoting subjects also has legal implications and could be used as grounds for legal action.
In this case, though either newspaper could have committed an honest mistake in quoting the President, given that both are major broadsheets in the Philippines, the responsibility of accurately delivering the news to the reading public is given more attention than other newspapers. A vast majority of the country depend on these newspapers for news and updates. If the readers are given erroneous information, and are singularly depending upon the newspaper for information, the effect is more than obvious: misinformation. Although it was just on word, the impact of the word upon the statement (i.e. “pythons” referring to people has different insinuations compared to “titans”, and vice versa) would carry severe implications on the message the subject is trying to deliver.Aug 26, 2:04 AM —
