A Costly Mistake (updated)
Statement of the Center for Media Freedom and Resposibility (CMFR)
on the ABS-CBN April 8 Story on the “Caluag Document”
ABS-CBN erred in the manner in which it aired that fake document on the mental health of Senator Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III. The error was not so much driven by bias as by a desire, common in the media, to scoop its competitors.
The most glaring error of the network’s April 8 “TV Patrol World” report was its emphasis. Instead of putting the denial by Ateneo de Manila University’s Fr. Carmelo Caluag in the story’s lead, it relegated the denial—and Senator Aquino’s reaction— at the end of it after a long description of what the supposed document contained.
ABS-CBN has suggested, through a statement by news and current affairs head and ANC managing director Maria Ressa, that time constraints compelled it to add on the denial by Fr. Caluag to a report it had already completed. It seems that ABS-CBN was convinced that it indeed had an exclusive, prepared the report before it sought confirmation of the document’s legitimacy from its alleged author, and thought that rather than take the time to redo the story and postpone its airing, it had to air it immediately over its early evening “TV Patrol World” news program before its competitors got hold of the same story. And yet both the standards of accuracy and fairness should have compelled ABS-CBN to hold the story for later airing if it indeed lacked enough time to redo it before the broadcast time of “TV Patrol World” last April 8.
ABS-CBN has compounded the error by refusing to name its sources, apparently because of an agreement to keep the sources’ names confidential. While best practice demands that press organizations honor such agreements, ABS-CBN could have made entering into such an agreement premised on the legitimacy of the document. The fraudulence of the document is reason enough to release ABS-CBN from whatever confidentiality agreement it has with its sources, unless revealing their names will endanger them.
Despite claims that certain media organizations are biased for or against Aquino and Manuel Villar, CMFR’s monitor of the media coverage of the elections has so far not seen any institutional bias on the part of the major TV networks for or against the candidates for president. But lapses in best professional practice such as what occurred on April 8 do reinforce public suspicions of bias. Loss of credibility and public trust are too high a price to pay for an exclusive that, as it turned out, wasn’t really one.
Update:
In its reply, ABS-CBN emailed CMFR the statement below last April 16. CMFR is posting the statement here in full.
ABS-CBN Statement
We thank CMFR for acknowledging the impartial reporting of ABS-CBN.
We disagree, however, with its reading of intent and motive behind the story of the fake document on Sen. Benigno Aquino III.
We were not motivated by the desire “to scoop” nor did we prepare the story earlier. The time-frame was decided by the fast spread of the document on the web and on text and, more importantly, by the timing of the denials of Fr. Caluag and Sen. Aquino, which happened while our flagship newscast was already airing.
We acknowledge we could have done a better job, but the priority was to air the denials as soon as we got them because if we didn’t, non-professional journalists – the greater part of the Public we serve – would continue to believe the document is authentic. We err on the side of Truth.
The key idea behind our decision is a paradigm shift in the way the role of the journalist is changing.
Professional journalists and media institutions are no longer the gatekeepers of old. Technology has changed our world, and we journalists must factor that in our decision-making. If we don’t report it, it would still spread as truth until media organizations expose it as false. That is our role in our new world. ABS-CBN has done several stories of internet hoaxes like the Villar mansions – spread as fact, complete with pictures – all of which turned out to be fake.
We are surprised that CMFR is urging us to name our sources.
Good sources are not authorized to speak for their organizations. They tell journalists what’s really happening. It’s up to us to sift through and decide whether true or false. At times, sources feed you wrong information, but that’s information as well! It gives you hints about what’s really going on behind the public line. In this instance, we revealed the document was given to us by sources from the Nacionalista party. That is all that’s necessary to understand what’s going on behind the scenes. Everything else is positioning and deflection.
Journalists try to avoid value judgement about sources. After all, one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter.
One thing is clear: if we “exposed” our sources, no one would ever trust us again.
Maria Ressa
Head, News and Current Affairs
ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corporation
[…] To read the whole statement, please click here. […]
Man, just for the sake of competition and on airing and exclusive scoop, ABS-CBN rather chose to report something that they haven’t yet verified.
please be careful ABS-CBN
[…] of Gospel truth. I am not saying that these unconfirmed reports should be dismissed outright. Fairness in reporting issues should always be the rule of thumb that must be followed.Responsible journalists should be able to […]
May it be true or not, somehow i believe the document. Take it at face value, and you’d see that Noynoy really looks demented. The way he acts, the way he smiles, the way he stands makes me believe he’s really whacko.
Mga walang consensya naman talaga ang mga nasa media na iyan. Lalo na ang ABS CBN. The news that they share are not really news but chismis. Facts na either kulang kulang or exaggerated. I just have to say, Noynoy is really a crazy incompetent man. He, like his mom, cannot be a president that would help our countrymen’s lives improve.
[…] A Costly Mistake […]
Eh bakit mahal ninyo si noynoy? hindi naman siya si ninoy?. gaga! walang nagawa yan noynoy ninyo! walang napatunayan sa kongreso at senado, papano pa pag naging presidente? hay! wag ninyo ako highblood-in!!!!
[…] it, but again the problem is the reports are very unfair, all must be accurate. We are asking for fairness in reporting issues. As for the ABS-CBN who recently observed by many that the reports were in favor of NoyNoy Aquino […]
[…] Media organizations like ABS-CBN News and Current Affairs, GMA News and Public Affairs and other media entities are responsible for bringing the latest updates to us. They are expected to be responsible and credible in news gathering and are expected to have fairness in reporting issues. […]
[…] are after all the biggest media companies in the country and that is why they are expected to have fairness in reporting issues that the situation calls for reliable news reports which would be our basis on whom to vote this […]
psycho test will only prove it wrong. so enough with the drama ngoyngoy. umaksiyon ka. sabagay di ka naman marunong kumilos dami mo namang utusan e.
[…] Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR) said in a statement in reaction to the TV Patrol report that the news program had erred in emphasizing the contents of […]