Are there limits to social media use?
By Kathryn Roja G. Raymundo
Published in PJR Reports, July-August 2011
What happened to motorist and University of the Philippines law student Christopher Lao was an issue of social media excess more than of journalism ethics.
GMA News reported the different situations in Metro Manila and nearby provinces following days of heavy rains and flooding last Aug. 2. But, a segment of reporter Jun Veneracion’s story caught the attention of a viewer and uploaded it on YouTube.
The segment, which showed Lao driving his car into a flooded street in Quezon City, went viral almost immediately. Veneracion interviewed Lao just after he stepped out of his car and waded through the flood, which was so deep that his car stalled and floated.
Undue emphasis
Given the conventional news values, the incident was newsworthy not primarily for its oddity but more for its being an indication of how bad the flood was. If seen in context, the segment fits right into the reports of GMA News that day.
However, GMA News did emphasize the incident by making it one of the headline stories in its primetime news program 24 Oras “Sa Quezon City, kotseng lumusong sa baha, lumutang. Drayber, nanisi pa. (In Quezon City, a car which drove through the flood, floated; Driver blames others)…” The lead of the report was true to the headline: “Mabilis din binaha ang ilang bahagi ng Quezon City. At kabilang sa mga nakatawag ng pansin ng aming news team, ang isang kotse na sumuong sa malalim na baha kaya ayun naku lumutang. Mula sa Quezon City nakatutok live si Jun Veneracion (Areas in Quezon City were flooded immediately. A car which drove through deep floodwater and floated caught the attention of our news team. Jun Veneracion reports live from Quezon City).”
GMA News could have handled it better: rather than highlighting Lao’s experience, the report could have focused on the dangers of driving during heavy rains. Also, Lao’s comment about the lack of warning on the depth of the flood is a story that should have been pursued.
But was it the intention of the reporter to ridicule Lao? Such stories are so common in journalism that GMA News could not have known that the truncated report would elicit such an over-the-top reaction over the Internet.
A victim of cyber harassment
Lao’s statements during Veneracion’s interview caught the attention of social media users to the point where he made it to the Twitter trending topic, 8th worldwide and 4th in the Philippines at some point, as well as earning space in a number of Facebook pages.
GMA News had to take down the video from its website because apart from sharing the news, people started to call Lao names—they used rude and/or insulting words to describe him and the incident in a clear abuse of the freedom social media provides those who access them.
GMA News also released this statement and apology:
“Mr. Lao was already victimized by the flood and a lack of warnings. He shouldn’t be victimized again. Many of us could have been in his situation. We are urging the public to stop the insults. We regret that our video, which was meant to provide a lesson for all motorists, was used in any way to make fun of another person.”
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