Speaking of Media

A simple arrangement
“I’ve heard stories about reporters who are now on the payroll either of re-electionist senators or those taking a first crack at the senatorial campaign. This is old news to me, of course, something that comes out each time politicians start campaigning for elective posts.
“It’s a very simple arrangement. You cover the campaign, quote the candidate once in a while in your story, preferably in the lead paragraph, and voila, you get easy bucks!
“This degrades the profession but there are really others who couldn’t care less.
“In the 2004 elections, some reporters were able to buy new cars, expensive laptops, and top-of-the-line cellular phones after the campaign. Indeed, integrity has a price tag.”
– Aries Rufo, Newsbreak’s Off Duty blog, March 19

The Golden Rule
“If the elections this year and in the coming years will be decided by who has the most ads or the most effective ones, it means the golden rule of politics all over again—who has the gold rules. Who has the means will prevail, given the cost not only of airing TV ads but also of producing them.
“What about those who don’t have the resources but who may have the brains to actually craft the laws this country needs? If it’s going to be a battle of the ads alone, they won’t, or will hardly, count. Ergo, this year as in years past, it will be money politics all over again that will be in the winners’ circle.
“Today the key question when it comes to the media’s role in a democracy is how the less moneyed but possibly brighter and more principled can access the electorate to offset the inherent advantage of those whose war chests run into the billions.
“Not only can fair, relevant and accurate media coverage enable those who can’t afford to pay hundreds of millions for ads gain the name recognition Philippine politics puts a premium on. Even more importantly can they inform voters about their plans and programs through thoughtful media coverage.”
– Luis Teodoro, BusinessMirror, Feb. 27

A pervasive public figure
“Jurisprudence distinguishes between the ‘pervasive public figure’ and the ‘limited public figure.’ The pervasive public figure is one whose name has become a household word. It is thought that such a personality has access to media to rebut defamatory attacks and has voluntarily thrust himself into the public spotlight.
“The limited public figure, however, is not easily identified. One view that is followed sets down two requirements. First, the defamatory imputation must involve public controversy. Thus, for instance, imputation of adultery is not a matter of public controversy unless, perhaps, it is related to public office.
“Second, the person’s involvement in the controversy must be voluntary.
“In my view, Mike Arroyo will easily qualify as a ‘pervasive public figure’ and will bear the burden of proving actual malice on the part of those he has accused. His lawyers will be kept busy.”
– Joaquin Bernas, Philippine Daily Inquirer, March 26

A night in jail
“It felt weird to be at the center of all that attention. Weirder still was when the complainant, Ilocos Sur governor and senatorial candidate Luis ‘Chavit’ Singson, through various go-betweens, expressed his intention to go to the police station—apparently to bail me out!
“Looking back, I think that was the only time throughout the whole incident that I really felt angry. How dare he try to wring media mileage out of something that distressed my family so?”
– Gemma Bagayaua, on her arrest for a libel charge, Off Duty, March 17

Power is shared
“Here, the role of mass media becomes critical. But even then, the responsibility of providing information to empower voters to decide through the ballot lies not only with those who make programming choices. It also lies with the viewers and, to a large extent, with those of you who sustain the lifeblood of the industry.”
– GMA-7 chair, president, and CEO Felipe Gozon, Inquirer, March 5

On commercial overloading
“For the sake of the harassed/beleaguered television viewers, I think it is about time that the government intervened in order to put a stop to the too-much overloading of commercials in top-rating programs on TV today. Gone are the days when watching TV was a pleasant experience because at that time the TV networks were strictly following the policy of the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (KBP, the Association of Philippine Broadcasters) of airing 18 60-second commercial spots (equivalent to 36 30-sec spots for one-hour programs). “
– TV viewer Paul R. Mortel, writing a letter to Inquirer columnist Isagani Cruz, March 3

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