Misleading Headline

Photo of the the Manila Standard report on May 11, 2017.

STORIES ABOUT peace talks and related matters must not only be accurate. Reports must also be careful not to inflame emotions. This also applies to the headlines, as, in this age of digital media, there are many who limit newsreading only to the headlines, clicking no further to get into the story.

CMFR jeers the Manila Standard’s headline“NPA beyond control – Joma,” on May 11, for being both misleading and inflammatory. The article drew information from recent interview with Communist Party of the Philippines’ (CPP) founder Jose Maria Sison, published in the Manila Bulletin.  Sison explained that while he is regarded as one of the senior leaders of the Communist movement, he does not exercise control over the New People’s Army (NPA).

“The collective leading organs of the CPP, NPA, NDF, which are based in the Philippines, are the principal of the NDF Negotiating Panel. They give orders and instructions to the NDFP Negotiating Panel,” Sison said during the interview. “No one in Utrecht can give orders to the CPP, NPA, NDFP,” he said. The Standard’s headline is quite misleading, as it tends to disregard the context which the actual quote of Sison reflects.

Bulletin ran the  “Negotiators do not control NPA – Joma,” which better captures the context of Sison’s words. Headlines of stories, especially when drawn from statements of sources, should remain faithful to the context.