Gani’s example

On March 6, Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR) Deputy Director Luis V. Teodoro paid tribute to Philippine Daily Inquirer publisher Isagani “Gani” Yambot during the media community’s recognition of his legacy:

What can I say about Gani Yambot but that he was a man of constant good humor and nearly always ready with a joke that more  often than not was of his own making? When Mrs. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s husband included him among the 46 journalists Mr. Arroyo began suing for libel in 2006, Gani said he had so many suits he felt as if he were the best- dressed journalist in Manila. I suspect that he originated, or was one of the originators of the “bad habit” joke—you know, the one that says that some journalists are forced to do things they don’t really want to do because their children have developed the bad habit of eating. The last time I heard that from  him was during a conference on the Philippine press and martial law at the Ateneo de Manila. He was also fond of saying during journalists’ meetings that what he was about to reveal was confidential, even if there were a hundred people in attendance and closely listening.

Both the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR) and the UP College of Mass Communication (UPCMC) were the beneficiaries  not only of his good humor, but also of his insight and presence in  the Jaime Ongpin Seminar and Awards for Excellence in Journalism, as well as in the symposia, round table discussions and other events  at CMFR and UPCMC, in which  good practice is recognized  and rewarded, or the issues that bedevil journalists and journalism discussed, and where, whether as resource person, speaker, or participant he could always be expected to come, even if a bit late. During the martial law period he would often come to UPCMC to candidly discuss with students the true state of the media. And as many student journalists know, he was always available when it came to serving as speaker, trainer or resource person  in College Editors Guild seminars and workshops. In  the last two years since the Ampatuan massacre, he  also attended, and often spoke at, the marches and demonstrations demanding justice for the victims of that atrocity.

In those events  where ethics and professional standards were the subject of discussion, Gani was constant in his opposition to spin and to editorializing in the news pages, believing that the news is meant to provide information and  that opinion is best left to the op-ed pages. It’s tempting to say that his perspective puts him in the old school category, but the truth is that his perspective  is  neither old nor new, just good journalism.

Gani Yambot’s benign presence, his jokes and his insights we will all miss, as his presence, I am sure, will be missed in the Inquirer newsroom. Beyond that, however, his example should remind us all that while our common destiny is to leave this world whether early or late,   the people and the community we serve will  remember us with fondness and appreciation only if we do journalism the justice it deserves by being as upright and as moral, as decent and as honorable, as Gani was.