Philippine mainstream media, print and broadcast, have a tendency to warp their news and opinions and convey them as gospel truths. This is not journalism of the 5 Ws ( who, where, why, what, when) and H (how) variety. Whatever genre the journalist writes--news, editorial, feature--he or she starts the facts that must be checked, doubled checked if need be. This is not only accuracy with respect to names of persons and things and places, but on statements or quotations made by persons of interest or subject matter especially those controversial comments.
Sadly to say, these mainstream media, for the most part, don't dig deeper on the why and how of things they are looking for. "Bias" is the name of their game that give them handsome dividends.
For example, they keep on harping on human rights abuses committed during the martial law regime, blaming everything to Ferdinand Marcos, referring to him as dictator and Hitler. (Describing Marcos as dictator and liking him to Hitler is fiction, not objective journalism. Why the name-calling? Did Marcos kill or ordered the killing of people? And how many people were killed during his reign? Millions as did Hitler who caused the gassing of 6 million Jews?)
If these abuses were really a fait accompli, who did it or what forces under the command of Marcos committed them? His private army? Or the Armed Forces of the Philippines that were at his beck and call at that time? Did he order the executions of these victims? Did he issue a presidential decree to the effect?
Manila Times columnist Roberto Tiglao, who headed a communist party group in Southern Tagalog during the martial law regime, has written about the Philippine Constabulary, then headed by Fidel Ramos, that did most of the human rights abuses. Ramos, who became president of the Philippines after Cory Aquino, has not refuted the charges.
Who were these victims? Were they combatants, physically and mentally? Did they belong to the Kabataang Makabayan, a creation of Jose Maria Sison, the former caudillo of the Communist Party of the Philippines and its armed wing, the New People's Army?
And many other questions that mainstream media appear to have ignored since Ferdinand Marcos was ousted in 1986?
No comments:
Post a Comment