Honour vs Reputation

By: Rajeane S. Responde

            Journalists are the watchdog and voice of the people. Despite of the fact that one has to deal with the mad world of media where it is a matter of choice to live as a sinner and a traitor or to live dangerously. It is for your own honour versus the reputation of your subject, loyalty to one person against the prosperity of infinite number of people, willingness to go through the barricade that looks like “a guillotine waiting to crush intruders”, life or justice.

            “The state recognizes the vital role of communication and information in nation-building” (Article II, Sec. 24 of the Philippine Constitution) Communication is a bridge to inform and educate people, a tool for understanding and a thing which serves as a direction which would guide people to the roads of life. Press has the power within the society being the “fourth state of the realm” which allows them to answer questions regarding matters in the society and of the world, most especially to be aware of the prominent people’s life which involves the government concerning the common good of the nation and its citizens. The media or the press is responsible for unrevealing the truth and must expose all hidden agendas of public figures who abuse their power and the primary task is to aim for justice.

            Some politicians or public figure wears the cape of heroes’ concealing the reality behind their names and wears visible crown to emphasize their authority. Well-known individual mostly have their deepest darkest secret, journalists must remove the cloak and reveal the secrets behind their glory or else burn the cloak to show the reality which is not seen by our bare eyes, and press in accordance with the law is guaranteed with this powerful shield against the cruel person barriers but was not given importance and was taken aside. A challenge of the press is on how to deal with the forces order to do their job effectively.

 Journalists have this power to control the mind of their audience but the men in throne have the power to command people. “No law shall be passed abridging the freedom of speech, of expression, or of the press, and the right of the people peaceably to assemble and petition the government for redress of grievances” (Art.3, Sec.4 of Phil. Constitution) the real hero is the one who is not afraid to unleash the reality through intelligent means, just like our what heroes did, example is our national hero Jose Rizal who trusted the press to seek for justice. There are no limitations on who to talk about as long as it tackles for the benefit of many and as long as it follows the rules of the law.

 It is the duty of the journalists to dig for facts and give people the truth and nothing but the truth without prejudice because press is prone to manipulation. He has to have strong will, guts and immunity against the persuasion when serving the public but the freedom is associated with boundaries not to invade privacy of other people without appropriate reasons and should not step into the right of the other person, there must be certainty or corroboration of facts before giving the public conclusions. Also, a brilliant journalist does not lend facts for the sake of boosting business,  putting “chocolate to the ears” or for entertainment purposes, it is matter of informing the people for their welfare, the one who does not accept bribes, must be sensible, works intelligently probably a formal report lending a product of public obscenity.

Therefore, journalists must be ethical because every word counts, every statement can create and destroy a person or start and end up something, and pen is a very powerful instrument of the press. There are several aspect to look into in a certain news, for it to be worthy and plausible. Accurate information or reliable source is needed for it to be stated as a fact, objective or that it is not bias it has to be a press release no a press release, not opinion based but rather has a factual basis, and fair and balance, it should tackle its negative or positive sides, while when it is about persons in conflict, both sides in the story should be seen.

“An ethical journalist applies the porcupine dilemma when dealing with the reality, it is about getting close without being hurt, to unite anything without moral constrains, the right to attack then withdraw with no regard on who is hurt in the name of truth”