Reality Behind Glory

REALITY BEHIND GLORY

By: Rajeane S. Responde

Without light is darkness and behind darkness is where the hidden reality exists, the truth unseen and never acknowledged. The society is blindfolded for the benefit and glory of some whom are of great influence and the ones who attempts to be against will be threaten. Journalists are of professional ability to acquaint the public of the events happening around us but is lacking in financial capability with their empty pockets to afford tools which would allow their thoughts and ideas to reach the public. To provide these needs, business entity has been a part of press’s  nature and businesspeople usually are the ones who has the capacity to provide these needs , they become the proprietors of the publication but some becomes interventionist and hinder in the power of the press to inform the public, they become decision makers and abuse the privilege to use their power for business interest rather than allowing the journalists to be aware on what really is happening behind us or the what we call “ reality”

In the early 1990’s some circumstances testify how the society was affected by the lords of the press, dominant in the world of editorial decision making of the journalists in the world of print media. The cases of the ex-president Joseph Estrada against the press last February 1999 are good example, the issue headlined by the Manila Standard alleging Estrada using a mysterious BMW which belonged to Quezon Rep. Danilo Suarez who was then being investigated for dropping the presidents name to land fat in the government contracts but turned out later to be false, caused the newspaper owners to of the newspaper to apologize to the president and jokingly favors to fire the editors, jokes are half-meant, right? Another example is that of the Manila Times which reported that Estrada stood as “unwitting godfather” to a supposedly anomalous power contract, this cause the president to threaten a libel suit and tax audit to the Gokongweis, owner of the Manila Times, also in the case of the Philippine Daily Inquirer in the president’s involvement in the textbook fund scandal which made Estrada on top of ordering a tax audit and have a business ally threaten the withdrawal of advertising that brought them to makeshift and apologize for the offending story while Times even issued a front page apology that cause 3 of its editors to resign in protest.

Those are just instances proving how the dark side of a well-known individual was concealed through knocking off owners in their ample pockets and a ground for belief that there is a narrow opening in the armor of the press. Behind the glory of the byline in the screaming headlines is the controlled and limited power of the press in the freedom to write freely. It is stated that the Philippine media is in the laxest system of the state supervision in Asia, restrained only by laws on libel and sedition, so the government practically has no control for publishing and no official rights to prohibit the press, what they can do is to file charges in the court but still some government officials make ways in order to influence media by paying off journalists or by exerting pressure on the press proprietors, those what journalists called “red tag” and the “praise release” are the things that serve as barriers for the journalists to do their job which is to report freely, fairly and effectively.

            Journalism is NOT a job for the glamour, to get pay in the senate or either to assassinate a character, what come down to it is conscience, integrity and responsibility not for the sake of the influential ones but for the benefit of the society. Newspaper proprietors turn out to be dictators; they always make sure that everything is doing well for their own gain and focused mainly on how the publicity will earn or is profit oriented. During the times of ex-president Ramos, the Manila Bulletin publisher Emilio Yap who had use the editorial pages of their dailies to persuade Malacanang to set aside the outcomes of public biddings which is unfavorable to them, by this tool he convinced Ramos to reconsider results after being lost in the bid against Malaysians for the Manila Hotel which Yap claimed to be a part of national patrimony, the Manila Bulletin’s publisher Emilio Yap is now the owner of the Manila Hotel. Another example is the questionable Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority contract which Ramos had order the biddings against Hong Kong Company to be rescinded after the Standard owner Razon family who runs International Container Shipping Terminal Inc. (ICTSI) lost the bid Manila Standard campaigned for reconsideration, as a result it was then by the Razon’s.

These two cases were evidence of how newspaper publishers use pages of the paper to gather campaign for their other business interests. Opposite to interventionist of other publication, some newspaper owners just give their editors a wide area of freedom although pressured by powerful officials, what they did to prevent their rivals to have access in their newspaper, they let the editors decide on what the paper can print or some are professional journalists. Other publication leaves the editorial decision making to professional journalists, the Philippine daily Inquirer is known operating in this mode and was later called the fighting journalist owned opposition’s paper. Unlike other newspaper, editors accept the rules set by owners and dutifully execute orders to highlight or kill a story. This is the case of the Philippines Star or Malaya, the main disadvantage is that critical understanding about the owners and their friends and allies as well will be toned down, buried in the inside pages, or not printed at all, blindfolding the public about the hidden facts.

The evolution of the Philippine press has something to do with the situation nowadays; the development of the press in the Philippines in early 20^th Century was taught for the purpose of business “entity”. The American colonizers introduced newspapering in the country with the notion of a commercially new and profit-oriented press, so by the 1920’s, newspapering because a profitable business with the expansion of the readership and advertisement market. The chain of newspapers founded by the Spanish Mestizo Alejandro Roces, then by the U.S. press tycoon William Randolph Hearst and later on followed by Philippines press proprietors. Even Manuel Quezon persuaded his millionaire friends to set up the Philippine herald to serve as a masterpiece for his political function and this introduced Philippine Big Business into the field of journalism.

In the 1930’s – 1945, the Philippine press chain continue to pass into different business people proprietors because El debate- Mabuhay-Herald-Monday Mail (DHMM) chain than the Manila Chronicle during 1950’s in the time of Martial Law. Journalists are shackled with hand cuffs during Ferdinand Marcos term prohibiting the press to exercising its freedom. Marcos even ordered closure to newspaper industry and allowed again to open after few months but is under the strict government and supervision but was still used by the owners for their varied business concerns.

After Marcos fell in 1960’s newspaper industry began to rise again but had a hard time in setting up big presses, large marketing, distributions and business staff, and a network of professional journalists that needs a large capital. Anti-Marcos newspapers like the Inquirer and Malaya were eventually sold to move established entrepreneurs.

It was a remarkable time in print media when big papers suck up most of the advertising revenue while the rest operate at a loss or barely break even if they lose money for their aim that profit but influence, there is a great competition and business people use every weapon to influence those who run the machinery of government. Later on, newspaper ownership tended to follow changing face of Philippine business, press lords, Spaniards and Chinese-Filipino businessman began acquiring ownership of newspapers in 1980’s. Manila bulleting was later owned by Emilio yap after the death of publisher Hanz Menzi Betty Go-Belmonte broke away from Inquirer and set up the Philippine Star, John Gokongwei Jr. purchased manila times from Roces family and the manila Standard was bought by Yuchengcos but later sold by Elizalde family to Soriano in 1989.

Chinese-Filipino businesspeople invade the Philippine society especially in the world of print media, but insecurity about their citizenship prevented them to have an active and overt role until they granted with Filipino citizenship, from this, they began to become more confident both about business involvements and engagement with mainstream Philippine society.

Emilio Yap, the owner of Manila Bulletin was said to be the most known in interventionist extreme as he runs the paper in a manner that some Bulletin editors said as authoritarian. The maneuver’s everything in the newspaper including the people in the newsroom. Yap’s objective is to use the Bulletin a jump-off point to social prominence and as a springboard for protecting and advancing his business interests. Somewhat, he also includes in some other pages his charitable deeds and role as leader in building up Chinese-Filipino community and of course anyone who is against him would be threaten, it is only the supreme court which he can’t dictate because it is the closest to his heart for his many lawsuits. Getting through this seems to be an issue Bulletin always toes the line whichever government is in power that is what Yap portrays that there is just a simple thought here, if there’s no gain your nothing. Opposite to Yap, some other newspaper proprietor of good will and traits, although the same nationality being ethnic Chinese. The Gokongweis has a different technique on managing newspaper taken hands off policy at the times, although the he graduated from the U.S. journalism school and has a better grasp of liberal notion with the press as watchdog and part of the forth estate. It really takes a good leader to have good people and a real leader is not the master of all but the servant of all. The Inquirer had made it’s way in being the most leading newspaper in the country, mainly because of the way it is run by its owner, known for it as hard-lifting and is willing to take the risk of losing its market rather losing its critical edge, that makes the bullettin profitable.

The media plays a very important role in the society, without media, the dissemination of information would be a great problem. But the question is, do the people rely on right, factual and accurate sources? It is a great challenge for the press to promote humanness and do their responsibility if someone always gets in the way, someone who dictates what to do, how can there be a change and justice among everybody? The answer is “balance and fairness” although business entity is a part of the press’s job; it is still the responsibility of the journalists to be truthful in informing the people on everything that happens around us. Media is entrusted by the people because the press is the voice of the citizens in our society.

Journalism is a job that requires man and woman who are noble, responsible, has the courage, conscience and integrity and in order to establish an effective world of the press; a helping hand is needed, watchful and observant citizens, unity among people for betterment of the society together with GOD is the greatest armor.