This is a think piece submitted for a journalism major subject.
Three days after the elections, a taho vendor got curious about my course. I told him I was studying journalism, a degree that would land me a reportorial job. He then asked me where I would work afterward. He guessed, “Sa Abias?”
It was a joke and he eventually gave me the two cups of taho I bought. But it was striking because he was wearing a red Marcos baller, a clear sign of whom he voted this year.
“Abias” has become a pejorative reference of the Marcos-Duterte universe to ABS-CBN, the country’s biggest television network they are punishing for its supposed unfairness in covering President Rodrigo Duterte and President-Elect Bongbong Marcos.
ABS-CBN stands at the forefront of the press’s fight against government hostility and their supporters’ ongoing delegitimization efforts. Alongside are the Philippine Daily Inquirer and Rappler, which suffered incessant attacks for their blow-by-blow coverage of Mr. Duterte’s drug war and bold commentaries on his populist style of governance.
In our interview with Dr. Rachel Khan of UP Diliman for a student publication, she explained that delegitimizing the fourth estate is the first step in the large-scale campaign to proliferate disinformation: “When legacy media is discredited, then it’s easier for the authors of disinformation to come in and replace them. People will be looking for alternative sources of information. Now, if you’ve destroyed their trust, […] eh di may gap, may butas na puwedeng pasukan ng iba. And that’s the primary strategy.”
It has been effective so far. Only 37 percent of Filipinos trust the media. The online landscape, including social media, trounced television and print to be their main source of news, of which Facebook and YouTube were the most-visited websites.
Lately, Marcos-Duterte supporters have been sharing content from SMNI, the network founded by Pastor Apollo Quiboloy – currently on the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s wanted list. It lends its platform to red-tag political opponents, discredit critical media and mislead the public on government affairs to promote its agenda. During the pandemic, its Facebook following grew nine-fold from 126,076 in February 2020 to 935,895 two years later.
The press is, therefore, locked in a battle to take its reputation back. But trolls and administration-friendly networks are not just the culprits of this crisis; it’s the press itself. The media was in a state of anxiety and it tragically transformed itself into an eyeball-chasing, clickbait stalker.
It is high time for reporters, editors and executives to be jolted into a higher state of seriousness because the dark forces are manipulating the public. And the public that they serve – and I will serve – needs our presence and guidance everywhere to bring the truth, no matter how hard, how toxic and how painful.
As the Marcos presidency is set to usher in yet another calamitous period for the free press, it’s important for our news sources to bore in. But how can it do so when it is shrouded in fear and enslaved by ratings and profit? Media owners have been demonstrating subservience to the powers that be, dropping their guard in the face of animosities and attacks. Antonio J. Montalvan II was fired for complaining to the Inquirer that his columns weren’t published in its online edition, discovering that the paper had an editorial policy not to publish unfavorable pieces about Marcos and Bong Go. Staffers at CNN Philippines fought the top management over its directive to use the softer “strongman” in referring to Ferdinand Marcos Sr. rather than the accurate “dictator.” And Christian Esguerra, the hard-hitting journalist anchoring “After the Fact” on ABS-CBN News Channel, was abruptly forced out on March 30 – in the middle of the week – because of the “prevailing political climate,” with the network staying silent on the real reason behind it.
Will the media just wait for yet another viral moment online to be allotted precious airtime? Jessica Soho, who won two Peabody Awards for documenting an illegal kidney trade in the slums and the plight of Filipino boxers, has been committing the grave sin of hindering her top-rated show “Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho” from delving into the pressing issues of the day, focusing instead on feel-good and shallow stories. While GMA can claim that it has “I-Witness” and “The Atom Araullo Specials” under its brand, neither has scored the kind of ratings “KMJS” currently enjoys.
Ging Reyes, the head of ABS-CBN Integrated News, lamented in 2020 – three months after the network’s untimely, undeserving shutdown – the media’s incontrovertible mistake in its treatment of its audiences: “Media fed our audience too much entertainment. We’re guilty of that. […] I do believe our audience is overentertained, underinformed. And that is the thing we need to change.” True enough, pre-shutdown, ABS-CBN had completely focused on its thriving entertainment division; gone were the days when newsmagazine programs “Magandang Gabi…Bayan” and “The Correspondents” ruled television that had substantively contributed to the political discourse. Even GMA News and Public Affairs made a complete turnaround, with YouTube videos like “Wish Ko Lang: Ang kalbaryo ni Gwen,” “Imbestigador: Pag-iibigang nauwi sa karahasan,” and “Wagas: Woman gets impregnated by a ‘tikbalang’” dominating online.
The news media must stop treating Filipinos as children. It’s time to bump off stories about warring celebrities and TikTok dance crazes and educate the public instead about the consequences of climate change or political dynasties or the importance of protests as an exercise of freedom of expression.
By reassessing and fixing itself, the press’s long-lost self-respect would be restored, becoming a potent weapon every time the Marcos-Duterte loyalists say, “fake news,” “biased” and “the people don’t believe you.”
Journalism is a public service that media companies give to the public that should prioritize trust over profitability. In the next six years, a government-backed operation would try to warp the people’s minds to accept their agenda and forget history. Tycoons and executives cannot waver their duty or look in another direction in the name of survival. A faltering press is a manifestation of a weakening democracy. If TikTok videos take up the chunk of newscasts’ airtime and broadsheets’ space, it would be a shame for the people who fought for our freedom and built this industry.
It is high time for reporters, editors and executives to be jolted into a higher state of seriousness because the dark forces are manipulating the public. And the public that they serve – and I will serve – needs our presence and guidance everywhere to bring the truth, no matter how hard, how toxic and how painful.
Our duty – and fervent hope – is that all Filipinos, even a taho vendor, will be well-informed and not overentertained.
Featured image from CNN.
The Edj View 