Is the Palace Using ABS-CBN for Propaganda?

Blogger Dean Jorge Bocobo thinks it is so. "Just as (The Daily) Tribune editorial claims," he wrote in his blog. But he said he is supporting the network's decision to air the video. "What were they gonna do? Sit on it? That would be inconceivable from a purely journalistic standpoint."

He however wrote some criticisms on the station's coverage.

First, he said that ABS-CBN's refusal to explain the details about the tape's origin (for "obvious ethical reasons" and that it is the station's right) means that "the public must accept their conclusion or interpretation of the ultimate meaning of this video material on faith."

Second: "Strictly speaking we do not know when it was made, by whom, why it was made, for whom, and if it had actually been seen by anyone else than those who made it," Bocobo explained. "The last is important because NOW it has been seen by millions, and an interpretation of its meaning has been drummed in by Bandila, by (The Philippine Star), and by continuous ABS-CBN coverage for three days," adding that "an illegal, perhaps libelous use of unverified electronic material has been aired against the reputation of an active military officer who has not been charged with any crime thus far and whose reputation has thereby been impugned."

In his third point, Bocobo was in effect asking: Was the video really a result of "perspicacious investigative reporting" and the "careful cultivation of 'trusted sources'"?

And fourth is that the network and the Star, according to him, "did become players and create the news that even bloggers are paying attention to!"

Read his post.