Threatened? Shout it out!

With the canvassing of the election results remains chaotic and bloody, are we seeing more threats against journalists covering it? Journalists -- whether they are based in the provinces or in Manila like Ricky Carandang -- remain under attack for only doing their work.

I was able to catch ANC (ABS-CBN News Channel) reporting about the threat against two of their journalists. The two journalists were in the studio talking about the threat. While ANC and ABS-CBN have been reporting about these media threats and attacks in the past, I hope they would also give cases involving other journalists who might not be connected with their network the same airtime they gave to Carandang and their radio reporter Noel Alamar.

Having that said, ABS-CBN is right to quickly report, and condemn, the incident. When a journalist gets a threat, he or she should quickly report it -- nay, shout it out -- to media organizations and authorities.

Reporter receives death threat after exposing election anomalies
Source: Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility

A television and a radio reporter for the ABS-CBN network received death threats in Lanao del Norte, a province located in the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), after reporting election irregularities in the province. ARMM is in Mindanao, the second largest and southernmost island of the Philippines.

ABS-CBN television news program TV Patrol World reported on 28 May 2007 the threats received by reporters Ricky Carandang and Noel Alamar, which came after they reported election anomalies in Lanao. Carandang is a television reporter/anchor while Alamar reports for DZMM, the flagship AM station of the ABS-CBN broadcasting corporation.

ABS-CBN news and current affairs head Maria Ressa released a statement on the 29 May 2007 episode of TV Patrol World condemning the incident.

“ABS-CBN News and Current Affairs condemns in the strongest possible terms, these attempts to intimidate the members of our newsgathering team. We would like to warn those involved that their identities are known to us,” Ressa said.

Ressa also added that they are “prepared to take legal action should these threats continue or should any harm come to Mr. Carandang, Mr. Alamar, or any member of ABS-CBN News and Current Affairs.”

Read more here.

Thank you, guys

So, just after three hours since I turned off my office computer in Makati, I'm back in front of the computer again -- this time here in our house, while I am wondering where to start in my work -- whether to monitor the news programs I am assigned to cover for the June and July issue of the PJR Reports, or watch first the May 14 elections coverage of selected programs. Since I am leaving for Dagupan Friday afternoon to attend the (very early) Saturday wedding of my thesis partner in college, I have no choice but to stay awake until then. Never mind If I look like a zombie on the wedding day. Aaargh.

But I just want to say that without the help of our interns this summer -- about 20 in all -- many of the activities of the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR) would not have been finished. Or if they were, they won't be finished in record time, which the interns have done. So, thank you guys. I know how you guys have worked hard and I know how the staff, particularly yours truly, have made your lives these summer feel like hell. But as I've said repeatedly, that internship at CMFR is not going to be a bed of roses. Now, with all your monitors and stories in, all those election-related reports, all the profiles/primers about the journalist killings, all the research work we've asked you to do -- and yes, even the photos, directories, and encoding you've done -- don't you feel proud that you did something in your internship to further professionalize and improve the country's press?

In a previous post anticipating this year's interns, I wrote: "(Here's) hoping to see a batch that is equally great, if not greater, than the previous one. No pressure, guys, but last year's batch of interns was a tough act to follow."

Indeed, to succeed a previous batch of great interns was a tough act to follow. But I think this year's batch far succeeded in whatever expectations we in CMFR had about them. As a group, their immense volume of work was simply incomparable. I don't even know where to begin. The elections coverage of the tabloids? Public affairs programs? radio stations? The study on political advertisements? The study about the preparedness of the press in this year's elections? The database on journalist killings, more comprehensive now than ever? The digitization/reorganization of PJR Reports and Jaime V. Ongpin Awards for Excellence in Journalism articles as well as the CMFR photos? Simply astounding.

So to our interns, take your much-deserved break. And to the handful of interns who are still in CMFR doing last-minute work, see you in the office and may you finish soon to enjoy whatever remaining days you have this summer (I know some of you are taking your short summer breaks outside the country). And to those who plan to do volunteer work for CMFR, see you soon. But to all of you, thanks and see you in our nightout (just like what we promised) soon.

Meanwhile, below are some photos of the best journalism students around. You can see five of the six CMFR staffwriters in the photo above as well as most of the interns this summer. (Photo above courtesy of the proud alerts intern Tat; the rest from Don)

During our trivia contest last May 18 in the "interns room", just before the final program for the interns:







Showing they are the best: Two of the "little Bryants," Angela and Rocel, after winning in the group category of the contest (with their proud and smiling "Big Bryant" together with Bimbo and Junette who managed to smile for posterity's sake). Hahahaha!



Rachel won the contest's individual category. Here with her proud "father" Don (flashing his pearly white teeth) who looked like he was the one who's going home with the goodies from CMFR:



CMFR's five "Outstanding Interns": Rachel, Stephen, Rocel (who was named the "Most Outstanding Intern") Tat, and Ivy:



The interns who attended the May 18 program. Unfortunately, some were not able to attend the event. The interns come from the University of the Philippines, the University of Santo Tomas, St. Scholastica's College, and Far Eastern University (Go, Criz!).



The interns with their hot-headed supervisor:



And with Bimbo, allegedly the "hottest" staffwriter around, who according to latest reports, already has a fans' club of his own. Just kidding, Bimbs. :P



With the staff



The interns with their bosses

Starting with the oh-so-serious, no-nonsense Team Bryant. I just looked like I was awarded with a "Jeers/Squash" label by the PJR Reports monitor. While my two interns rightfully deserved "Cheers/Star Apple."



The youthful-looking Venus together with her mature-looking interns.



Don, the "hottest" staffwriter according to the interns last year, together with his interns



The rambunctious Alerts desk together with their inimitable boss, Bimbo



And the Team Junette, who looked like a bunch of cheerleaders (hot!)

That's what the First Gentleman thought

So, Mike Arroyo thought that his "generosity" would make the press love him. That's what he thought.

Here's the joint statement of the journalists who have filed a class suit against the Mr. Arroyo:

In view of Jose Miguel Arroyo’s announcement that he intends to withdraw all the libel suits he has brought against journalists (46 in all), the question is raised whether we might respond by withdrawing our own class suit against him.

As it happens, this is not a case of such humanitarian challenge as the question seems to suggest. Mr. Arroyo, no doubt, deserves every sympathy after his heart surgery but, however serious his condition may be, it does not excuse him from misrepresenting his place in the way he has done: his is not to dispense generosity (his own word) to the journalists, but to ask them for it.

Apparently, Mr. Arroyo has had a dubious epiphany. Instead of realizing, as might have been the case in a true chastening, that he has filed whimsical, malicious, wholesale suits, and apologizing, he presents himself as in fact the one wronged and offers yet to forgive.

That is adding insult to injury, and it serves only to strengthen our intention to proceed with our suit for damages in behalf of our profession.

In the history of Philippine media, it is Mr. Arroyo who has filed the most number of libel cases versus journalists.

Let us remember that he is out to erode the watchdog function of the press. That is anathema in a democracy.

We’re trying to build the press as an institution that will function vigorously as part of the checks and balances in our system. As it is, we already operate in difficult conditions, where vested interests dominate some media organizations and the culture of impunity casts its dark shadow on us.

Today, we face a new battleground—in the courts.

The killer project

Finally, after more than a three-week hiatus, I am posting an entry in this blog again. As some of you know, I have been busier since the news media elections coverage monitoring project of the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR) started in February. Well, when did I stop whining about how busy we have been at CMFR?

But man, this year so far has been a killer. And to think that we are not even finished with the final report of the news media elections coverage monitoring project. Then in June, it’s the Jaime V. Ongpin Awards for Excellence in Journalism. Don’t forget that we do publish the PJR Reports every month. Maybe Glenn and the other interns are right. I sure looked like mess over the past few months, haggard from all the activities in the office. Maybe that is why most interns preferred Bimbo as the hottest staffwriter, not me. Haha. I guess, these days, I’m the hot-headed staffwriter.

Don’t get the idea, however, that I am complaining. One thing I loved working at CMFR is that you get to learn a lot of things about the media and their role in the society, what journalists should be doing, and the ethical and professional issues involving the press. It’s like taking up an informal master’s course in journalism. Plus, you get to work with some of the best journalists I know. If you’re a journalist and media-monitoring work does not appeal to you, then the idea of working for the likes of Melinda Quintos de Jesus, Luis V. Teodoro, Vergel O. Santos, Chit Estella, Booma Cruz, and Rachel Khan might. And then you also get to work with the best young journalists (Venus, Don, Bimbo, Junette, and Melai, who came onboard last May 16) I know. And no, I’m not just sucking up to these guys. They are really, really great.

Well, since we devoted a lot of time and energy – and a lot of meriendas courtesy of Ate Carol – I think my first post after more than three weeks is about the news media elections coverage monitoring project.

As I’ve said earlier, the only thing we’re not finished yet with this project is the final report, which will cover the news media coverage of the whole campaign period including the last two weeks or so of the campaign. What is good with this project is that it is only the second time CMFR released periodic reports about the media coverage of the elections and included a review of the television coverage. The first time CMFR released reports about the media coverage while the campaign was going on was in the 2004 presidential elections, the only organization in the Philippines to do so.

In the landmark 2004 project, CMFR accomplished the project with the help of citizen and academic groups – the first time a media NGO involved such groups in a broader watch of media coverage. As in 2004, Prof. Danilo Arao and selected journalism students from the University of the Philippines College of Mass Communication also helped in this year’s news media elections coverage monitoring project.

Aside from better media-monitoring instruments we used, what is exciting about this year’s project is that aside from monitoring selected broadsheets and news programs, CMFR – with the help of interns whom CMFR had trained for the project – also reviewed the elections coverage of selected tabloids, public affairs shows, and radio programs. In our March 5 roundtable discussion on monitoring elections coverage, some of the journalists present raised the idea that CMFR should not only monitor the elections coverage of broadsheets and news programs but also tabloids, public affairs shows, and radio programs as well. A gargantuan task, we thought back then. But lo and behold, monitoring these other platforms was done, even though it proved to be really difficult.

To further complement these in-depth reports about the news media elections coverage, CMFR also did an analytical study of the political advertisements in newspapers and TV (which is available online as well as the monitoring reports), as well as how the press prepared itself for the coverage, basically an update of the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism study in 2004.

To read the reports, here are the following links:

CMFR Monitor of News Media Coverage of the 2007 National Elections

First Report (February 13 - March 2)
TV, broadsheets covered TU most in first three weeks of campaign

Second Report (March 3 - March 16)
Arrest of Ocampo triggers surge in party list elections coverage

Third Report (March 17 - March 30)
Scandals put party-list ahead in media coverage
But Team Unity retains coverage edge over Genuine Opposition

Consolidated report (February 13 – March 30)
Media coverage of elections declines in sixth and seventh weeks of campaign

Fourth Report (March 31 – April 20, 2007)
Senate and Party-list News takes a Backseat
Team Unity, Genuine Opposition still the most-covered subjects

Supplemental Reports

Tabloid and AM Radio Coverage of the
Senate and Party-List Elections (16-27 April 2007)

Public Affairs Programs' Coverage of the
Senate and Party-list Elections and Political Advertising in Print and Broadcasting

For more information about the project and reports, you might want to read the CMFR Roundtable Discussion on Monitoring Elections Coverage. Clips of the roundtable discussion are available here as well.

Just finished talking in Bahasa

Just came back from Jakarta last Friday after launching the latest book of the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR) and attending the regional World Press Freedom Day activities there.

The book, launched in commemoration of World Press Freedom Day, is Philippine Press Freedom Primer: Quick Answers to Your Questions.

An easy reading material about the media situation in the Philippines, the primer is meant to provide those unfamiliar with the state of press freedom in the Philippines a quick guide to and overview of press conditions in the country. CMFR executive director Melinda Quintos de Jesus describes the primer as “designed to serve those making their first step of inquiry into the subject. It should be useful in planning research strategies for academic papers and as a quick reference for those writing articles and reports. For the general public, it is a ‘quick fix,’ a resource that will help contextualize current news about the press, from the violent attacks as well as the cases of libel which have caused journalists to be jailed.”

For more information about the primer, please click here.

I am currently writing an article about the World Press Freedom Day activities there in Jakarta, which I will later post here. It was great to see journalists around the region gathering together, taking a united stand for press freedom. Journalists as far as Afghanistan, Nepal, and Pakistan were also there in Jakarta to lend support.

It was also fun to see my old friends there -- like Siew Eng of the Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA) and Indonesian journalists Abdul Manan, Handaru Putro, and Anggara (If I am forgetting anyone, it was not intentional so please don't be sad.) I also made new friends there, so even though I was the only one from CMFR went to Jakarta and attend the activities, it was never that lonely. Plus I spent some time there with Filipino journalists Joe Torres (of the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines) and Red Batario (Center for Community Journalism and Development), two journalists I sincerely admire. These guys made me "celebrate" my birthday in Jakarta (photos at left) even though it's still a few months away, and told everyone that I am the Philippine Idol. Sheesh. Imagine my fright when the Indonesian and Afghan journalists I'm with in a karaoke club (on my last night before I left) began talking about my "Idol" stint and egging me to sing. Horror of horrors.

Thanks to these guys, my stay proved memorable. Of course, it helped that SEAPA provided me with a nice room at Santika Hotel. Nice facilities I must say (By the way, the first photo above was taken in my room).







Of course one section in my room is devoted to the infamous "green envelopes."



Anyone who has worked with CMFR for at least five hours will know that the green envelopes contain the gazillion work we do there. In my case:



Election monitors -- what else is new

Since I was CMFR's publicity person in Jakarta, I did not forget to bring copies of CMFR's publications, including the primer.



Also discovered the Indonesian versions of Chippy. Forgive my MSG-addicted taste buds, but the Filipino versions are waaay better.





The view outside my room:





Since there is no direct Manila-Jakarta flight, I have to stop by Singapore's Changi Airport. It was my first time to go there. The place is so modern. And expensive. I never thought that jelly beans could be that expensive. So, to the guys in the office and back home, please, please, savor them slowly. Yes, even the coconut- and rootbeer-flavored ones.

Love Changi's sunflower area by the way.





So, now I'm back here in Manila. Lots of work to do. Sigh.

Just when we need journalists like David

Mr. David Halberstam, you will be sorely missed.

David Halberstam, Pulitzer-Winning Reporter, Killed
By Ryan Flinn and Dan Reichl (Bloomberg)

David Halberstam, a journalist- historian whose reporting on the Vietnam War won a Pulitzer Prize, died in a car crash. He was 73.

He was killed yesterday when three vehicles collided in an intersection in Menlo Park, California, about 30 miles south of San Francisco. He was a passenger in a car driven by a journalism student that was broad-sided. Halberstam was wearing a seat belt, the San Jose Mercury News reported today, citing Harold Schapelhouman, chief of the Menlo Park Fire Protection District.

Halberstam chronicled the latter half of the 20th century, from darker moments, such as racism in the U.S. South during the civil-rights movement, to lighter fare, including lifelong friendships among aging baseball icons. He wrote 21 books over four decades after working for the New York Times.

"The world lost a wonderful man and a great journalist,'' New York Times Co. Chairman and Publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr. said today at the company's annual meeting in New York. "David, you will be sorely missed.''

Read more here.

Just in case I forget

Philippine Eleksyon 2007, one of the must-read blogs this elections, posted about the second report of the news media elections coverage monitoring project of the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility.

Click here for the post. The second report can be viewed here.

The third report is going to come out soon. Please watch out for it.

Dead journalists? Repressed press? The attacks continue

To those who have been following my Twitter posts lately, they know I've been terribly busy these days (since when did I stop becoming busy, my friends from PulpCommunity who have been egging me to join their swimming break on April 29 would say). I'm sure the frequent readers of this blog (if there are any) would notice how I have become slower in posting here. Plus, I'm out of Manila next week for a weeklong stay in Jakarta for the regionwide activities for this year's World Press Freedom Day. Sigh. I'm actually looking forward to it (visited Bali, but haven't gone to Jakarta), but half of me feels it is better for me to stay here, given the tons of work I'll be leaving here. Sure, I'm taking half of my work in Jakarta, but my Jakarta travel happens at a time when there's so much work in the office. Our interns at the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility can attest to this, I guess. (Note to myself: Have to convince Criz to help me convince our PulpComm friends that I won't be coming to the swimming-slash-reunion, even though half of my friends there would probably not understand and be angry at me for not going, even though the last time we met was ages ago.)

So here I am, just finished with that backbreaking discourse analysis of television news programs of the CMFR's third report of the news media elections coverage monitoring project. Wow. Even just writing that line makes me tired already.

But what makes me more disconcerted these days, however, is this latest stunt from Malacañang. The pattern of intimidating the media continues.

President Arroyo issues order further restricting access to information
Source: CMFR

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has issued an Executive Order (EO) that will restrict public and media access to official information. EO 608, issued on 20 April 2007, will create a National Security Clearance System that will "protect and ensure the integrity and sanctity" of classified information against "enemies of the state."

"It is the duty and responsibility of all government departments, agencies and offices to implement security measures that will protect and ensure the integrity and sanctity of classified or sensitive materials or information they have access to or in their possession," the EO said.

Heads of government agencies with access to classified matters are directed by EO 608 to implement and institutionalize the security clearance procedure approved by the office of National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales.

"Any unauthorized disclosure, sharing, publication or use of the information contained in the classified documents or materials shall be considered a grave offense and shall be punishable in accordance with civil service rules and regulations," the EO said.

Departments are also ordered to designate a security officer who will assume responsibility for holding classified information.

Read more here. Meanwhile, physical attacks against journalists continue. Another reporter gets killed. I think I should ask CMFR for a raise. Journalists in this country have become an endangered species. While the Philippines can claim it has the freest press in Asia on paper, the reality speaks otherwise. To borrow the words of CMFR deputy director Sir Louie, God bless all of us.

Are we going to rely on Wazzup Wazzup for news soon?

Ooh wow. Actually, I have read similar trends before -- even sharing them before with my colleagues at the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility -- but everytime something like this comes out, I always get surprised. Hmm... better yet, make that flabbergasted.

When applied locally, it's like having the most informed Filipinos relying on Wazzup Wazzup for news and information. Just to make sure, should we now start calling Toni Gonzaga the next Korina Sanchez or Mel Tiangco? Or is Vhong Navarro the new Mike Enriquez?

From Media Channel

Best-Informed Also View Fake News, Study Says

By NY Times

Americans may have more news outlets today than two decades ago, but they still don’t know much more about current events than they did then, according to a new survey by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press.

But here’s one big difference: the survey respondents who seemed to know the most about what’s going on — who were able to identify major public figures, for example — were likely to be viewers of fake news programs like Jon Stewart’s “The Daily Show” and “The Colbert Report”; those who knew the least watched network morning news programs, Fox News or local television news.

Only 69 percent of of people in the latest survey could come up with Dick Cheney when asked to name the vice president; in 1989, 74 percent could name Dan Quayle. Fewer could name the governor of their state (66 percent now compared with 74 percent in 1989) and fewer could name the president of Russia (36 percent now compared with 47 percent before).

In 1989, fully 81 percent of people knew that the United States had a trade deficit; today, only 68 percent knew.

The survey found that education was the best predictor of who would do well on the questions. “However,” it said, “despite the fact that education levels have risen dramatically over the past 20 years, public knowledge has not increased accordingly.” About 27 percent of Americans are college graduates.

Read more here.

Unleashing the media geek in me

Last week, we instructed our batch of interns this year to read and study, among other publications and documents, two recent publications of the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility. Now I just remembered that I haven't posted something about these goodies. With the elections fast coming and the continued attacks against the press, these books sure come in handy.

AS A contribution to the efforts to further professionalize journalism practice in the Philippines, the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR) has released an ethics manual for journalists and media practitioners in the country last March.

The CMFR Ethics Manual: A values approach to news media ethics

Based on American journalism scholar Edmund Lambeth’s values approach to media ethics, The CMFR Ethics Manual: A values approach to news media ethics demonstrates the link between principle and practice, giving reason and meaning to both prescription and prohibition.

Written by CMFR executive director Melinda Quintos de Jesus and deputy director Luis V. Teodoro, the manual reflects CMFR’s stand that ethical journalism cannot be divorced from competent journalism. The standards of competence and ethics are not in conflict but support each other. Ethics promotes all basic human values. The requirement of speed has to be balanced by the more important need for accuracy, for example: ethical practice means journalists need to get it right and on time.

The manual is designed for those in practice —journalists who find themselves confronted by problematic situations during coverage and on the beat. Questionable practice has become the norm, unquestioned for its commonness.

Limited Protection: Press Freedom and Philippine Law
The 1987 Constitution clearly protects freedom of speech and expression in the Bill of Rights. But the terms of this protection are vague, even in the interpretation of the courts, where those in power can file libel charges against journalists with the greatest of ease.

To provide journalist a better understanding of their rights and the protections they can seek from law, the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR) published Limited Protection: Press Freedom and Philippine Law last December.

Read here for more information about these books and other CMFR publications.

Do you love Mother Earth?

Since Earth Day is fast approaching (on April 22), here are some of the major activities in celebration of that event. Got this from former environment secretary Elisea Gozun, recently named one of seven Champions of the Earth for 2007 by the United Nations Environment Program. Gozun is the first Filipina to be named as such.

1. Ave Maria : Healing Prayer for Ecology

Almost a hundred classical singers and instrumentalists will perform various versions of the 'Ave Maria' Prayer at the Ave Maria Gaia Mystica Concert, a multimedia event to be held at the Quirino Grandstand in Rizal Park on April 20 to celebrate Earth Day 2007.

The multimedia concert will feature videos of our very own Tubbataha Reefs Reserve, Donsol Whale Sharks, Bohol and Malapascua Dive Sites, the Olango Bird Sanctuary, Balabac Strait Wildlife and the Agusan Marsh, and our extensive mountain ranges such as the Cordilleras and the Sierra Madre.

The classical singers will perform the opening number of Gounod's Ave Maria, usually intoned by Benedictine Monks, accompanied by Raul Sunico and Mary Ann Espina at two grand pianos. The grand finale, accompanied by the lighting of candles by the audience, will be Verdi's Ave Maria, accompanied by the Makiling Ensemble.

Famous Ave Maria works by Caccini, Tosti, Saint-Saens, Malvare, Schubert, Montecillo, Verdi, and Mascagni will be interpreted along with local compositions by Buencamino, Abelardo, Santiago, Francisco, Dadap, De Leon, Bolipata, and Cayabyab. Versions of the Ave Maria will also be sung in Philippine dialects such as Ilocano, Pangasinense, Kapampangan, Hiligaynon, Cebuano, and Bikolano.

The singers will be accompanied by renowned instrumentalists such as Lourdes Gregorio on the harp, Renato Lucas with the cello, Coke Bolipata with the violin, and Lester Demetillo with the classical guitar. Harold Galang conducts. Fides Cuyugan-Asencio is musical director.

2. Earth Day 2007 opens with ceremonies at 8 a.m. April 22, 2007 at the Quezon Circle, when Department of Environment Secretary, Angelo Reyes delivers the State of Philippine Environment Address. Tony Meloto, Filipino of the Year, will issue the call to action to heal the land and ourselves. Justice Emilio Gancayco, chair of the Quezon City Development Foundation, will give the opening remarks, Mayor Sonny Belmonte will deliver a message, and closing remarks will be delivered by Edicio de la Torre, Secretary General of Earth Day Network. Rendering musical numbers will be the Andres Bonifacio Concert Choir conducted by Jerry Dadap.

Special feature of the morning is the EcoGov Photo Exhibit on good environmental governance in local communities. Secretary Reyes, US Ambassador Kristie Kennie and USAID Mission Director Jon Lindborg will cut the ceremonial ribbon.

3. Later, there will be a Misa Angelorum Pontifical Mass to pray for the 'Children of the Planet' to be presided by His Eminence Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales, D.D. at the Manila Cathedral at 12 noon. Four nationally and internationally known Boy's Choirs will sing at the Mass, the Kilyawan Boy's Choir, Mark Carpio, conductor, Las Boy's Choir, Armando Salarza, conductor; Mandaluyong Boy's Choir, Sebastian Trinidad, conductor; and the Tiples de Santo Domingo, Eugene de los Santos, conductor. A thousand children from Smokey Mountain will be in attendance, 100 of them First Communicants.

4. At 7 pm the same day, SIBOL 2007, a spectacular “Light and Sound” Show highlighting the urgent need to preserve the environment, will be held at the CCP Front area. The lawn, the ramp, the fountain lagoon, and the façade will serve as stage and backdrop for a spectacular display of visual projections. A 20-minute art film on the environment, plus musical numbers and acrobatic performances directed by Chris Millado will be presented, with the participation of various artists and CCP resident companies.

5. The screening of Al Gore’s “Inconvenient Truth” Documentary, a Greenpeace Initiative, will be held the whole day at SM Malls and other public places.

6. Awarding Ceremony for the Ecological Solid Waste Management Nationwide Search for Model Barangays will be held on April 30, 2007 at Malacanang Palace.

To learn more about the coming Earth Day celebrations, please contact the Secretariat office c/o Green Army Foundation: Tel. (632) 396-5027 to 29,

Fax (632) 442-0410 or log on to www.greenarmynetwork.net for an updated events listing.

Meet the news photographers, journalism world's second class citizens

Journalists like Alex Adonis are not the only ones worrying in the world of journalism about the low pay they are getting. News photographers too -- considered in the profession as "second-class citizens," as Luz Rimban had written in the March 2007 issue of the PJR Reports -- often get meager salaries, with many of them getting paid per photograph. The average price for a published photo? For tabloids, it's a whopping fee between P75 to 125; for the broadsheets P200 to 250. And that is if your photo, indeed gets published. And to think that those rates are given by Manila papers. I am quite sure the pay gets less in community papers.

Some who are regularly employed by major news organizations get around P9,000, about the entry-level rate for a reporter. Still, that's not enough to cover all the expenses that come with the job -- the pricey camera equipment, film, transportation, food, and other expenses. And what about the family waiting home for your salary to pay off daily expenses?

It would have been better if the pay increase is faster. But in the case of photographers... let's just say your old circa-1990s dial-up internet connection is faster than the salary increase. As one photographer had told Ma'am Luz, "In 1987, the pay of a photographer per month was P5,000. After 10 years, in 1997, it became P7,000. In 2007, it will go up to P9,000. Just imagine, every decade, we get only a P2,000 increase. How will we live decently on that kind of money?”

Frankly, I love this issue. It gives us a peek on the world of news photographers -- often out of the media limelight, "discriminated" against by the profession where they work, underpaid, overworked, and yet very much needed.

And oh, while you're at it, please do read the story Venus Elumbre and I co-wrote on the recent forum the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility organized regarding its elections coverage monitoring project.

Main Story

The life and (hard) times of the news photographer
The Other Journalist
by Luz Rimban

Other Stories

Monitoring the coverage of the May '07 elections
Will Media Do a Better Job This Time?
by Venus L. Elumbre and Hector Bryant L. Macale

TV anchors and the news
What You See and What You Get
by Junette B. Galagala

The UN envoy on th political killings:
'In a State of Denial'
by Rachel E. Khan

Reporters Without Borders on the Philippine press
by More Murders and a New Enemy

The life and death of a crusader
The Ghost of Dong Batul
by Yasmin D. Arquiza

The rewards and heartaches of photojournalism
Life Behind the Lens
by Mike Perez

Buhay ng Photographer
(the original version as submitted by Mike Perez)

A sad story of one journalist

Alex Adonis's case reflects two things: that libel should be decriminalized in the Philippines, and that something must be done to improve the meager salary of Filipino journalists. To think that Adonis has spent 18 years in the profession, and yet he only gets P7,500 a month from previous employer Bombo Radyo Davao, most likely not enough for his family's expenses. (Adonis has a wife and two children.)

But when you think about it, how many media organizations in the Philippines have the capability to improve the salaries of their journalist employees? Some organizations don't even pay their employees on time. Some don't even pay at all.

No wonder corruption in the media in the Philippines is quite rampant. This can be partly attributed to the sad economic plight of the journalists.

Jail for journalist charged with libel
Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility

For failing to defend himself in court because he could not afford a lawyer, a radio broadcaster from Davao, a province located south of Manila, has been convicted of libel and is now serving time in jail.

Libel is a criminal offense in the Philippines.

Alex Adonis, who used to be a commentator of dxMF Bombo Radyo (Booming Radio), was convicted of libel by Regional Trial Court Branch 17 Judge Renato Fuentes and sentenced to four years and six months in prison.

The libel case was filed by Davao First District Representative Prospero Nograles, who is also the house majority floorleader, in October 2001, because of a report by Adonis.

Adonis had claimed that the congressman was seen running naked in a Manila Hotel shortly after the husband of a woman he was having an affair with caught them in bed. Nograles denied the allegation.

Fuentes, however, acquitted Adonis’ co-accused, Dan Vicente, the station manager of Bombo Radyo General Santos, a province of South Cotabato, located south of Davao.

Online publication Mindanao Times reported that Fuentes absolved Vicente due to the death of the prosecution’s primary witness who heard the Vicente and Adonis broadcast.

Adonis, who has spent 18 years in the media industry, failed to defend himself in court and the verdict against him was promulgated in absentia.

He was arrested by the police in the Bangkerohan Public Market of Davao City while he was visiting his mother on 19 February 2007.

Davaotoday, an online publication, reported that financial woes were a major factor in Adonis’ conviction.

Read here for more.

The press and the demonization of Ka Satur and Bayan Muna

Hot news yesterday was the release of Bayan Muna party-list Rep. Satur Ocampo. Going by the second report of the media coverage of this year's senatorial and party-list elections of the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR), it seems that Ocampo and Bayan Muna would continue to be the top party-list subject in the coverage in the next few weeks or so.

But the question is: Sure, there maybe more coverage of party-list groups and candidates this year than in the 2004 elections, but do reports explain enough or at least attempt to provide background and explanatory material on the significance of party-list issues, including Ocampo's arrest -- or in CMFR's words, "what was evidently a heightened government effort to demonize Ocampo and his party?"

CMFR's findings: There was little evidence -- at least in the fourth and fifth weeks of the campaign -- showing as such.

Second Report (March 3 - March 16)
Arrest of Ocampo triggers surge in party list elections coverage
Source: CMFR

The filing of charges against Bayan Muna's Congressman Saturnino "Satur" Ocampo, his arrest, the attempt to fly him to Leyte, and his detention at the Manila Police District headquarters triggered a surge in media coverage of the party-list elections during the period March 3–16, 2007.

This was among the findings of the ongoing Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR) monitor of media coverage of the senatorial and party-list elections. CMFR is monitoring the TV news programs TV Patrol World and Bandila (ABS-CBN 2); 24 Oras and Saksi (GMA-7); Sentro (ABC-5); Primetime Teledyaryo (NBN-4), as well as the front pages of the Manila Bulletin, the Philippine Daily Inquirer, and The Philippine Star.

CMFR is issuing two-week reports on the media coverage of the elections. It issued its first report on March 16.

Check CMFR web for more details, including the findings of the first report. Ocampo's photo from Tonyo.

The country's answer to Citizen Kane and other great films

So finally, someone was able to get a clip of Mark Lapid's classic quote. I learned there was a clip -- and some spin-off clips -- from Caffeine Sparks.



Aside from the two spin-off videos Caffeine Sparks posted, here are more hilarious reactions posted in Youtube:





The best I've seen so far:



Here's the full trailer of the movie, courtesy of Youtube user Deyey:

Interesting, interesting

Forgot to include the reports from Tarra Quismundo of the Philippine Daily Inquirer and ABS-CBN News on the first report on the "Monitoring the news media coverage of the 2007 national elections" project of the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility.

The second report is going to be out soon, maybe sometime this week. Interesting findings, I must say.

The Opt-Out Myth

Talking about this year's interns, I noticed that a number of them are into women's issues or are involved with women's groups. Maybe this recent story from the Columbia Journalism Review would interest them. Interesting read.

Women, work, and the press:
The Opt-Out Myth

Most moms need to work to make ends meet. So why do the news media focus relentlessly on the elite few who don’t?

E.J. Graff, senior researcher at the Schuster Institute for Investigative Journalism at Brandeis University, marshals a mountain of research to obliterate the myth—perpetuated in story after story by our elite news outlets, especially The New York Times—that a great swath of working mothers in this country are either bolting the career track or dreaming of doing so.

These articles—trend stories that help to frame the national discourse on motherhood and work in America—rely too heavily, Graff argues, on anecdotal evidence from a narrow socioeconomic strata (white, professional women with husbands who have high-end jobs)—and ignore the demographic reality that most women in this country must work to support their families.

Beyond that, the articles fail to report on the very real hostility toward mothers in the workplace; the harsh economic penalties for women who downshift, even briefly, to handle family responsibilities; and the complete failure of U.S. public policy to support working parents in today’s all-hands-on-deck economy.

For more information, go here.

A tough act to follow

"A peculiar characteristic of this batch is that students are concerned about media issues and the national situation. They’re a product of the times—the volatile political situation shaped them.”

- Danilo Arao, "Journalists in the making"

"Kakapakita lang sakin ni bossing Bryant nang March 28 2Bu section ng Philippine Daily Inquirer. In general tungkol 'yun sa batch 2007. Nag-feature sila ng mga mga nagtapos ng Engineering at Journalism sa UP na may potensyal na maging mga bigatin sa mga larangang iyon.

Surprise! Surpise! Lima sa mga 11 binanggit nilang mga Journalism graduate ay interns namin dito sa CMFR nung nakaraang taon. Astig! Congrats kina Mark Merueñas, TJ Decano... Janice Ponce De Leon, Richie Catalan, Melanie Pinlac. Sana tumuloy nga sila sa mundo ng pamamahayag. Kelangan ng propesyon ng mga mahuhusay at mga ethical na mga tulad ninyo!"

- Don, "Asteeeeg! Nice CMFR interns!"

"Oh? Buti tumanggap na kayo ng non-UP interns."

- Text message from friend Calix, after receiving my text of this year's batch of interns

Kudos to our five former interns at the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR) whose photos and views were recently published in the Inquirer: Mark Merueñas, TJ Decano, Janice Ponce De Leon, Richie Catalan, and Melanie Pinlac. Congrats as well to the others who have volunteered working or are presently working as volunteers for various CMFR projects: Glenn Perez, Mark Ubalde, and Jake Soriano.

I agree with Prof. Danny's observation about this batch. This batch is particularly concerned and critical about the issues confronting the nation, passionate in their writing and interests, eager to learn and re-learn things, aware of the role journalists play in the society. This is the type of practitioners we should have in the press.

We met this year's batch of CMFR interns in last week's orientation. This year's interns come from various schools in Metro Manila -- the University of the Philippines, the University of Santo Tomas, St. Scholastica's College, and Far Eastern University. And yes Calix, we do accept interns from other schools. It's just that most of the time, the interns applying are from UP. Interns from UP still dominate the batch every year, but we have seen over the last few years a rising number of interns from other schools.

Last year, the most outstanding interns were all from UP, including Janice, Mark, Melanie, and Junette (who now works at CMFR). Will there be students from other schools who will become this year's most outstanding interns? Let's see. But here's hoping to see a batch that is equally great, if not greater, than the previous one. No pressure, guys, but last year's batch of interns was a tough act to follow.

Here's the Inquirer article that included some of CMFR's interns and volunteers.

How do candidates plan to solve the journalist killings and other press attacks?

I was just checking the people who found and visited my blog after searching items in search engines like Google. One came to my blog after typing the keyword items "Philippines the most dangerous place for journalists next to Iraq." Press attacks in the country that once boasted as having the freest media in Asia continue -- and seem to worsen -- this year, when we are holding national elections. I think the press covering this year's elections should also ask the candidates questions like: Who should be held responsible for the unabated extrajudicial killings and media attacks? How do you plan to solve the killings and other press freedom violations?

For more news about journalist killings and other attacks against and threats to press freedom in the Philippines, check out Freedom Watch, the institutional blog of the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR). Soon, CMFR will put all its reports on these threats and attacks under one "Alerts" section in the CMFR website.

Among the recent posts in Freedom Watch

Solon prevented from speaking to the media

Members of the press were prevented from interviewing detained Bayan Muna (Nation First) Representative Satur Ocampo by his police custodians, who claimed that media interviews would be risky for Ocampo, Inquirer.net reported on 21 March 2007. Ocampo and the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) have protested the ban.

The 67-year old solon was arrested on 16 March 2007 and is presently detained at the Manila Police District (MPD) Headquarters. Ocampo, who was a business reporter for seven years in the 1960s for a national daily, was ordered arrested by a court in Hilongos, Leyte for his alleged involvement in the purge of communist rebels in 1984-85 in that province. Leyte is in the Eastern Visayas group of islands south of Manila.

Ocampo has steadfastly declared his innocence and accused the Arroyo government of concocting the charges to prevent him from campaigning for the May 10 mid-term elections.

“I am protesting this ban by my custodians against media interviews. I should not be prevented from speaking,” Ocampo was quoted in the Inquirer report.

The NUJP described the ban as “high-handed and arbitrary.”

NUJP said “reporters do not pose any security threat for Ocampo and there is no link between the lawmaker's exercise to free speech with dangers to his person.”

Read here for more.

Newspaper editors and publisher post bail for libel

The publisher, along with seven editors of the Philippine Daily Inquirer, one of the Philippines’ major dailies, was detained for an hour at a Manila Police Station on 20 March 2007 after posting a libel bond of P50,000 (approx. $1,000). A Manila court issued had issued warrants for their arrest over a P22 million ($440,000) libel charge by Jose Miguel “Mike” Arroyo, husband of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

Libel is a criminal offense in the Philippines.

Publisher Isagani Yambot, editor-in-chief Letty Jimenez Magsanoc, managing editor Jose Ma. Nolasco, associate editor Abelardo Ulanday, associate editor for readership Rosario Garcellano, news editor Artemio Engracia Jr., opinion editor Jorge Aruta, national editor Pergentino Bandayrel Jr., senior desk editor Juan Sarmiento Jr., and columnist Ramon Tulfo were ordered arrested by Judge Virgilio Alameda of Manila Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 10 after he found “probable cause” in the libel complaint of Arroyo.

The Inquirer reported that Magsanoc was not able to post bail because she was sick. Tulfo, meanwhile told the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR) that he will post bail for the Inquirer case along with the staff of Bandera, a tabloid in Filipino where Tulfo’s column appears in translation. Arroyo has also sued the publisher, editor-in-chief, associate editor, and circulation manager of Bandera along with Tulfo.

Read here for more.

UP CMC Professors Condemn Violation of Rep. Satur Ocampo’s Rights

From Prof. Danilo Arao of the UP College of Mass Communication:

This press statement released on March 20 (Tuesday) was signed by 18 faculty members of the University of the Philippines College of Mass Communication (UP CMC) led by Dean
Elena Pernia. For verification, please call the UP CMC Department of Journalism at 920-6852.

The undersigned faculty members of the University of the Philippines College of Mass Communication (UP CMC) condemn in the strongest possible terms the filing of multiple murder charges against Bayan Muna Rep. Satur Ocampo which resulted in his arrest and detention last March 16.

That the charges were filed during the election season is already questionable, especially since
Ocampo’s Bayan Muna Partylist group is running for representation in the House of Representatives and has been repeatedly accused by the powers-that- be as a communist front. The situation is preposterous as the crimes he allegedly committed happened more than
two decades ago while he was in detention.

The authorities even had the audacity to push for his transfer to Hilongos, Leyte – where the case against him was filed – despite the scheduled oral arguments before the Supreme Court on
March 23. If Rep. Ocampo can be denied due process, what kind of treatment can others similarly accused expect from this government?

Rep. Ocampo’s wife, Prof. Carolina Malay, was a faculty member of the UP CMC Department of Journalism from 1992 to 2000, during the last five years of which she was department chair. We
admired Prof. Malay then for her dedication to the teaching and journalism profession, and we commend her at this point for her strength and unwavering resolve to fight for truth
and justice. We join her in her struggle to uphold and protect our basic freedom.

We call on the authorities to stop harassing Ocampo and his co-accused and to respect their basic rights. An administration that claims to be both legitimate and serving the interest of
the people is expected to do no less.

Dr. Elena E. Pernia, dean
Dr. Lourdes Portus, college secretary
Dr. Arminda Santiago, chair, graduate studies
Prof. Fernando Austria, chair, broadcast communication department
Dr. Nicanor Tiongson, professor, Film Institute
Dr. Georgina R. Encanto, professor, journalism department
Prof. Luis V. Teodoro, professor, journalism department
Dr. Jose R. Lacson, professor, communication research department
Dr. Roland Tolentino, professor, Film Institute
Dr. Perlita Manalili, associate professor, broadcast communication department
Prof. Danilo A. Arao, assistant professor, journalism department
Prof. Marichu C. Lambino, assistant professor, journalism department
Prof. Yvonne T. Chua, assistant professor, journalism department
Prof. Ma. Cristina I. Rara, assistant professor, journalism department
Prof. Violeda A. Umali, assistant professor, communication research department
Prof. Jane Vinculado, assistant professor, broadcast communication department
Prof. Shirley P. Evidente, assistant professor, broadcast communication department
Prof. Andres Sevilla, lecturer, communication research department