Journalism and its elements

Communication was the first and foremost thing that is needed in building a civilization. It is the awareness in the environment and discovery of the unknown that would let the people continuously build their societies. Journalism, on the other hand, shapes our thinking and way of life as we rely and we believe on the news it brings.

Having knowledge on the information around us lets us govern ourselves independently.

Before everything else, there are principles in journalism that must be practiced to obtain the information that would let the people be liberated from ignorance and be able to have complete control over their destinies.

But to practice these principles in action, the purpose of journalism must be initially known.

Journalism is a tool for democracy, for men’s freedom – for liberation from ignorance. For the general welfare of the society, journalists must be able to raise the awareness of the citizens of what is happening in the world. With that knowledge, people would know the truth and be able to make an action for it.

During the Spaniards’ era, it was journalism that brought voice to the voiceless. Marcelo H. Del Pilar’s La Solidaridad gave voice to those oppressed by the Spanish rule in our country. Other Philippine heroes such as Jose Rizal and Antonio Luna also resorted to journalism in voicing out their opinions and reactions to the Spanish governance in our country, and to awaken the Filipino spirit in each and every Filipino.

Understanding the principles of journalism allows journalists to maintain its purpose.

Journalism has principles that must be practiced to have the essence of its purpose. Among all its principles, truth is the topmost principle that must be understood because it is what the journalists must convey to the people.

The truth is the most complicated element the journalists should understand, for what is true today can be false tomorrow. In philosophy, the concept of truth is very fluid. And that is very much the same with the truth in journalism.

Without her stand for the truth, the whole Napoles-Pork-Barrel issue would not be revealed. It was Philippine Daily Inquirer’s Nancy Carvajal, who stood for the truth, who started the whole revelation out. Even if the issue of the Pork Barrel was something big, she fought for the truth, and that is something journalistic at heart.

Journalists must first know to whom their allegiance is before the truth is accomplished. –

Loyalty in journalism is vital. This builds the rapport between the journalists and the people. This helps in building the journalists’ credibility.

It is to the citizens whom the journalists’ loyalty should be. But still, the question of to whom journalists work for is always ever present – the fact that news networks are mostly privately owned by conglomerates.

There were these news in the Philippines that the mainstream media did not cover last year, according to the site pinoyweekly.org. One of these is the news regarding the Coca-Cola Bottlers’ workers’ issue. The management refused to acknowledge the workers’ rights, including the right to join organizations. One of the possible reasons why the mainstream media did not cover it with such importance was that Coca-Cola is one of the main advertisers in mainstream media networks.

Saying the truth and having an allegiance to the public is not enough for journalists to serve the main purpose of journalism, which is to be a tool for liberation. The discipline that journalism uses to seek the truth and convey it to the society must be understood as well.

Journalism needs to follow certain methods in seeking the truth and conveying it to the society – and that is the method of verification and application of transparency.

Roel Pareño of Philippine Star wrote a news that defied this discipline. His news, written on September 2010, was about the Philippine Air Forces’ acquisition of eight military helicopters (Sokol W-3WA Falcon) from the Polish Company PZL Swidnik Co. In his news, he stated a comprehensive report on the helicopters’ equipments saying “… the other helicopter units would be equipped with starboard-mounted 23mm GSz-23 twin-barrel gun; Mars-2 launchers for sixteen 57mm S-5 …”.

This reportage startled many military enthusiasts. Their questions about the details that the news claimed that Philippine Air Forces’ spokesman, Lt. Col. Miguel Ernesto Okol have said found their way to him directly just after the report came out. It was found out that the statement in the report that was said by Okol was just fabricated by Pareño.

Pareño revealed later on that he took those comprehensive details from Wikipedia, so as to add an effect to his news.

To report truthfully and loyally to the citizens, the relationship between the journalists and society must be clear – that there would be no conflict of interest.

Maintaining distance from any faction is one thing a journalist should do. As what the fourth principle says, journalists must be free from any bias.

The Korina Sanchez-Anderson Cooper issue is a good example. The issue here was that Anderson Cooper was just reporting what he merely saw. Sanchez, who was annoyed by Cooper’s remarks on the government’s relief operations, made an unethical comment on it in her morning radio show.

Cooper, on the other hand, made a clarification on air about his remarks that he was not against “the government for its lack of presence” in Leyte. He even said that “I urge her to go there (Tacloban). I’m sure she has the means as she’s the wife of the Interior Secretary…”

Sanchez’s relation to the Interior Secretary Manuel “Mar” Roxas seemed to be the source of her bias. Or even if she personally does not have any bias, her relationship with the Interior Secretary is enough justification for her annoyance to Cooper’s remark on the government’s relief operations.

Being independent from any bias is very important, especially when considering journalism’s role as the Fourth Estate.

Journalists are also called the Fourth Estate, being the watchdog of the society. It is their role to investigate areas in our society where anomalies and abuse may start, like in the government and business.

As such, it is also their role to give the voiceless in our society a voice.

Philippines has their very own Imbestigador, an investigative news program by the GMA Network. Imbestigador makes surveillances, and exposes out injustices in our society such as child abuse, prostitution, anomalies in government offices and businesses, and the likes.

Giving voice to the voiceless in our society is just one of the journalism’s roles. It is vital to know the connection between the press and the public.

Journalists have the duty to tell the truth to the society and to inform them on what is happening around them. As this happens, the creation of public forums permeates as the citizens become knowledgeable of what is happening in the society and from that, they get involved.

Public forums are mostly created now in the Internet. In the Philippines, GMA Network has made their Twitter account; and in it, discussions, arguments, ideas, and opinions are voiced out in the form of tweets.

Journalistic principles should be followed so as to have meaningful discussions over public forums. But before the citizens get engaged in a public forum, journalists should make their news stories interesting enough for the people to get involved.

Engaging the people and making them interested in the relevant things in our society, that is the seventh element of journalism.

GMA Network’s Reporter’s Notebook practices this principle. The program makes the relevant issues of our society that are usually despised by the higher members of our society interesting to everyone.

It is not enough to know how to engage the citizens to the relevant stories of our time. Journalists must also know what stories are worth covering.

Most news programs now move away from hard news. Journalism has now come to the point wherein journalists give the news that the citizens only want – like having a separated news program intended for a certain audience.

Mainstream media, like GMA Network has different news programs to cater the people’s needs. For example, they have Born to be Wild for fauna-related news. They created special news programs for the people’s options.

Knowing what news is worth covering for the people is as important as knowing the last principle in journalism that ties the principles altogether.

Having the news comprehensive and proportion helps in making the news newsworthy. Journalism would not be complete without the final principle; it is to have the obligation to exercise human conscience.

News reporter Meann Los Baños of TV5, who is also teaching at the University of the Philippines, recounted some of her and her colleagues’ experiences to her Broadcast Journalism 101 class. Professor Los Baños told her class that there would come a time wherein we must fight for our news to air because sometimes, its importance is not realized even by the news managers, though it is really newsworthy. Once, she told her students about her colleague, who was in GMA 7, who had to fight and have a debate with her news manager for her news package to air. “The news was about the Senate’s hearing for a law or some bill that was pending,” she said. In the end, her colleague’s news was aired.

Overall, it is not just the journalists that have the responsibility. The citizens also have a role to fulfill, and it is in being an active receptor to the news.

Citizen journalism is the active participation the citizens make in news reporting wherein they themselves help in covering and reporting news.

As journalists have principles to follow in news reporting to the society, the citizens have rights and responsibilities as well as they play out their role on being a receiver of the news – and also, by being a participant in citizen journalism.

Citizens have the same responsibilities with what is written in the principles of journalism, except that they do not have the principle of verification and conscience.

Youscoop is GMA Network’s citizen journalism arm, with the tagline “Balitang mula sa bayan, para sa bayan”. It is the first interactive citizen journalism that is initiated by a news network in the Philippines, wherein the citizens help in reporting news by sending their accounts and pictures. They may send it via telecommunication networks with a minimal fee or directly to GMA News Online via the Internet.

Journalism’s elements that are stated in this book serves as a guide to both the journalists and citizen journalists alike. The principles are created to have a basis on journalism; it also has the purpose on protecting the credibility of the journalists to the public.

Words have been developed, communication has built our civilization. Journalism’s purpose of liberating the people and letting them decide for their own destinies will continue – as long as the elements of journalism will be kept at heart by those practicing it