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The JapanFoundationwas establishe d in 1972as a speciallegal entity underthe auspicesof

the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the purposeof promoting mutual understandingand
friendship on the internationalscene.

It was a specialistorganizationfor internationalcultural-exchangein Japan,and it carriesout

a broad variety of cultural-exchangeprogramswith personnelexchangeas its basic premise,
ranging from such academicpursuits as Japanesestudiesand Japanese-language education
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Its activities are financedby operationprofits on gove**.rr, endowments,aid from the

government(including the ODA budget), and funding and donationsfrom the private sector.

The
 JournalismAsia Sscolo 2001
ounnrrn
Published by the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility Vol. 1 No. I

2 G0UilTAYmfp0RI$
Jounnalists
lromthenegion
as$essmedia'$
Gurnent statu$
in Indonesia,
Thailand,
Malaysia,
$ingapot'e
inl ttreilritlp,liiies
r8 ru0rurTg$ffis
39 Paying
thePipct,
Rehman Rashidwrites about the Malaysiangovernmentt censorshipof the online publicaionMalaysiakini

4l A255-yean-otd
dneam
The Indonesian press' long journey into freedom, by Atmakusumah Astraatmadja

48 NewnediaandotdinEI|$A
tl
Luis v reodoro andy"z.es 'texting'phenomenon
the impact of the during peoplepower II

4 Whatpnice
Ineedon?
VergelO. Santos,a Manila media cridc, assesses
the cost of the explosion of freedom in the Philippine press

46 Pnolile
Ramon MagsaysayAwardees:Atmakusumah Astraatmadja, Indonesian iournalist and pressfreedom
advocare,and Raul Locsin, editor-publisherof the Manila newspaperBusinessworld

PRES$
FREEIII|M

ffiWwffiWffiffiw
ffiffiwffiffiWW
THrs.rs the first issueof Joumalism ,4sia (/A), a quarrerly forum on issues,
trends, and subjectsthat bear upon the relationship betweenthe media and
the public in Asia. The first publication of its ki.rd in th. ..giorr,
JA hashad
to wait for its dme. It has had to wait for that confluenceo?circumstances
which makesfor a propitious birth. This may well be rhar rime.
Asia hasfound itselfswept along in the global twin tides ofsocial, poiitical,
and economic libera.lizarionand the communication revolution. These
phenomena arepushing nations roward ever-increasingdegreesoffreedom
and opennes.and have in fact inspired a blooming oit],.-media.
But while the stateof a nation's media may serveasan indication of how
freeits citizensare,whetler in fact democracyworks to that extent is another
matter. The debatewill continue,andrll intendsto offer itself asan orga-
nized forum for that debatein the hope that some practical enlightenmJnt
wiil come oi,rt of it.
recog'rnrsthat pressfreedom itself is an especiallyconrenuousconcepr.
JA
The contention naturally is betweenthe journjist, who wisheshe muld say
as he pleasesshort of screamingfire in a crowded cinema, and the official
authoriry, who wisheshe couldhake the lournalist savno more than he -
rhe authority - himself pleases.
In some iocieties,tto,bh tho.. rhat have had a long er<perience with de- :
mocracyand wor-rldlike ro rhink rheyhaveacquireda iuperior senseoFcivic
responsibility,somebalanceor compromisehasb..n ,tr.-r.L, but that doesnot
mean rJrerensionbetweenpressfieedomard officialpowerhasceased.It is
not-all thar.simple;neither is it all that eaqy,pardcularlyfor tle press.
I[ for all the freedom the \Testern pi.ir hr" iong enjoyej, some of its ,
pdactitionersremain concernedabout is frailry, imagiie the pressin much of r
Thke Indonesia. Subjugaredby coionizers,then by nariveaurocrars,
it has raken 255 yearsbefore its pressgersany measureofFreedom-
and it may;'et get a shockingly huge measureof it. (See"A255-year-
old dream,"p. 41)
Or
lakg Singapore. In all its rhree generationsasa nadon, only in recent
yearshas it begun to realiy dally with, the bold Western idea of freedom of
expression.It probably reckonsthat, with its prosperity,it may now be able
to afford that. Even so, it is proceedingwith great .rt!. frt ty, it has been
experimenting with.a^Speaker's Corner, a patch of park from which anyone
may speakhis mind freely,und.ueatenedwith repiaisal.
Never colonized,Thailand hashad a tradition of &eedom that hascarried
over to its press. But having had its shareof local strongmen, too, the Thai
Presshas had lts uneasypenods.
Its,Indochinese neighbors,for their pan, have been too busy fighting off
.
invaders and colonizers,not to mention having their o*.r irri."irtr..li to
even think ofpress freedom - until now.
On the other hand, the Philippine presswonies about ia freedom all the
time, having on95 191 it completely and seemingly in constant danger of
i
losing it again. (See"\X{hat price freedom?",p. 44)-
This is pan of the territorythat/,4, carefi.rlnot to bite offmore than it can
,
chew proposesto focus on asa staft - SoutheastAsia. As shown, rhe sub_
b1 itself is a hand-firl; to its governments, ia peoples,and its press,
1egi9n
lieedom is a m1ntery. How doesir *orld How can ii work for them?'
l JA doesnot have the answer,but it hopes ro be able to help find them bv
servingas a medium for selievaluationand selFreguiationfor rhe pres,of
Sourheastfuia - and, hopefully,of all fuia lareron - beforesomesneaky
outslc'erDeatsthem to lr.

JournalismAsia is published by the center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (c[/FR) Irom its headquarters at the Ateneo professional
130 HV de Ia costa st., Salcedo village, Makati city, Philippines. For inquiries, ring Schools,
lodz) a+o-oeagia+o-ogos&gq-l.iq&gq-j326 or email cmfr@surfshoo.net.oh
CouNrav Rnpcnrs
K$am
tsmptiltiorlffi
$p$ ffiw#wpmwf
87 ArvmusuMAH AsrReRrvRDJA,
lNDoNEsrA
Antosr r\ro years after the fall of President
S o e h a r t of r o m p o w e r i n M a y i 9 9 8 , D r .
CharlesHimawan revealedhis worrl'that in
the currently euphoric spirit for reformasiin
Indonesia, "the enthusiasm to promote free-
dom of expressionhas given birth to a free-
dom from responsibiliry."
The apprehensionof Dr. Himawan, a pro-
fessor of law at the Universiry of Indonesia
and a member of the National Commission
on Human Rights in Jakarta, was caused br'
the excessiverejoicing of society in general
over the restoration of democracy after four
decades(since the Guided Democracy pro-
claimed by President Sukarno in the late
19 5 0 ' s . ) 1
However, such an anxiery regarding press
developmentdvtngreformasi in Indonesia has
also been expressedby a number of media
observers.They criticize the Indonesian press,
at least part of it, for its lack of professional-
isrn, or for its tendenry towards sensational-
ism. Some observersclaim that oressfreedom
is perceivedby a new generationoFlournalists
as a license to orint lurid stories and outra-
geous headlinei if tto, letting fiction pass as
fact. Still others say that there are too many
tabloids which contain pornography or erotic
articles.
Dr. Todung Mulya Lubis, a lawyer by pro-
fession and a newspaper columnist, said re-
,ffiffit66ffiff
6ATH
*Rutfff
cently that many new publications are not
too concerned with qualiry ^cc\racy and bal-
ance in reporting, or even with the possibiliry
that the story may be misleading. "So far there
'fit
is no and proper test' for reporters,so hood-
lums and brokers might also find their way
into the press,"he added.2
A survey by the largest national newspapet
KompasDaily, indicat ed that 54.3 percent of
respondents believed that the press played a-
role in making things worse,while only 37.1
percent thought the presshad played a posi-
rive role in Indonesianaffairs.3
The mushrooming of media watchersin the
counrn' may have been a reflection of public
anxien' in facing the "power" of the press,
rvhich can be misused or corrupted in the
midst o[ the press freedom euphoria. There
are no\\' approximately 25 media watch
groupsin ten citiesand towns, from Surabaya
in East Jar-ato Makassarin South Sulawesi
and \ledan in North Sumatra.
This anrien' ri'as evident during the de-
batesot'er rhe draft PressLaw in Commission
One oi rtre House of Representativesbefore
rhe bill s'as finallr- passedby pariiament in
S e p t e m bre 1 9 9 9 .
'Accuraq'and
balance"in news reportswere
tough topic. debatedin the Commission.A
number of membersof parliament insistedthat
"accuracr-and balance"must be explicitly pro'
*8
-*
i
ffi
vided for in the pressbill which was prepared
by the then Ministry of Information.
The idea, however, was strongly opposed
by members of the Indonesian Pressand
BroadcastSociety (MasyarakatPersdan Peny-
iaran Indonesia, MPPI) who attended the
Commissiont debateat the requestor approval
of then Information Minister Muhammad
Yunus as governmentt sourceof information.
MPPI was of the opinion that the stipula-
tion about "accuracy and balance" were nor-
mative guidelines for a journalistic work, and
is normally part of the press code of ethics.
Only after strong urging from MPPI activists
did members of Commission One and the
government (Ministry of Information) final-
1yagreeto eliminate that particular clausefrom
the press bill after debating the issue for one
hour behind closeddoors.
Originally, the bill alsocontained other nor-
mative ciauseswhich are normaliy found in
the journalist's code of ethics-for example,
that the pressshall not conduct "trial by pub-
liciry." Following pressuresfrom MPPI activ-
ists, the clausewas also removed becauseits
definition was too vague or too extensiveand
subjectto variousinterpretat ions.
But the PressLaw still containstracesofthe
"anxieties"of the politicians and the bureau-
crats over pressfreedom. Through this law,
they want to mainrain control on the media

Tns
d
:r' insisting,for example,in retaining Article
: . Paragraphs (1) and (2), which mandatethat
-.iolatorscould be penalizedwith a maximum
::ne of Rp500 million (more than US$50,000
rr rhe Presentrate).
The rwo paragraphsstipulate:
( 1) The national pressis obliged to report
:eu's and opinion by respectingreligious
:orms and the public senseof morality and
ihe presumption of innocence;
(2) The pressis obliged to servicethe fughts
oi Reply.(There are rwo interprerationsas to
rhe meaning of the word "to service."One
says that "to service" merely means "to pay
heed to," but another saysthat it means "to
print" or "to broadcast" the rights of reply.)
If regarded only from the media point oF
view, the stipulations in the article will be per-
ceivedasdetrimentd to pressfreedom. But the
peoplet representatives in parliament and the
bureaucratsin the government have different
reasonsfor insisting that the article be retained,
and that is, to protect the public from possible
unfairnessor negligenceby the media.
CorurlrclNc TMPACTS
The euphoria over pressfreedom in Indone-
sia during the past three years could trigger
two conflicting impacts: positive and negative.
The first-rhe positive impact-provides
opportunities for the media to develop profes-
sional journa.lism,in line with the universally-
acceptedstandardsfor journalistic works. The
second-the negativeimpact-is that the eu-
phoria may lead to a failure to appreciaterhe
lirnits providedby the presscode ofethics.
V4ratever our complaints about the Indone-
sian media, they have enlightened their audi-
ence and changed them into a more well-in-
formed sociery.Peoplehavebecomeawarethat
what happenedin governmentin the pastcould
be corrected and is even punishable.
The survival of freedom of the oress- and
of expression- in lndonesiawiil depend on
the level of understandingof democracyby
socieryat largeaswell as thosein power. It is
democracythat necdsthc su1'rporr oF rcsporr-
sil'rlcprcssfrccdom and lrcc cxprcssion.
frts& $r?$$$,eB;!i
: : .- ::' :.:: . .l
:*i*;ri,t .:,
Resoonsible media are those which would
adhere to the universal standardsof journalis-
tic works and of the presscode of ethics.
However, in the current euphoria over free-
dom of expressionin Indonesia, some seg-
ments of sociery do not seem to fully under-
stand the very close relation, in fact the inter-
relationship, between freedom of expression
and that of the press. Freedom of expression
is the umbrella of freedom of the press, and
the existenceofpressfreedomis indeedmeant
to assist society in echoing and ampli$'ing
their views and aspirations.
TennoRrzrruc tHE MEDIA
In severalcities, including the capital ciry of
Jakarta, there have been casesin which a large
number of demonstrating.sometimesterror-
izing, masseshavepressuredthe media to print
or broadcasttheir statementsor even to pub-
licly apologizeor compensatefor a mistake in
a news report. These groups seem to prefer
using pressure and physical force instead of
intellectual arguments in solving their "con-
flicts" with the media.
There is a casein which the demonstrators
demanded that the private radio station"Rasi-
tania FM in Surakarta, Central Java, apoio-
gizefor broadcastingan allegedlyblasphemous
religious talk show. In Surabaya, East Java,
mobs caused theJawa Pos daily to cancel the
publication of one issue.And in Padang,\W'est
Sumatra.the studentsand alumni oF a uni-
versiryransackedthc oFficcofthc weekly tab-
loid Bijah and destroyedits computers.
The new PressLaw statesthat imorisonment
oFup to rwo yearsor a fine of a maximum of
Rp500 million awaits "anyonewho actsagainst
the law by deliberately taking action which
could hinder or obstruct the implementation
of Article 4 Paragraphs(Z) and (3)."
The two paragraphsstate:
(2) Towards the national pressthere shall be
no censorship,banning or prohibition to pub-
lish or broadcast.
(3) To guarantccprcssfrccdonr,thc Ir:rtion-
al presshas thc right to look f<rr,acquirc and
disseminare ideasand inFormation.
'i,1,:1
However, both the media and sociery do
not seem to have paid much attention to the
PressLads stipulations thus far. Both seemto
prefer a more "pragmatic," direct solution.
But the "easy,"short-cut solution has always
put the media in the more disadvantageous
oosition.
In a country which only recently regained
irs Freedomof cxpression,societyseemsto see
a free pressas a powerful but aloofinstitution
that it has "to conquer." Sociery does not yet
feel that a free pressis indeed part of its own
"family of freedoms" which cannot be sepa-
rated from one another and whose task is es-
sentially also to promote, defend and secure
rhe orher freedomsin a democraticsociery.
This sad phenomenon, if I am right in my
observation, indicates that the creation of me-
dia laws and regulationswhich guaranteefree-
dom of the pressis not sufficient if not ac-
companied by long-term enlightenment
through educational campaigns in sociery to
convince the citizenry that a free pressis aimed
at the interestofthe public in general.
EoucnrrNc tttE PUBLTc
The education of the general public this is
what Indonesia's first independent Press
Council is doing in Indonesia.Since the es-
tablishment of the PressCouncil in April
2000, membersof the Council have traveled
to at leastfive out oF30 provincialcitiesout-
sideJakarta(Mcdan in North Sumatra,lJan-
jarmasinin South Kalimarrtan,Denpasarin
Bali, Surabayain EastJavaand Yogyakartain
Central Java) to propagate the meaning of
pressfreedom and free expressionand to edu-
cate people on how to seftle conflicts beween
the rest of sociery and the press-by taking
advantageof the rights of reply, or by going
through the courts for redress,but avoiding
the use of ohvsical force.
Atmakusumah Astraatmadja is chair of lndonesia s Press
Council and executive director of the Dr. Soetomo Press
lnstitute.
 *mmmffi*mw
ffiffiKWmxffiw
WffiwKffiffiffi&
By Kev CnoNcrrrrnvoRN, THnnruo
Tup THar media are no longer talking
about the quantity of media freedoml
The priority right now is on quality -
t h e l e v e l o f p r o f e s s i o n a l i s ma n d m e d i a
governance.For seven decades,the Thai
media have been struggling against the
authorities who have sought to control
"In
freedom of expression. counrry
w h i c h h a s w i t n e s s e d 1 7 c o"u p s s i n c l
1932, ir has been a dauntinq task. The
constant threats against m-edia came
mainly from the regimes that came into
power in Thailand over that period. But
the media communities stood firm and
have overcome all the odds. In the oast
25 yearsthey have strengthened th.
iro-
cessof democratization. Despite the ups
and downs of Thai democracy,the coun-
try conrinues to have one of the freest
media in the region.
In the past, pressure from the powers-
_ human rights. For the first time, the elecl
that-be on the media was omniDresenr.
in supporto[a lreepress
Today, although there have been cases
of media intimidation, these have been
isolated casesoccurring in different lo-
calities and circumstanles. Howerrer,the
heavier pressure today comes mainly
from a public which has nurtured a de-
mand for quality and has extremeiy high
expectarions of the media.
The economic and financial crisis of
1997 affected all areas of Thai society.
There have been since then far-ranging
economic and political reforms that have
strengrhenedgood governanceand trans-
parency and accountability in a counrrv
that used ro operate under rhe prrro.r-
client relationship and in a culiure of
complacency. These changes have in-
c r e a s e dp u b l i c p a r t i c i p a t i o - ni n d e m o c -
racy and in debates on public policies as
never before. Vorer turnouts in both lo-
ca.land national elections have increased.
Mushrooming new non-governmental
lrYTffr:
and grass-rootorganizations have also
encourageddirect public participation
horizontally, which is a departuri from
paqt verticalactivities.
The new Thai Constitution, which was
promulgated in 1997, is a watershed in
Thai politics. The charter incorporated
r h e i d e a s a n d s u g g e s t i o n so F o i d i n " r y
Folkrhroughout the counrry. ln the past
68 years since Thailand chanqed fiom
an absolute monarchy to a conJtitution-
al one, the military leadersand dictators
ofthe past had drafted most ofthe coun-
try's charters without any consultation
with the citizenry,
\fith a total of 37 articles that guaran-
t e e i n d i v i d u a l r i g h t s i n a l l a r e a sI n c l u d -
ing media freedom and freedom of ex-
pression, the 1997 Charter is considered
the most comprehensive in protecting
tronic media, which had been under the
t!
.4/e{ ;l ri
$
I s.3
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 ::r:rnment's thumb, have been liberal- In an emerging democracy like Thai- owners because they are very different
:=:. \ow all the airwavesbelong to the i a n d , t h e m e d i a h a s s e v e r a l i m p o r t a n t groups with different levels of profes-
: - : . i c . T h e C o n s t i t u t i o n m a n d a r e sr h e roles to piay. Apart from the dissemina- s i o n a l q u a l i t i e sa n d p h i l o s o p h i e s .
Pre-crisis media owners were confined
to investorswho were former journalists.

TEilftilhilh.{ilnrit
Most of them had fought for years against
totalirarian governments. In the early
1970's when dictators were finally too-
pled, thesejournalists began to .njoy th.
new media freedomthat enabled them to
v e n t u r e i n t o v a r i e d b u s i n e s s e sb, o t h i n
the Thai- and English-languagenewspa-
pers. \With the exception of one or rwo
m e d i a e s t a b l i s h m e n t s ,a i l n e w s o a o e r
owners in Thailand are from rhe-sam.
generation. In fact, it was the mosr excit-
ing time in Thai journalism.
Before the 1997 crisis, this senerarion
o f o w n e r s w a s s e r i o u sa b o u t p - r o f e s s i o n -
a l i s m a n d t h e c o d e o I e t h i c s .T h e y w e r e
all for democracy becauseit was fragile.
They Felt rhey had to str.ngth.n --edia
F r e e d o ma n d a t r h e s a m e t i m e t o o r o -
mote democracy. They could affori to
do so because rhey wer€ rich, powerful
and successful.The journalists working
for them were young and restless.They
receivedgood salariesand all ofthem had
. s r a b l i s h m e n to f a n i n d e-pBernodaednct a b so tdi vn s tic,n of truthful information and views, a common goal: to work around
the clock
: : n o \ v na s t h e N a t i o n a l the public expects the media to promote to promote democracy.
J o m m i s s i o n ( N B C ) r o o v e r s e et h e m o n i l democracy by publishing divergenr In the post 1997 crisis period, Thai
: o r i n g a n d a l l o c a t i o n o f t h e a i r w a v e s " views without favor and fear.
Secondlv, media owners have fragmented into two
3roadcastersare now free to report the t h e m e d i a m u s t f i g h r c o r r u p r i o n .
Afr;r groups. The first group is made up of
reri's without interferencefrom the oow- t h e e c o n o m i c c r i s i s , t h i s r e s p o n s i b i l t v
t h e s a m e o l d i n v e s t o r s ,t h e s a m e f o r m e r
:rs-rhat-bee , s p e c i a l l ys e n i o r o f f i c i a l si n s e e m s[ o h a v e i n c r e a s e d D . a i l -r .aenxdo o s u r e s j o u r n a l i s t s , b u t w h o c o u l d n o t b a l a n c e
:he state-controlledmedia establishments. o f g o v e r n m e n rw r o n g d o i n g s
F i n a n - t h e i r c h e c k b o o k s .D u r i n g t h e b o o m i n g
T h e c u r r e n t g o v e r n m e n r h a s a p o l i c y cial mismanagemenr have become
salient economy, they were the bubbie makers
: h a r s a y s r h e p u b l i c s h o u l d k n o w ' w h a r qualities of the Thai media.
propelling economic indicators to rhe
ihe government knows. To demonstrate Before the 1997 economic and fiq;rn- highest index. Their media reports
and
i h a t p o i n t , t h e g o v e r n m e n th a s b e e n p r o - cial crisis, the Thai media were
critical of analyses showed oprimism. \X/ith share
n o t i n g r h e u s e o F r h e O f f i c i a l l n f o i m a - ruling governments. In ger-eral,
the Thai p r i c e s s o a r i n g , s h a r e h o l d e r sa n d t h e s e
tion Act, which was promulgated three m e d i a d i d n o t t r u s t w h a t e v e r q o v e r n -
proprietors benefited. Then, suddenlv,
'ears ago. Thailand is the first counrry m e n r w a s i n p o w e r .T h a t w a s * h f * h e n - t h e e u p h o r i ab e c a m eh e l l w h e n , h . e o u -
in Southeast Asia to have this accessto e v e r t h e y f e l r t h a r r h e o p p o s i r i o n w a s e r n m e n r d e v a l u e dr h e b a h t i n
information law. Japan has its own ver- n o t p e r f o r m i n g w e l l , t h e July 1997
media would and helped trigger the Asian economic
s i o n , a n a r i o n a l i n f o r m a t i o n d i s c l o s u r e take up the role of the opposition.
Some crisis. It was a trying time, when media
law enacted in May 2000. The Informa- Thai newspaperseven wanted to topple owners and journalists were confronted
tion Act has already transformed Thai the government. However, in the post- with a tight credit situation
after they
society,with its strong cuiture of secre- c r i s i s e r a , r h e T h a i m e d i a h a v e
'.rnd".- had overspent.
cy, lnto a more open society. However, it gone great changes.A dozen papers have In the press, with the increase in the
is still difficult for government officials, shut down becauseof financial
difficul- prices of imported newsprint and the
who have been trained to keep secrets, ties. The newspapers that
survived the change in the exchange rares) the media
r o r e v e a l i n f o r m a t i o n r e q u e s r e db v r h e c r i s i s e m e r g e d w i t h n e w
o w n e r s a n d owners no longer had the same financial
p u b l i c . A r o u n d 8 0 0 . 0 0 0 p e r s o n sh a v e d i f F e r e n te d i t o r i a lp o l i c i e s .
resources.Some of them had to qraduallv
used the Act in the pasr three years, mosr "phltoro-
change their approachesand
of them for personal affairs. The public New veornowNERS A N Dp o l t c t E s p h i e s . A p p a r e n r l y s, o m e o F t h e m , i n o r -
s t i l l n e e d st o b e i n f o r m e d t h a r i t h a s t h e \(ho are the media owners in Thailand? der to survive, were more willine to
com-
right to obtain data and information that They are men and women
like you and p r o m i s ea n d r o b l e n d i n . T h e y - w e r en o t
will help it make decisions and take part m e . B u t a d i s t i n c t i o n m u s r
b e m a d e b e - as dedicated and firm as rhey used to be
i n r h e d e v e l o p m e n ro f r h e n a t i o n . t w e e n p r e - c r i s i s a n d p o s t - c r i s i s m e d i a before the financial crisis.The
survival of
 their dailies became their main concern. state. However, rhe new TJA admission to December 2000, when Thaksin took
They were looking for more cash inflow criteria now recognize the free spirit of full control of iTV internal rifts among
and competing For advertising revenues. electronic media. top policy makers and the editorial staff
The second group of owners is con- But the libe ralization of electronic me- plagued the station such issuesas the di-
fined to businessmen and ooliticians. dia carries certain risks as it allows indi- rection of iTV n€ws coverageand its ed-
They have injected much-needed capi- viduals to buy into sharesofTV srarions. itorial independence. On December 28,
tal into dying newspapers. Foreign in- For instance, a telecom rycoon, Thaksin a toP executive was removed and re-as-
vestors have also been invited to invest Shinawatra, has already bought a major signed to an inactive posr after iT\'
in ailing newspapers.\7ith a new pat- broadcastpolitical rallies by Thaksin's
tern of ownership emerging in the post arch-rival, the Democrat Parry. Thai Rak
crisis period, the Thai media and their Thai party leaders consrrued the cover-
editorial ourlooks have also chaneed age as support for Prime Minister Chuan
markedly. Hence, the one-dimensiJnal Leekpai,who is the main rival of Thaksin.
Thai media, which used to be hostile to But the executive defended his decision,
government, has suddenly changed and saying that it was th€ duty of iTV to
become more pluralistic. present news from all anglesand in good
There are currenrly three kinds of Thai faith.
media. The first is the pro-government
media, which is something new. Past at- MeotntrulytonttoN
tempts had failed when the government Media intimidation has taken two dis-
in power tried to publish the first state- tinct forms - one through the use of
owned newspaper.However, in the post- force and threats of physical harm, and
crisis era, certain newspapershave decid- the other through the harsh application
ed to adopr a pro-government editorial of archaic and dubious laws. Casesof
policy. In the past all media establish- m e d i a i n t i m i d a t i o n i n 2 0 0 0 i n c r e a s e dt o
ments, particularly print media, were 15 from six cases in the previous year.
hostile to the government. Now the pro- M o s t o f t h e c a s e si n v o l v e d p r o v i n c i a l
government media are considered the journalists and broadcastersworking for
m a i n s t r e a mm e d i a . N e w a n t i - g o v e r n m e n t television. Intimidarion could be either
media have also emerged.They print sen- v e r b a l o r p h y s i c a la b u s e i n c l u d i n g t h e
sational editorials on rhe front pagesand use of force, including the use of weap-
attack the governmenron every issue. ons like hand-grenades and hand guns.
For instance, Amnard Chongyodying,
Tue etecrnoNtc MEDTA editor of Parhnua Raiwan, was shot and
In the pasr, rhe Thai media referred seriously injured by an unknown gun-
only to print media becausethe electronic man in Chiang Mai on April 18. This
media were stili under the control of rhe was one of the most serious casesof at-
government and the armed forces. So the tempted assassinations of journalists who
journalists fighting against suppression have exposed corruption and malfea-
by the governmenr in power were con- sance in their localities. In rwo other in-
fined to print journalists. The new con- stances,grenade lapnchers were used to
s t i t u t i o n g u a r a n t e e st h e b a s i c r i g h t s o f threaten media practitioners. On April
broadcasters.Since the promulgation of 15, 2000, the office of PhimThai Daily
the new charter, broadcasters have be- in Prathum Thani was attacked by un-
come more independent in expressing known assailantswith firearms. Journal-
their views and directing their programs' stake in the country's first independent ists from the mass circularion Thai Rath
contents. TV, popularly known as iTV (Indepen- and Matichon Daily were also threatened
Before the new charter, print and broad- d e n t T V ) . with physical harm becauseof their re-.
castjournalists had a clear division be- A s a l e a d e ro f t h e p o l i t i c a l p a r t y T h a i p o r t s f o c u s s i n g o n c o n f l i c t s o f i n t e r e s t
tween those who were indeoendent and RakThai, Thaksin'spolitical ambition has in local communities.
t h o s ew h o w e r e n o r . T h a t d i v i s i o nh a s d i s - already clouded the editorial judgment Influential personalitiesregularly abuse
appeared,with broadcastjournalists now o f i T V s i n c e t h e r r a n s a c t i o n i n J u n e t h e m e d i a . O n O c t o b e r 1 1 , 2 0 0 0 , a e o r . -
working together to ensurethat their con- 2 0 0 0 . F r o m N o v e m b e r 2 0 0 0 o n w a r d , e r n m e n t o f f i c i a l h a d o n l y r h e h a r r - h e s r
stitutional rights will nor be violated. there have been several casesof interfer- words for the Thai media. On I.,lovem-
The Thai Journalists Association, the ence by Shin Corp.'s executives, which ber 15, 2000, a group of ihtig. tlrqqcl
biggest media organizarion in Thailand, manages iTV. Thaksin's entrance inro its way into the office of l)huchakarn
has amended its charter to enable broad- the Thai media has caused great public Daily and attacked its security guards
c a s t e r s t o b e c o m e f u l l T J A m e m b e r s . concern about the role of TV in shaping before venturing into the editoria.Jroom
Since its inception, TJA had considered public opinion and in political campaigns. and damaging computers and other ap-
broadcastersas propaganda tools of the D u r i n g t h e t h r e e m o n r h s o f O c t o b e r pliances. Five days later, a woman broad-
 :.:r:.r of iTV was harassedby a group of
- ; : : . p a i g n e r sw h i l e s h e w a s c o v e r i n ga p o -
.:.;al rally.
':Jging
f r o m t h e s r a t i s r i c si,r i s n o s u r -
::"s: that broadcastershave easilybecome
:;:sets of harassment and intimidation.
- :is trend will continue as the elecrronic
::edia become more independent and
:-1i' a more proactive role in shaping a
.-.'r public agenda, which was done in
::-: past by the print media sector.
S e r o n d t h e s e i n s t a n c e so f m e d i a h a -
:risment, certain forms of legal inrimi-
:arion have also taken place. Archaic
: . : r r i - p r e s sl a w s , w h i c h a r e s u p p o s e d t o
::r's [gsr annulled because they have
:.en ruled as unconstirutional by the
g o v er n m e n t , said than done. To help the media to sur-
These incidents indicate that the bu- vive the current economic turbulence,
reaucrats, especiallyin the police and cooperation between editorial and man-
armed forces, are up in arms against the agement people is crucial. As develop-
burgeoning media freedom in Thailand. ments in the media in the post 1997
Although the majority of them have have demonstrated, the media need to
come to accept the role media play in an be professionally managed. To keep rhe
open society, they have a difficult time newspaper operationai, the dailies must
a d j u s t i n g t o t h e n e w e n v i r o n m en r . make a profit to enable a healthy news-
paper to continue.
Two rReruosrN THETHAI MEDTA Finally, the press culture of individual
There are two major trends in the Thai m e d i a e s t a b l i s h m e n t si s a l s o p i v o t a l .
media. Firstly, one of the most danger- S o m e t i m e s , c e r t a i n p a p e r s w i l l t o l e r a t e
ous trends in Thailand that has occurred c e r t a i n t h i n g s i n c l u d i n g b e i n g s o f t o n
after che 1997 crisis is that there ar€ more b u s i n e s s i n t e r e s t s o r r e c e i v i n g f a v o r s
u n p r o f e s s i o n a l o w n e r s . I f t h e m e d i a from politicians. Some papers are more
owners are corrupt, can their newspapers malicious while quite a few dailies have
a r e p u t a t i o n f o r i n d e p e n d e n c ea n d i n -
tegrity. Added to this complication
would the owners of electronic media
outlets who have political ambitions and
l i n k s w i t h p o l i r i c a lp a r t i e s .

Furunr cHALLENGEs
As democratization progressedin Thai-
land, the media have changed their fo-
cus fromstruggling for freedom to that
o f s e r v i n ga s m u l t i - p u r p o s e w a t c h d o g s .
For one thing, the traditionalrole of dis-
seminating information and providing
analysis have already been overtaken by
growing efforts to combat corruprion
nerv charter, have been invoked in viola, perform their function truthfully to in- a n d t o o b t a i n s e n s i t i v ei n f o r m a t i o n t h a r
i i o n o f f r e e d o m o f e x p r e s s i o n .B u t b u - f o r m a n d e d u c a t e t h e r e a d e r s ?F o r i n - would normally not be available.
r e a u c r a t sc o n t i n u e t o u s e l o o o h o l e s i n stance, can corfupt newspaper owners, \(ith the rapid changesdue to the glo-
r h e l a w s t o e n F o r c ea n r i - p r e s sm e a s u r e s . who make dubious deals with politicians b a l i z a t i o n p r o c e s s , t h e m e d i a h a v e t o
F o r i n s t a n c e ,o n J a n u a r y 2 8 , 2 0 0 0 , t h e o r p e o p l e i n p o w e r , r e p o r t o n c o r r u p - serve as an early warning system to the
vernacular daily, Thai Post, was warned tion among the power groups? In Thai- p u b l i c b e c a u s ei t i s v u l n e r a b l e t o o u t -
by the Special Branch of the police not land, stories are now being shaped not side pressure.The media need to paint a
ro sensationalizethe hostage-taking at so much by reporters in the field brt by big picture of the individual's life and
R a t c h a b u r i H o s p i t a l i n v o l v i n g a r m e d armchair editors and news editors. of collective lives as well, without which
Burmese terrorists. Another case in- It is crucial for values such as good me- t h e u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f s o c i e t a l c h a n g e s
volved the provincial stringers of Mathi- dia governance to take root among edi- a n d d y n a m i s m w o u l d n o t b e p o s s i b l e .
chon and Khao Sod dailies, who were re- tors, who sometimes can be very igno- To do so, the media need to be accurate
iocated to inactive positions following rant of what is going on. Good media in its reportage and analysis.If the latesr
their exposds of the educational system n e e d g o o d p u b l i s h e r s w i t h f a i r m i n d s . e l e c t i o n h e l d i n J a n u a r y 2 0 0 1 w a s a n y
in their respective newspapers on June Otherwise, the positive development of indication, the media failed to provide
9,2000. Thai media will be very difficult be- s u f f i c i e n r i n f o r m a t i o n a n d v i e w p o i n r s
The conservativeNational Commis- c a u s e t h e r e w o u l d b e v e r y b r o a d g r a y t h a r w o u l d e n a b l er h e p u b l i c r o u n d e r -
sion on Radio and Television on August areas. And in Thailand, the gray areas stand better its environment and its fu-
1, 2000 ordered a local radio station to can be very elastic and can stretch very ture implications. Fulfilling the new role
skip the broadcast of INN News Net- rong. oF the media in this new environmenr
work because of its "negative" conrent Secondly, recent developments suggest will need more than just codes of con-
- a blatant violation of constitutional t h a t t h e r e m u s t b e a b a l a n c e b e t w e e n duct because the more basic values like
rights. Then, the Supreme Commander b u s i n e s s a n d p u b l i c i n r e r e s t s . I n t h e common sense and sound judgm€nt are
Headquarters ordered the censorship of post-economic crisis period, the econo- still lackine.
the popular current affairs TV program m y h a s n o t y e t c o m p l e t e l y r e c o v e r e d .
"Karava Phaendin" or "Respecting the Therefore the media need to be vigilant Kavi Chongkittavorn is managng editor ofThe Nation
H o m e l a n d " o n N o v e m b e r 1 3 d o n and not allow any interference from busi- and chairman of Southeast Asian Press Alliance
grounds that it was too critical of the ness or Bovernmenr circles. This is easily ( S E A P A ) .
 Gc&ffi
Kxffiwwmo
Mmffi
KKffiww
87 LutsV. Teooono, pnrLreerrues
IN JeNuanv 2001 , the hottest show in Ma-
nila was not Miss Saigon but the impeach-
ment trial of PresidentJosephEstrada.Aside
from the shock value of the hundreds of
millions of pesosin illegal funds that seem
to have been delivered to, deposited in the
accounts of, or spent by the Philippines'
pro-poor president in his effort to prevenr
his slide into poverty, one of the revela-
tions of this trial was the vast amount of
mon€y from illegal gambling supposedly
turned over ro an Executive Branch offi-
cial for the corruption of the Philippine
media. Indeed, one Manila columnist has
suggestedthat the media could yet turn
out to be the biggest beneficiary ofthe ille-
gal numbers game known as "jueteng."
For this as well as other imolications on
the stareof the Philippine meJia, the crisis
was far more than the amusing circus some
foreign observershave said it is. This crisis
brought into the starkest relief some of the
most fundamental issuesof leadershio and
democratic governancein the Piilip-
pines, and with them what has happened
to the Philippine media, particularly the
Philippine press,since 1986. I cannot de-
scribe everything that has happened in the
Senator-judges
on daily TV
Philippine media since that time, and this
situationer will necessarilyhave to be lim-
ited to the last two years,which happen to
coincide with JosephEstrada'sassumingthe
Philippine presidency. I am sorry to say
that while there is no lack of good news,
too much of the news is bad.
'When
the political crisis exploded in the
last quarter of 2000, public opinion sur-
veysaswell as counrer demonstrations were
among the means the government used to
combat the broad movem€nr for the resig-
nation, ouster, or impeachment of Joseph
Estrada on chargesofgraft and corruption,
bribery, betrayal of public trust, and cul-
pable violation of the Constitution. Quite
apart from their intended messages,how-
ever, there was another, equally disturbing
messagein the results of the surveys.The
messagewas that, in addition to a leader-
ship crisis, there is also a crisis of informa-
tion in the Philippines.
In almost every suffey conducted in the
Philippines, a large percenrage of respon-
dents claim to have no information about
an issue no matter how current. That was
the case in the October 26-30 Social
'Weather
Stations opinion survey in which
l:.:o
4"*"
:r:::!:.i!:::liltr, $$.
26 percent of the respondentsclaimed not
to know enough to say anything about Mr.
Estrada,his resignation, ouster or impeach-
ment, or even about the jueteng (rhe illegal
numbers game in which Estrada was im-
plicated) scandal.These respondentslive
in the same planet, but are ignorant of
whatt going on in it.
Yet information is not only crucial in the
outcome of the present political crisis; it is
also critical in democratic decision making.
\(hat the present crisis is demonstrating is
the uncomfortable possibility that the in,
formed citizemy rhat is the basis of authen-
tic democratic governancedoes not exist in
the Philippines.
If so many Filipinos do not know the
Constitution, or even what to expect of
Presidents-if so many are simply ignor".rt
of the facts and totally clueless as to the
interpretation of events that affect their
lives-a failure of cerrain institutions in-
cluding mass media ro educate the citizen-
ry seemsto be the only logical conclusion.
If true, this only reinforces the widespread
belief that both the school system as well
as the media urgently need reform.
Indeed what media have demonstrated

isrrada trial: a testfor media
:n rhe unfolding ofthe crisisofconfidence,
-eadership and governance is the impera-
: r v e f o r P h i l i p p i n e m a s sm e d i a , o , . f o r -
:hemselves,given their oft-repeated claim
r o r h e m i s s i o no F r e f o r m i n gP h i l i p p i n es o -
ciery. Reform, like charity, should begin at
home, especiallyif one is engaged in an
enrerpriseas crucial to the health ofecono-
mies, the stability of political systemsand
rhe imperativesoF democratic qovernance
asjournalism.
ARErulor coNTENTtoN
In the Philippines, journalism has been,
since the late 1890s, an arena of conten-
rion between the forces of liberation and
changeand the forces ofcaptivity and stag-
nation. For over a hundred yearsthis con-
frontation has continued in Philippine jour-
nalism.
Philippine journalism has two traditions
or streams, each of which has gone by dif-
ferent names in the last 100 years.The tra-
dition ofacquiescenceis supportive ofwhat
is, or what exists-whether it be Spanish
c
a
o editors to pubiish piecescritical ofgovern-
b ment, pafticularly PCIJ reporrs. Last No-
colonialism, Americaq conquest, Japanese
occupation or homegrown tyranny. The
tradition of protest initially demanded re-
forms in the late 19.h century, and rhen
progressedinto a demand for independen-ce
and sweepingsocial change.
The latter tradition is what wenr by rhe
name "alternative press" during the late
Marcos period. It was presumed to be a
new phenomenon, but wasn't. Indeed,
during the most acute periods of the phil-
ippine crisis, that press has resurfaced to
provide Filipinos the information they need
to understandevenrsrhar rhe tradirlon o[
acquiescenceis either too rimid or too in-
volved with to be able to adequately inter-
pfet, or even to want to feport. The Mar-
cos period was a warersh.d in rhe .esu.-
gence of this tradition.
The true history of the Philippine press
is indeed that of the alternative press,with
i t s i m m e n s ec o n t r i b u r i o n st o r h e 2 0 0 - y e a r
Filipino strugglefor national independence,
s o c i a lc h a n g ed, e m o c r a r i z a r i o n, n, d j u s r i c e .
'l986
In t h e a l t e r n a t i v ep r e s si t s e l F c o n s i s t -
ed of two tendencies,however. There was
the, for lack of a better word, progressive
tendency, with its radical critique of phil-
ippine society, and its vision of an alterna-
tive economic, political and social sysrem.
There was also the liberal tendency, with
its reformist outlook and its basic faith in
the justice and wisdom of the existing sys-
tem. In the yearsafter the 1986 EDSA (peo-
ple Power) Revolt, this latter tendency,
though retainingits Iiberaloutlook, became
itself as much a part of the establishment
as the conservarivepress,which during the
Marcos period had been so supportive of
the regime.
The liberal as well as progressivetenden-
cies stiil exist today, though the liberal ten-
dency exiscsonly in a few of our broad-
sheetsand among individual pracritioners,
the rest of its partisans,like the old Malaya
(Free) newspaper, having metamorphosed
into firm supporrers of the establishment.
CerusoRsHtp IND sELF-cENsoRsHtp
The conservativewing of the Philippine
press,to which the other broadsheetsbased
in Manila overwhelmingly belong, has
been driven into further timidity and col-
laboration. Since early 2000, there has been
a growing number of reports of columns
being censored,as well as insrancesofself-
censorship. The Philippine Center for In-
vestigativeJournalism'sSheila Coronel also
said during a pressforum last August 2000
that there was increasingresistanceamong
vember, a Manila based broadsheet ceased
publication becauseits owner was wirh-
hoiding newsprint. This was his response
to the displeasureof Malacanang over his
paper's publication of the PCIJ reports on
Mr. Estrada'sunexplained wealth, his real
estate company, and his half dozen or so
h u n d r e d m i l l i o n p e s om a n s i o n s .
Most of the broadsh.ets have shown and
continue to show their support for the gov-
ernment of President Estrada in many, of-
ten obvious, ways. One newspaper'sban-
ner stories for nine consecutive days last
summer were all on Estrada. This newsoa-
per last year fired 20 editors For beine ioo
independena r n d r e p l a c e dr h e m w i r h o t h -
ers it hoped would be more pliant. Anoth- I
er has several columnists uniformly prais-
ing everything rhe government does iaily,
evenasit concentrateson fashionsand other
trivia as the stapies of its news, includine
its front page, reporting. Still another hai
government officials for columnists, and
makes it a point to publish governmenr-
issuedpress releaseson the front page. The
same newspaper nowadays simply refuses
to report what's going on in the impeach-
ment trial, which makesir Iook like a news-
 paper from Mars, not of this earth.
A study by the Center for Media Free-
dom and Responsibility of five Manila
broadsheetsincluding the Big Three (in
terms of circulation, these are the Philip-
pine Daily Inquirer, the Manila Bulletin,
and the Philippine Star) revealed that
from March to June 2000, they failed to
provide the contextual information need-
ed for readersto understand the crisis in
the Muslim areas of Mindanao. Several
commentatorsalso fomented anti-Muslim
prejudicesthrough hate articlesthat iden-
tified terrorism with Muslims as an erhnic
group. These were in addition to these
n e w s p a p e r s 'o v e r w h e l m i n g d e p e n d e n c e
(800/oof the time) on government sourc-
e s , a n d t h e i r c o n c e n t r a t i o no n n e w s s t o -
ries that admittedly sold more newspapers
but did not enlighten readerson a com-
plex and destructive conflict.
Some of the practitionersresponsiblefor
these horrors are in the payroll of govern-
ment and other allied interests, aliho,rgh
others simply share the governmenr'sideo-
logical biases.But what drive Philippine
newspapersare their commercial and po-
litical interest5-1n191s515 tied up with gov-
ernment, interestsfor the preservationof
which government favor or disfavor is vi-
tal. In 1999 the Philippine governmenr
showed how crucial government approval
or lack of it can be in the Manila Timesllbel
suit and the withdrawal of movie ads from
rhe Inquirer.
The demonstration effect of these moves
'wasnot lost on the press, the vulnerability
of which rests on its ownership by various
private groupswith diversepolitical and eco-
nomic interests. Fear-of government dis-
pleasure,of advertisers,and of financiai loss-
es-made an already timid presseven mor€
timid, even as, themselvessharing the ideo-
logical assumptions of a political and eco-
nomic systemof which they are a part, indi-
vidual practitioners as well as entire news
organizationsnever quite succeedin exam-
ining the roots of the Philippine crisis.
No special laws regulate the Philippine
press,and whatever laws do have a bearing
on its performance are fairly liberal. But
what do regulate it are extra legal forces-
the power of government over the busi-
nessenterprisesof media owners, the pow-
er of the advertisers,and the ideological
shacklesthat often unbeknownst to many
practitioners shape their responsesto pub-
lic issuesand thus make the educative tasks
o f j o u r n a l i s mi n a s o c i e r yi n c r i s i se x t r e m e -
ly difficult.
-What the Philippine experience has so
painfully demonstrated is that a free press
is not achievedsimply through the absence
of official regulation, and that a free press
even when achieved does not necessarily
lead to a society of justice, freedom and
democracy.Theoretically private ownership
is the guaranteeof a free press,and with it
responsible and accountable practice. But
in practice press freedom is often compro-
mised by the interference of owners with
interests to protect, and who compel their
editors and reporters to report events from
the perspectiveof those interests.
And that's the bad news. Together with
such factors as the continued use of the
English language,this situation should help
explain why, despite a relatively well de-
veloped media system,too many Filipinos
are too uninformed to-haveintelligent opin-
ions about such issuesas Mr. Estrada'sim-
peachment, or to have any opinion at all. I
must say that the languageissueis an a{di-
tional hindrance to the dissemination of
information via the media. Only a thin layer
of the population is reachedby our mostly
English-languagepress. But this is another
kettle of fish aitogether.
The good news is that, even in these cir-
cumstancesthere are encouraging develop-
m e n t s , a m o n g t h e m t h e e x i s t e n c ea n d
growth of a corps of dissident practitioners
who seethe limitations of their own cover-
age, who daily test the political, economic
and ideological limits erected by the c,wn-
ership system, and who hunger for a truly
relevant journalism that owes its allegiance
first and last to the people and the quest
for a free society.
These dissidents are distributed every-
w h e r e i n P h i l i p p i n e n e w s p a p e r s- in
Manila as well as in the communities, and
as reporters, columnists and even editors
- seekingthe information that would help
Filipinos understand their own society and
its problems, and engaging newspaper de-
cision-makers in daily struggles to get rhe
news out to a people hungry for informa-
tion, and what is equally important, inter-
pretation. Successorsto the alternative
press practitioners of these many past de-
cades,they are the reasonwhy, despite the
political economy of the Philippine press.
critical articles and news vital to oublic un-
d e r s t a n d i n go f r e c e n t e v e n r ss r i l l m a n a g e
to be published even in those newspapers
whose policies, ideological inclinations and
political acquiescenceto whoever and what-
ever'sin power make them virtual govern-
ment mouthpieces.
These are the practitioners upon whom has
fallen the responsibiliryof deepeningthe Fil-
ipino peoplek understandingof the issuesof
bad government and all its attendant hor-
rorsincludingcronyism,corruption,grossin-
competence)and official lawlessness.
Among the practitioners who are doing
their sharein providing Filipinos with in-
formation are some who don't beiong to
newspaperstaffs,but who are in organiza-
tions like alternative news agenciesand the
Philippine Center for InvestigativeJour-
nalism, whose successivereports on Joseph
Estrada and families' involvement in 66
corporations and a real estatedevelopment
firm, as well as the construction of those
half dozen or so mansionswhich cost hun-
dreds of millions each, have been cited of-
ten and in fact are part of the documenta-
tion of the impeachment complaint that
has been filed in Congress against Mr. Es-
trada and which is currently being heard
in the Senate.
But PCIJ reports cannot reach readers
unless newspaperspublish them. Despite
what happened last year to theManila Times
and the Inquirer, and despite their own
vulnerabilities, a number of newspapers
did publish those reports-or, as in the case
of the Inquirer, reported on those reports.
The Inquirer itself, for all its imperfections,
has been providing readersinformation on
the current crisisvital to public understand-
ing of the issuesinvolved in the accusa-
tions of corruption, bribery, violation of
the constitution, and betrayal of the pub-
iic trust that have been leveled against Mr.
Estrada,as well as the entire jueteng scan-
dal from day one to the present.
In performing this invaluable service the
Inquirer is the most well-known and the
most widely cited, but it is not alone. The
Philippine Post, for example, thanks to its
editors and reporters,generally did the pro-
 11 r - 'r.'ellboth in its reportage as well as
rr-- ::1r. Both the news column s of Tb-
,i;"' n :iell as its opinion pages have also
I r- ::erriding the information as well as
n':-::-rarion that people urgenrly need
r --.;; rimes, and there is the Pinoy Times,
rn: r,:':ousFilipino-languagetabloid which
r : - :;r founder Eugenia Apostol estab-
-
r-:: in 1999 in the wake of the Manila
,r::-i,tquirer crisis. From Businessworld
' - : : r m e t h e q u a l i t y r e p o r t i n ga n d
com-
Trii: .rs readershave come to expect of it
,.':.: rhe editorship of Ram6n Magsaysay
" ,' -:,-:ii for Journalism Raul Locsin. At
:r-:.i::osr indeed, Businesslx/orld publishes
:.r '" .;.rranscript of the impeachment pro-
- j::.:lgs as a serviceto the public.
l-^-.se are the newspaperswhich, as in-
- :-:lons and through the
efforts of dedi-
- i:-: pracritioners,areproviding their read-
, -, :-^.e information they needto make sense
- :.--:crisis. to Form intelligent
opinions,
; : :o acr as free men and women on the
: .-:rcal stage, whether it be by signing
:.:.:ions or attending demonstrations to
:,::-ss rhe.irviews and to contribute to the
:r,-.ssesofdemocratization.
lur there are individual practitioners
: :r--in the most timid and most acquies-
-::: of our newspaperswho nevertheless
i -:-eed in getting the news out. For them
:-,. task of gathering information and ger-
: :.s ir out is a day-to-day struggle with
.:irors and even with owners-a veritable
:-.::rillawar that is extremelyfluid and com-
:.:r, and characterized by small victories,
--:.rrowescapesand many defeats.
Fcrn*ztNc rHE pREss
In the political crisis of 2000-2001 rhe
:olarization in the pressand the rest of me-
iia as expected,with those newspapersthat
ra'e historically been fence sitters, timid,
:nd incapabie of taking any firm position
cn anything shaping their coverage so as
rot to displeaseMr. Estrada, and those
n'hich for some reasonor the other-per-
haps tradition, perhaps ordinary human
decency,or becausethey have little or noth-
ing to lose-doing all they could to get the
information out.
This is not a mater of newspapers'being
either anti-Estradaor pro-Estrada. This is a
matter of reporting what happens each day,
of selecting what facts to include and em-
phasize,and of angling stories according to
one's best lights, as well as of interpreting
eventsto the best of one's knowledge, abil-
ities, and conscience,becausein the end this
is what journalism is-a complex enterprise
deeply involved in the democratic process.
This is a task more difficult than it sounds,
human affairsbeing exrremeiycomplex, and
the processof communication being inher-
ently difficult as well as especialiysuscepti-
:ili1iary do{lrt5 fufif i
ble to manipuiation. s!{}kcqn}il drNkd dlf Jd{)
I
In this connection, relevisionmay be do-
ing the job better nowadays.There is a per- ,.'
ceptible growrh in public awarenessof the Erap:Not guitty ffi !:
issuesof the impeachment trial, among oth-
e r r e a s o n sb e c a u s et h e m a i o r T V s t a t i o n s
0n all 4 eharges
have been simpiy focusing their cameras
on the impeachment procedures,without
ffirutm*:
the benefit-or disadvantage-of often
biased mediation by media practitioners.
Only half-facetiously would I suggestthar
this may indicate that the public would be
better servedif the media practitioner were tt
kept our of the communiiation processal-
rogerher and simply allowed the cameras
to roll and the microphones ro amplify
whar's being said.
,g :".,-1ffi
Dlsronrtxc pERcEploN
But as we all know, the basicresponsibil-
ity of the journalist is to get the informa-
t i o n o u t , a n d , t o t h e e x t e n t p o s s i b l e ,t o
**ffi;?*nu
disseminateinformation that is accurate,
fair and complete.Too many journalistsof
course distort public perception of events
through distorted reporting. It is not an
exaggeration ro say rhat most of the Ma-
nila-based newspapersare doing exactiy
that, which parrly explains why ihere are
too many uninformed and misinformed
ilq#:*@rmrg
llilll\li!111l
people in this country, but who neverthe-
fl-*t"_-ffi
les" have ready-made opinions on every-
t"i??"ur"uu
thev do nor have a moroDo-
'B,.r, "-;,,
S.;,.".,,.,
ly over the pr.rr. that they .o -,*h
in the majority should make us"r.wonder if,
like Philippine societyand politics, the press
and media too need reformation, p.rh"p,
lva-w
Estrada: 6Notguilqvt
even radical transformation. This is becauie
in the presenr circumsrances they are not
doing their task particularly well, in many
cases indeed partly succeeding only
through the efforts of dissident practitio-
ners commirred to getting the news to the
public. The disturbing thing is that media
performance was not only a factor crucial
to the survival of the damaged and politi-
cally, economically and moially damaging
Estrada presidency. It is also crucial to the
sustainability of what remains of philip-
pine democracy.
-i
Luisv. Teodoro of thephitippine
is theeditor Journatism
Review.
Uponre
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87 ReHvnruRAsHtD,
wffiffiffiffi
Mnnysn
Mar-aysn rN 2001 is deeply divided. The
Malays are politically divided against each
other, and the other communities are cultur-
ally separatefrom the Malays. This is not
entirely negative, however. The Malays' cur-
rent conflicts are driven by a need to decon-
struct, repair and re-assemble a cultural iden-
tity more equal to the challenge of survival.
Interculturally, a certain degreeof'racial po-
larization' may even help preserve Pax Ma-
laysiana, allowing our disparate cultures to
co-exist undisturbed.
Communalism offers a paci$ring sanctuary
in which to dissipatethe irritations arisingfrom
the preferentialpolicies underpinning (or
undermining) Malaysias unique social con-
tract. Although rightly credited with having
enabled the creation of modern Malaysia, the
architectsof these policies a generation ago
did not intend them to last forever - but nei-
ther couid they have anticipated how diffi-
cult it would be to dismantle them. The te-
nets of the New Economic Policy, instituted
in 1970 in responseto racial violence and pro-
jected to hold until 1990, remain in force a
decadelater.tX/henit took office in 1981, the
administration of Prime Minister Dr. Ma-
hathir Mohamad seemedchosen by history
to shepherd the nation beyond the NEP In-
stead,Malaysiahas enteredthe 21st Century
with matters unresolved.
At heart, therefore, Malaysia'smany mod-
ern dilemmas are those of a nation counting
on generational solutions to ingrained politi-
cal, religious and communal problems, and
the Mahathir Administration has simolv last-
ed too long lor sucha nationar its peak-phase
of growth.
A New LtaeRALrsrY
Ironically, the Mahathir Administration was
a prime stimulant of this growth. Its advent
in 1981 initially heralded a new liberalism,
beginning with the media.Youngerand more
ambitious editors were at the helm of the
major newspapers, wooing youngerand more
critical readers. There were glimmerings of
'investigative
journalism'. Op-ed pages
waxed occasionally bold. The first private
television licensewas issued.As the Mahathir
Administration began contending with its
relentlessseriesof internal and external cri-
ses, howevet the reins were pulled back -
hard. In a 1987 action againstcivil tension,
the licensesof four national newspaperswere
revoked, throwing hundreds of Malaysian
journalists out of work, out of journalism,
and in many casesout of the country and for
most, out of contention.
The Malaysian press was subsequently re-
constituted under new corDorateand editori-
al management.The principal national En-
glish-language daily, the New Straits Times,
fell to the editorship of Abdul Kadir Jasin.
The fourth NST Grouo Editor-in-Chief in
six years,Kadir was to last 13 yearsin the job
- by far the longest such tenure in the news-
paper's modern history - before rising in
2000 to the chairmanship of Bernama, the
national news agency.En route, Kadir would
participate in an unprecedentedmanagement
ex*
F'fr *tt ttt*'t"
r'ffi
buyout ofthe NST in 1993, ending up part
owner of the sprawling publishing conglom-
erate in a deal worth RM800 million (then
USD300 million) and emblematicof the big-
ticket privatization exercisesof the time.
F o r r h e 1 9 8 7 / 8i n r e r n a l - s e c u r icrryi s i sw a s
foliowed by energetic policy re-engineering
to encouragere. , l5i; capital inflow and reor-
'Malaysia,
ganize its deployment through
Inc.' mechanisms of government-designat-
ed private-sectorcorporations.The 1990s
beganbooming with massivenational invest-
ments in private-sector infrastructural devel-
opment, and consequently bull-running
stock markets.
A certaincorporateliberalismcame into plar-.
spearheadedby then finance minister Anr-ar
Ibrahim, en route to his becoming depun
prime minister in 1993. The reins on the
media were loosenedagain - at leastin beins
handed over to the newly cash-flush prirare
sector.The NST MBO was one means. An-
other was the granting of a rare newspaper
license to the Berjaya Group of Vincent Tln.
a businessmanclosely associatedwith Anwar.
The Sun, launched in 1993, was Malaysias
first new national EnglishJanguagedaily since
the 1971 debut of the Star.
(This hardly heralded any greater editorial
freedom, however. The Sun'sfounding editon
were fired within eight months of launch.
apparentiy for being equivocal in their sup
port for Anwar in his campaign againsr
{u$,t%r, iliell
i ruffis
Ghafar Baba for the depury presidencyof the
ruling coaiition'sleading parry Umno - a post
that carried with it the depury premiership of
the government. The Sun was shut down, re-
designed, repositioned and relaunched un-
der new editorial management.)
Anwar, acutely measuring the deficien-
c i e so f t h e M a h a r h i rA d m i n i s r r a t i o ns, t r u c -
tured an antithetical political strategybased
on generational transition, introducing the
'New
notion of the Malay', cultivating
youth and women, espousing globalism,
moderatereligion and socialliberalism. Pub-
 r r --: :lourished in the first half of the
, r::..s. \ew magazinesand periodicals
LrL-:: ::adier licensing,improved printing
, :: -,:-cgies, better distribution sysrems
: ' markets. The electronic and
"n-r ":lrhier
i n::.:.jr media developedapace;television
-.rr:::.ls and radio srationsmultiplied. Al-
:"t: -::: rhis expansion did not substantial-
, ;-:": rhe politics of the Malaysian media,
- :.: jer rhe stagefor
the rapid take-up,
-:-: :rid-decade,ofrhe Interner.
.- ::r came the twin calamitiesof the Asian
: --.;:ia.l Crisis of 1997, which ravaged
the
: i:.:'sian economy and took apart the debt-
.,: :: ;onglomerates createdby privatisation,
-: : ,j-ns'ar's precipitous fall from grace in
i ': :. n'hich hammered the political estab-
:.:--.nt and sent his ,uppori.r. flocking to
:: - -:iernet for sanctuaryand expression.This
:ir::-ized PC penetration and Inrernet us-
,l. ::: -\lalaysiajust in time to take advantage
. : ::,r'ernment policy decisionsencouraging
:.- detelopment of information technology
" 'knowledge-based'
r:: :he economy,of
:--r rhe Internet was seenas an important
l,{alavsia'sdivisions are now better repre-
., ..J in the public domain than everbefore,
: -: rhev are only emphasizedby the gulf be-
."n=tntie establishmentand the 'alternative'
-: ndependent media. (For one example,the
l':position Islamic Party's Harakah online
:.:itslerrer and the offrcial New Straits Times
:.r.ilspaper differed one-hundredfold in rheir
:::'*'d 651i1121.s of a recentOpposition rally.)
l.l:iavs.ian media consumers find both ex-
:::mes fairly incredible,and suchpublications
.:: read more aspolitical organsthan journals
_: record.
Despite (if not becauseof) the radical cor-
rorare resrructuring of the New Silaits Times
,ince the watershed of 1987/8, the
rnce-premier newspapert daily circulation has
:ropped by some 30o/o,to under 140,000.
lthe NST was overraken 6y the Star in 1995,
ris l50th anniversary yeaq and is today even
-,irreatenedby The Sun. The lively seven-year-
old parvenu is barely breaking even after its
rocky beginnings, but is winning over the
voung urban intelligentsia for a circulation of
some 82,000 and climbine.
Mulrryeorn cULTURE
The Sun recently came under the editorship
of Ho Kay Tat, whose previous renure *itir
the six-year-oid businesswee$y The Edge af-
firmed that journal's reputation for high edi-
torial standards and production qualiry. Ho
has not left his former paper, however: his
new position is a result ofthe recent ^ggrega-
tion of The Edge and The Sun under the own- ply post their agendas in cyberspace, inde-
ership of entrepreneurTong Kooi Ong, lately pendent professional news-sites such as
of the Phileo Allied financial group. Although MalaysiaKini.Com are compelled towards op-
clearly in tune with multimedia culture - positionism not only by their principles of
readersareroutinely referredto Internet sourc- fairnessand balance, but by the insistenr zar
es - The Sun, alone among Malaysiat major populi of the Internet. Reportageis constantly
news organizations, has yet to develop a'Web elbowed aside by commenrary, as indepen-
presenceofits own. (The Edgehashad an on- dent journalism is bufFeted in rhe Internett
line edition for some time.) barnyard of free opinion.
The Star,one of the papersbanned in 1987, Sdll, Malaysian media consumershave nev-
now circulatessome 250,000 and is the lead- er been as well supplied as they are today.
The range of available news and opinion has
widened significantly in a relatively short
time, increasingthe breadth of national dis-
course, if not its depth. The absenceof a
credible middle ground in the Malaysian
Pressin any casereflectsthe nation asa whole.
As Malaysia struggles ro rebuild confidence
in institutions battered by the turbulent 20
yearsof the Mahathir Administration, rhere
is awarenessthat such national recovery,ifit
is to take place at all, must do so not just in
party politics but acrossthe board. Recent
appointments to the judicial and legal ser-
vices,the creationof a national human rights
commission, and a burgeoning of NGO ac-
ing EnglishJanguage daily in Malaysia both tivity assertingcivil society'sclaims on gover-
in print and online. As such, it has assumed nance,may indicate rhe tentative beginnings
the dutiful gravitas of a bastion of the estab- of such institutional convalescence.The
lishment, a far cry from its earlier, gadflying Press,as is its wont, may follow more pur-
years.The circulations of EnglishJanguage posefully than it leads.
publications are dwarfed, however, by those
of the Malay-language press. Leading Malay UNceRrRlru rurune
newspapers Unsan Malaysia and Beita Har- \(/ith recent political history having obliter-
ian rcutinely claim circulations of 350,000 ated the previously charted course to leader-
or more, yet they cater to very specific com- ship successionand administrative rransition
munal readershipsand draw but a fraction of in Malaysia, the immediate future portends
the English-languagemedia's advertising rev- some uncertainry; perhaps crisis, more likely
enue and multi-ethnic audience. opportuniry. Regardlessof rhe political climate
from moment ro moment, the bioloeical -.o-. cer-
Nnnnow vlRrers tainry of a post-Mahathir era has ,o
Beyond theseprincipal pillars of the Malay- dominate the thinking of young and aspira-
sian press is a penumbra of popular periodi- tional Malaysians.
cals in the vernacular languages,and various It remains to be seen if rhev include oro-
academic,special-interestand NGO journals. spective media managerswho believe ihat
Tirrnover is high, as rhese publications rypi- without accurate information delivered with
cally cater to narrow and limited markets.The no modve other than to record and inform,
more stridently political of the mosquito press journalismt subsidiaryobjectivesto'educate',
run the risk of being swarted, as happened in 'entertain' 'reforrri
and/or areirredeemablytriv-
the past year ro fringe Malay-language tab, ialized. A return to the straightforward,
Ioids Ehslusif Detih and NWasikh. Usually, old-fashioned 5 '!7s of journalism would rep-
the official reasonfor such shutdownsis con- resent a substantial advancefor the Malaysian
travention of licensing regulations. Press,now that the partisan fringes are sewed
This has also spurred the shift of 'alterna- well enough.
tive'journalism to the unlicensedrangesof
the Internet, although the populariry of some
of thesewebsitesamong Malaysia'sestimated
1.5 million Internet usershas conduced much
more to advocacy than reportage. !(hile es- Rehman Rashid wu editor of the online publiation Agenda
tablishment and opposition media alike sim- Malaysia.
 MwSXm wwmXm$x
imXXXmKffiwffiffi
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irnffiXreWffimffiww
87 JnvesGot,tEz,SrNcapoRE
*il=* ' *.-*"wmiF4
i!'
#
Singapore'sSpeakertCorner: alternativeto free media?
TUE rpma "media watcli' came into oublic use
in Singaporeonly in the year ZOOO. The ad-
vent of the Internet and the use of this medi-
um by individuals and groups ro monitor the
media have contributed towards increasing
awarenessof the discrepancies,inconsistencies
and media accountability in the Republic.
Many observersconsider this development
timely, especially now that the government
had taken the initiative to "liberalize" the
media by mandating the issuanceof two new
licenses,one for print and another for broad-
cast. Media monitoring also puts pressureon
the proponents of the existing media regime
who have been used to the practicesofinfor-
mation management and control but who are
not held accountableto the public in any way.
In the media context of the past,what exist-
ed were "media complaints and moans" by
#.
!firy
ir
affected groups. Strict governmental regula-
tion and a culture of restriction practiced by
self-appointed media gatekeeperskept alter-
native reportageour of the mainstream me-
dia. These complaints involved casesof under
reporting, slanting of stories, or avoidance of
certain topics and opinion leaders.
Howeve! these"complaints" hardly made it
into the public domain, as there was no space
or venue through which to make them pub-
lic-not in Singapore-due to tight media
control by government.This wascoupled with
a genuine fear that the government would
retaliate against those who speak up. As a re-
sult, observations on media lapsescirculated
only within the arena of affected interesr
groups and not very far beyond.
Some media discrepancies,however,did get
mentioned in writinss in academia-related
fields such as political scienceand sociology.
This was possiblebecausethere was some tol-
erance of diverging views by the ruling re-
gime if it remained at the level of academia.
More discussionon media-relatedtooics en-
suedwhen media and communicationstudies
developedin Singaporein the 1990s. Staning
with coursesin the polytechnics,the field got a
greater expansion locally when the School of
Mass Communications was set uD at the Nan-
yangTechnologicalUniversity.Bui on the whole
these observations of the media remained at
the level of academia and within the academic
circuit. Those involved in the oromotion of an
independentpressin the regionaland interna-
tional circuit would havecome acrosstheseSin-
gapore based academics,but hardly any local
journalists. The few who took part would be
either apologists of the status quo or would
 Lri , r; rhe condition that no reference
iltruffilur
TrJri : -ireir speech!
fl{r(!!u
i,r1: .: 'io a Media Group at the Feed-
"Iuruiriir- : : -i: the Ministry of Community
:,p.'",:r ::--.:rt. Under the stewardshio of a
J- :- - -':.:-appoinredchairman,interested
err:mr :'1:; .: rhe public can discussissuesre-
ril::r :: :::-Jia and provide feedback to gov-
i:rrn r: . ,:;ncies and the mediagroups.How-
" r" -r :reIer been recognizedas a robust
, r ,r* : ::: seriousand effectivemedia mon-
3 rr*- ..-aNer AccEss
''''
, -:.:.:net however,changed this situa-
, :-.r-,:::allvin the 1990s and has sown
'r r :: :.: :i media monitoring in Singapore.
'' ' - :, -:'. the Internet ofFersdirect accessto
' : : - r .:. domain via websitesand largemail
' :..::.r until recently had been absent.
: :--\\' sPace.where media discrepan-
: !::-s. complaints and alternativeview-
: - ': :;r1 be made public, is now available.
I - :::sint, the Internet is usedto highlight
, r"' iinds of media issuesand four web-
, - >:nqapore- relatedmattcrsareinsrruc-
, .--:his point.
-: such website is called the Singapore
r' - : -'.,.-(www.singapore-window.org). This
i ' :': : :. i.ssentially carriesreportsfrom all over
' : ; , rld and from different rypes of news
-.:*:ri:. Its aim is to provide balancedre-
. ::. :hat come through from Singapore's
- ir j:ream media. In presenting different
,'.',i riSingapore from differentmedia agen-
, :: xd sources,it shows up the differences
- -:r anglesof reporting and the issuesthat
- '- ::I;en up. OccasionalIy,ir issuesre-written
:: =.. releases from opposition partiesand po-
: -., \GOs.
print. Until recently this has not been able to
be proven and highlighted in any public way.
So what the Sintercom websitedoesis to print
letters sent by readerswho can demonstrate
that their letters have been edited to make
them more politically acceptable.Essentially
this involves putting the original letter sent
by a reader rc the Straits Times and the actual
edited version published in the Straits Times.
The readers of the website are then encour-
aged to draw their own conclusions. Occa-
sionally letters that are not published are also
uploaded. This website is run by volunteers
and has its own server basedin Singapore.
Over the last six months this initiative to-
wards media monitoring has gone a little bit
further with the Think Centre's website
(www.thinhcentre.org).The Centre has intro-
duced a new section called Media !?'atch.This
section displaysreports on media watch issues
from around the Southeastfuian region and
Singapore in particular. (For an exam:le of a
specific Media Watch incident seethe special
report in this issue of Journalism Asia on the
censorshipofa radio program by a local radio
station). It alsohighlights how bookshopsand
Iibrariesalsopracticecensorshipwhen it comes
to publications dealing with political content.
The Thrnk Centret website also featuresoth-
er sectionssuch asa Human Rights'Watch, an
Elections \Watch and a Policy'Watch. As part
of its services,a volunteer group of writers
and editors generateoriginal content and re-
portage on local activities. Its website is based
in Singapore,hosted by a local commercial
web hosting agency.
Moverurum oF DEVELoPMENT
Colleaively, thesewebsitescirculatepressstate-
ments,announcemen$by variousinrerestgroups
and amateur repofts on eventsnot carried by the
mainstreammedia through their largee-mail lists
and load them up onto their websites.
V/hat is interestingfor Singaporeis that these
initiatives have createda momentum towards
the development of a presscouncil or nation-
al watchdog group. One initiative is the set-
ting up ofan organization calledthe Singapore
Media'Vatch Community. This is a network
of 12 rc lJ representatives that includes se-
nior retired journaiists, academicsand experi-
enced civil socieryactivistswho are proposing
to establishan NGO specializingin media
monitoring. At the time of this writing, the
project was taking the form of organizing a
private limited company that will engagein
research,dissemination and organization of
eventssingly or in collaboration with other
groups on media-related issues.The primary
avenueof engagementwould be via a website
that will solely focus on media monitoring
and related activities.
These developmentshave managed to bring
the issueof media monitoring one notch high-
er in Singapore. They are acceleratingthe
speed with which more media monitoring
initiatives in the Republic are occurring and
developing in the short- and medium- term.
JamesGomez is the executive director of Think Centre.

lorcsnoNwEestrEs
1.::otherwebsiteis Singaporeansfor Democ-
: --,- tuwu).
gn.apc.orC/sfd/).Opposition politi-
:-=:-s.especiallythosefrom the SingaporeDem-
':::ric Parryand its associatedOpen Singapore
-.ntre,
have their pressreleasesand reports of
-:::ivitieshighlighted frequently there.The Sin-
n:poreansfor Democracy website is also more
:.io'in that it allows issuesto be raisedby indi-
'.:duals,whether on minoriry rights or politicai
)iuesin anonymousterms.
Both websites-Singapore W'indow and
Singaporeansfor Democracy-are basedout-
'ide Singapore and run by volunteer editors.
Thesevolunteersaresecretiveabout their iden-
rirv and prefer to remain anonymous.
Sintercom(eaeu w.sintercom.org),or Singapore
Internet Community, goes a bit further in
developing what it calls "not the StraitsTimes
Forum." The StraitsTimes Forum is the lead-
ing English broadsheet'sletters page and itt
known not to run letters rhat are politically
sensitive, and even to edit the letters it does
 PeRspecrrvs

Wnitins
loptlre
U.S.pre$s
87 MnnlresVtuG, pnrupprruEs

THIs rs my personal take on the subject of re-

poning on the Philippines for Newsweeh.
\Triting for foreign publications has ia bright
and not-so-bright sides. I have been a Philip-
pine correspondentfor Newsweehformore than
eight yearsand, before that, I reponed for a few
mainstream American newspaperssuch as the
Christian ScienceMo nitor, Newsday,and theNau
YorkTima.
Being a conespondent for foreign publications
has taught me a number of things. On the pos-
itive side:
1. It hasmade me think regional.
2. It has sharpened my senseof the big pic-
ture, and my abiliry to synthesizeand o<plain
eventsin broad strokes.
3. It has taught me to sell stories,and to make
a compelling salespitch for story ideas.
On the negative side:
1. Spaceis limited so we cant say it all.
2. There is a tendency to look for anglesthat
are linked to American isues, interests,lifesryle.
3. \fhen the story'sbig, Newsweehsendsthe
bosses,the bureau chief and senior coffesDon-
dents. the US and Europe. ter ride gives me a befter perspectiveand a dis-
kt me elaborateon thesepoints. The second reason is more pragmatic than passionateview.
The one big lessonI m gratefi"rlfor in writing anything else.I have to knowwhatt happening For some foreign journalistswho covercoun-
for Newsweehis that it has expanded my mind- in the region to determine what are the slack tries that are not theirs, this is not a problem.
sg1- frsrn thinking domestic to thinking re- periods - meaning when the demand for sto- They can be distant and unmoved.
gional, thinking SoutheastAsia and Asia. \Vhy? ries is high, when no trouble is erupting in the The downside to this alwap-big-picture ap-
Two reasons.First, the magazine often does re- neighborhood like bombings in Indonesia or proach, however, is that the writing tends to
gional stories, meaning those that cover issues parliamentary conflict in Thiwan. Then I can gloss over details even when theyie vital. Space
affecting most or parrs of SoutheastAsia. make a go for storiesthat could find spacein the constraints do not allow us to include fine de-
For example, eachcountry correspondent, say magazine. tails.
from Burma, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, The other gain from writing for Neu.,sweeh is The third gain from writing for foreign pub-
Vietnam, and the Philippina, repons onAIDS, that I can take an imaginary helicopter ride and Lcatonslike Newsweehis that it hastaught me to
or labor migration, or cuisine and culture. Or a look at whatt happening in my country from a market my stories, to be my own salesperson.
story on Islam in SoutheastAsiaincludes repons distance,so I can appreciatethe big picture, and Imagine four, five or six pages of a maga.ine
&om Indonesia, Malaysia the Philippina and not get too enmeshedin details. devotedto all ofAsia out ofa total of52 pages,
Brunei. Or a story on separatistmovements This exerciseis helpflJ becauseit enablesme and you can seethe intense competition taking
would cover the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Kash- to look at directionsand trends,rather than events place among the correspondents in convincing
mir, Indonesia. in isolation. It alsomakesme lessemotional when editors of the imponance of their stories.I find
At other times, we report on SoutheastAsian/ writing especiallybecauseI careabour my coun- myself forwer in a rac€. Itk helpfirl ro stay com-
Asian issuesthat connect us to the rest of the try and I have a stakein its future. I cannot help petitive.
world - issueslike illegal immigration, the traf- but be involved and be moved by whatt taking Of course,not everything dependson the cor-
ficking ofwomen, mail order brides, the exodus place. I cant help but be angry depressed,or respondentt salespitch. Countries like China,
of in-formation technolory experts from Asia to ecstatic.Thus, going for the imaginary helicop- Japan and Korea do get more attention because
 ffinuer:::- ,:-rmic and political starusin the world newspaper,lke the International Haald Tiibunz
:oilmil'xnfir.:,.V}ren storieserupt there, forget the
of Asia or Southeast Asia. However, one such
mhiris.rrL:,s-Ir ukes a phenomenon like the "I
attempr by a Thai media mogul failed. This
llrtmEl{r-- r',n6, che seizing of foreign hostages,
might make for an interesting cesesrudy. \fhy
mnctr,r .=peachment of Joseph F,stradato get did this
anempr Aili
lnrucrtrirc :"nendon of the foreign press. 'We
2. write for the Vest. How about writing
for eachotlrer in the region, like Tempoinlndo-
lrflqE3-E\- Co\GRAGE
nesia, the SingaporeStraix Times, the Nation,
irrn::e negadveside, the biggestfrustration is the
BanghohPox, etc. nor only storiesbut opin-
ilnqrr':{'-riace. Stories get too simplified, some-
ion pieces, essays,commentaries? It should be
ilflil:: -r:r$-irg
dre nuances.Apan from being un- part of
our being and feeling that we belong to
ilim'rr: :vrr in a wealth of deAil when a story is
the region. Ve can develop a pool of contribu-
$rfrs. - naoredi-fficult stnrggle is to get a story
tors/writers who write on Southeast Asia and
:r- {N'- :::}endonedearlier,the Philippines is not
the rest ofAsia.
,l!t trlr:1:tr:ianras China or Japan or Indonesia. '\l'e
-:ru -=s,ir 3. need to talk to each other in Asia. The
in infrequent coverage,or under- ASEAN
news exchange is part of this effon.
rni=:€€ of the Philippines.
Journalism Asia will be another.
l*:::jr'. cover€e of the US elections practi. 4. There is lirde aaention to SoutheastAsian
,ull,' :,::r..umed rhe entire magazine. If Joseph
and Asian news in the Philippines. No pagesin
i;n:z,:a nad resignedduring rhat penod, News-
Philippine newspapersare devoted to Asean
;,m:r ar:,uld havestill used the srory. But I imag-
news and features.
::rc :;: ir *'ould have devoted only a pageto it.
,rrrr ri is about the leader of a country step-
:"rrir.r:-alnrr from office after a historic impeach-
l'1an't6 D. Vitug is ditor-in-chief of Newbreal ada
n*:: :t-al. rhe first in Asia.
cofropondent for Newswek magzine.
' i sr.andardpracdce
in Newsweehto file sto-
*d j::lEer *ran the required
number of words,
- ::: rhe editors with asmuch detail aspossi- -.l=--.-

rrd n- :ier. can better appreciate the conter<tof

r:: ,ir-3'. As you know, editors in New York
:;:-: ::rrrire r}restory and sendus the "readbach"
r :": tdited version for our comments and cor-
-:r,:._
:15.
li. sc'conddownside is the rendency ro look
' .r$es that are interesting
ro Americans, and
. :: =ow' linked to American issuesand lifestyle. '.'.fl-$*ffiff"
. - . s because.ly'aa,sweeh is an American maga-
:--.-. This is how the world of media works. If I tIl
.:,.:. rbr a Europeanpublication, then I would M,,,
rr havero find news pegsthat areofinterest to ,t,i,
: -.-lP€ans.
. pnicularly dread insmnceswhen American
-;:onals arevictims
in accidenm,taken hosuge,
: :-Mucted.
".ihen
theAbu Sayyafkidnappedforeign hos-
a--*. mostly Europeans, guesswho deluged
-;-:rboanga
and Sulu?The European press.Of
:. irs€, some from the US presswere there, too,
: -:.i rhe majoriry were from European media
-:ir. bor}t print and broadcast.
Siorieson Subic and Clark, former US mili-
-::; bases,almost
alwaysmake good copy. For a
--:re, I was watching
Subic closely - its trans-
.rrrnation, the kinds ofbusinessesthat invested
-rere, arnong others,becauseNewsweehwxin-
:eresred.Apart from the historicai connection,
:.c storieswere fi.rlloFco.lorand human inreresr
:necause tlrey rold ofa country cutting loosefrom
\{o*rer America.
The third downside parr is thar the foreign
;orrespondentscome for the big story. I play
'econd fiddle.
Other issues
L There is talk about the need for a resional
Morqruon
occupation of the JP head office. Media Inat-
nesia and Kompas newspapers dweloped c**
issue.For severaldays,both newspaperspri:::-

Media$olidanity ed articlesquestioning and criticizing the air*-

enceofsuch "militid' groups, generallyby quct-
ing and collecting opinions from socialo<pa=

0uenwhelms and public figures.

lJnlike Duta Masyarakat Baru, Media Inat-
nesia and Kompas, Republika and Rahyat.lto'

appnaisal
ohicctiue fuha, did not focus on the implications of d:c
conflict between NU and JP Both presentec
the conflict descriptively and without con-
By MuHnvvRoQoonru, lruDoNesn
ment. PerhapsRepublika regarded the conflic:
asnot very interestingor strategic,which is u*r."
it reported on it only *vice. Rabyat Merdt$;
- in which the JP group has shares- did rhe
REpoRrensshould beware. Getting the names Members ofBanseraswell asother NU mem- same thing becauseit did not want to ge:
of people in the news wrong can have near- bers visited the JP head office on Saturdayand caught between NU and JP
disastrous results. It happened to the Jawa Pos Sunday (May 6-7,2000). This was followed JP itself, as the newspaperin conflict ui*.
daily (JP)l becauseof its May 6, 2000 issue.On by the cancellation JPk of publication May 7 NU-Banset did not have any story on tlo
that date JP had a report on page 3 headlined issue. The event attracted media attention both NU-Banser "occupation." However, some
"PKB2 Gerah. PBNU3 Bentuk Tim Karifika- from within as well as outside the country. n€wspaperswhich belong to the JP Group"
si" (PKB Is Uneasy,PBNU Forms Clarification The day afterJP'sSundayedition was not pub- especiallythose published in Surabaya,such as
Team) with the subhead "Enam Bulan Memer- lished, almost all lndonesian newsPaPers re- Suara Indonesia, and the online news site
intah, KKN Mulai Menerpa Gus Dur?" (After ported the NU-Banser protest and the non- Posmo.com, actively reported the "occupa-
Six Months In Ofiice, Have Conuption, Collu- publication of the May 7 JP issue,either in tion." The non-reporting of the feud was ac-
sion and Nepotism BeganTo Hit Gus Dur?). their ooliticsor nationalsection. tually not part of the settlement signed bv
This report triggered a bitter feud between NU The Banser-JPcase reached a new level when, both parties.V/hat was specifiedin the setde-
and rhe Jawa Pos. at the end of a meeting with his economic team ment was JPt obligation to apologize on ics
\Wahidcon- own front page for seven consecutivedays.
The JP story was not itself the problem. The Monday (May 8, 2000), President
problem was the "infographic"a JP published nected JPt controversial news to a supposed JP'snot publishing a singlenews story on the
which contained allegationsof "KKN" (Cor- campaign to bring down or discredit the gov- feud was obviously in contrast with Duta
ruption, Collusion and Nepotism) on the part ernment before the People's Consultative As- Masyarakat Baru, which posted no less than
of PBNU KH chair A. Hasyim Muzadi. The sembly began its Annual Sessionon August 18 storieson the issuein a week.
iatter was allegedto have acceptedbribes in the 2000.8 The Presidentof the Republic of In-
amount of 35 billion rupiahs (approximately donesia,who is alsothe former headof PBNU, Blrrueor vrotn
US$3.9 million) from Yanatera-Bulog (Bulog accused JP newspapers of violating the jour- The different emphasesin the coverageof
EmployeesFoundation). The fund, according nalistic code of conduct by using the Tbmpo the feud berween Banser-NU, as well as the
to the JP infographic, had been drawn from story as a basis for its "infographic," despite five newspapers'development of their respec-
Yanatera-Bulog to help advance Gus Dur'st Tlmpo's apology for the mistake. tive stories,show that there was a battle among
political interests.After that, according to the After President \Tahidt statem€nt, the me- them over how eventswould be interpreted to
same infographic, the Yanatera-Bulog fund was dia had to confront thiee issues. The first con- readers.
diverted to Muzadi. cerned the mediocre performanceof the liber- Robert Entman statesthat there arefour steps
The problem was that the infographic had ated press, as well as its implications on the which are commonly used by the media in
been based on a news story in Timpo. ln that peoplet right to information. The second'ryas their effort to interpret the meaning of events.
story ("Di Balik Pencopotan Itu' [Behind The the issue of civil militarism. This refers to the The first is "problem identification." This
Displacement]), the person said to have received existenceof militia group within almost all po- attempt wasevident from the terminolory used
the bribe was identified as Muzadi. But the litical parties and social organizationssupPos- by Duta MasyarakaLwhich consistendy used
Temporeporterhad named the wrong person. It edly engagedin democratic activities.And the neutral terms or labelsto describeNU-Banserb
should have been Hasyim \7ahid - a younger third was the alleged existence of a political action- for example, "action/reaction' (13
'\fahid -
brother of PresidentAbdurrahman conspiracyto bring down President Gus Dur times) and "the coming of" (6 times), and
instead of Muzadi. As soon as he received con- before the Annual Sessionof the People's Con- NUt "protest" (1 1 times) or "demonstration'
cernedinquiries liom the Geral<anPemuda (GP) sultative Assembly in August 2000. (4 times). Pleasecompare the different "prob-
Ansor Suiabaya Branch6, Muzadi, who was in The newspapers' "angling" of their stories was lem identification" approach used by Duta
"taking
Medan, Noth Sumatera,immediately wrote to evident. None of the newspaPersunder review Macyarabat, with its use of the term
about a political over/raid," which also dominated the report-
JP's chief editor. Muzadi complained about the took up Gus Durt statement
inaccurate JP report. He also attached a letter conspiracy being behind the JP report. Instead ing ofthe other four newsPaPers. The phrase
from Tempo'seditor apologizing for the mistake. there were two significant tendencies. The first "taking ovet" was also used in several head-
The GP Ansor Surabaya Branch members tendency focused on criticizing the perfor- lines.
sune to JPt office. This is how the occupation manceofthe liberatedpress,especiallyJPwhich The secondis "causalinterpretation," or the
7 for violating the press code of attempt to identify who or what was the cause
by its members,speciallythose from Banser, of was criticized
This analysis intends to conduct. This focus was emphasized by Duta of the problem. In this case,most of the media
JPs head office began.
- except Duta Masyarabat Baru - empha-
reveal how five newspapers- Kompas, Media Masyarahat Baru, a daily published for the NU
Inr/nnesia,Dua MasyarakatBaru, Republika and community. sizedthat JP did not print its Sunday,May 7,
RabyatMerdzha- covered the ensuing conflict The second tendenry was criticism of civil 2000 issue.The detail regarding members of
benveen NU and Jawa Pos. militarism as demonstrated by NU-Bansert Banser in armyJike uniforms, their shouts at

B&$@
'rob&
- ,::::..nstration against "Kompas": Criticizing the free press
:r -:-:a*ro stop working, and the coming of a
- -::iber ofprotesters to the
JP editorial office
'"::; highlighted by the media. However much
.l
r-.accountablefor the silly mistake in its re-
:,-::. -JP'spromise not to r€p€at past misrakes
,ii';i nor presentedadequately.The newspapers
-:ier review presentedNU-Banser as rh€ ac-
: : : and r-hecauseof the problem, while on the
- --::erhand, the JP daily newspaperwas pre-
i..rred as the victim.
The third is "moral evaluation," namely
:;:ermining the right and wrong of a prob-
..n. In the caseof NU-Banser versusJP,the
:::edia - except Duta Masyarahat Baru -
:.nerally considered the "occupation" by
Sanseras v€ry negative conduct, not only
:or being illegalbut alsofor threateningdem-
ocratic processesand for violating human
:ights.
The fourth st€p is "treatmenr recommenda-
iion," which refersto an offering or a justifica-
ion for a way to solve the problem and pre-
dicting its result. Here, the media which saw
Banserasthe causeof the problem recommend-
ed that NU-Banser members who occuoied
JP'sofficesbe brought to courr so thar similar
incidents will not happen again. Besidesthis
legal recommendation, by relating the issueto
civil militarism, newspapershke Media Indone-
sia and Kompasalsorecommended the displace-
ment and/or re-arrangemenrof existingmilitia
groups affiliated with political parries and so-
cial organizations,be it Banser or any other
similar formation.
ii
i;,
MEonsouolRrw
All of the Duta Masyarahat Baru reports on
the NU Banser- JP feud depictedJP unfavor-
ably,while it publishedno negativecommenr
on NU-Banser. This bias seemsto have been
causedby the "primordial ties" which connect
Duta Masltarahat Baru with the NU-Banser
communiry. Duta glossedover NU-Banser's
illegitimate approach to proresring pressinac-
sraq1r.Dutashould havereminded NU-Bans-
er members- despitetheir angertowardsJP - to
uselegal meansofredress insteadof "raiding"
the TP head office.
's
Jawa Pos the biggestdaily in eastem lndonesia.
Its publisher,Dahlan lskan,is an lndonesian
media tlcoon who hasaken the most aduanage
of media freedom in the Reform era by
publishing a number of newspapers under the
umbrella of the Jawa PosGroup,
PKB standsfor Panai KebangkitanBangsaor
NationalAwakening Party. PKBis the "oflicial"
party of and for NU (Nahdlatul Ularna)- the
biggest(traditional) Muslim organization in the
country. PresidentAbdurnhman Wahid is the
founder of PKB as well as former chair of NU
for three terms.
PBNU standsfor PengurusBesarNU, or NU
National Board of Executives.
lnfognphic is the term used by JP to refer to its
illustration of the flow of bribe money from
one personto another.
Gus Dur is Abdurrahman Wahid's nickname.
e,
i3 $t'
,k' .,ii'
.#
r.:
j" 1i -
However, the other (big) newspapers also
deservecriticism. They were too busy depict-
ingJP asthe victim of anarchismor civil milita-
rism. They played down the version of the event
provided by NU-Banser whose members ac-
tually felt they were the real victims. The other
newspaperssimply ignored JP's role in trigger-
ing the events that followed. The newspapers
should remind themselvesof the many weak-
nessesapparent in media performance. Media
solidarity took the place ofobjective appraisal
in their coverageof the NU Banser-JPcase.
Genkan Pemuda (Youth Movement) Ansor is
one of the NU sub-organizations specifically
aimed at the NU young generation. GP Ansor
Sunbaya was the first to question Hasyim
Muzadi beause the lP daily is publishedand
mainly distribued in Surabaya.At the sametime,
Sunbaya (and Eax Jauain general) has the
biggestpropoftion of NU followers in all of
lndonesia.
Banser stands{or Barisan Ansor Serbaguna
(Ansor Muhi-Purpose Stafrs).GP Ansor formed
a specialsection team within its organization
called Banser. Banser is often called the NU
" militia" becauserts mernbers dress in army-like
uniforms and are often used to guard NU
gatherings,
The Annual Sessionwas to be held to to review
and comment on the President's oertormance
during his first year in office.

Ataleol thnGe
ca$e$
.ByDnnuNeeHtnuNnur, TH,TTLAND
Solult Trur newspapersdisseminate inaccurate
information becausethey dont check the de-
tails in their reports. Some also use language
that can damage the reputations of private in-
dividuals. These practices are an indictment of
the decision-makers in the concerned newspa-
Pers.
Many complainm against the presshave been
filed with Thai press associationi, and legal
actions filed in the courts. The public vigi-
lance this demonstrates is not only understand-
able but wonhwhile. Inaccuratereporting can
violate the rights of individuals, notably the
right to privacy. Moreover, it can affect soci-
ety-its attitudes, its opinions, its behavior-
indeed the very qualiry of its judgments.
Here are three casesofsocial and political re-
porting from the Mastert thesis "Inaccurate
Reporting and Newspaper Credibility" by
Apichat Sakdiset (Chulalongkorn Universiry
Bangkok, 2000) which illustrate the practices
mendoned.
1 website www.sanooh.con,and claimed it to be
Invasion of pregnancy
The Daily News front-paged a story on Sep-
tember 5, 1999 under the headline "2-month
pregnant Chintara sneaksinto yuppie hospi-
tal." The story began,"Shocking newsfor show
bizlll Actress Chintara Sukapat is wvo months
pregnant." It went on ro say that the actress'
sister,a nurse at a well-known hospital in the
Sukhumvit area, had taken the ,o
"irr.r. "
doctor there, and that the news was being kept
secret, particularly the identiry of the babyt
father.
"Everybody is stunned," the Daily News con-
tinued. "Information on the Internet via a
popular website has confirmed the pregnancy.
It stirscriticism far and wide. Somebelieveit to
be true; others do not. Most people observe
that the actresshas put on weight. This prob-
ably led to speculation about her pregnancy.
Her love story is reportedly an unhappy one.
She has no steadyboyfriend."
The newspaper rounded off its report by
recalling the scandalous affairs the actresshad
'with
supposedlyhad VI.Ps and actors."
Absent in all this was the actress'side.Only
after publication of the story did the paper
print her denial.
The September 6 issue of rhe Daily Neus
had a report, also on the front page, headlined,
"Chintara denies pregnancy." It quoted her
served. However, it did put the correcr snnl
on the front page, as it had done the fals *
and presented the actresst side in deriil, asrrel
as the views of other people, no matter if cni-
cial of the papert reporting.
2
Anonymousleaflet
On January 8, 1999 KrungthE Tizrakbrc-
ported on the front page ofits political secd(n
'?\t
noon on 7 January 1999 an anonyrxils
from a telephone interview as saying the story leaflet attacking Mr. Suthep Thuksuban, N{.in-
not only was inaccurate but had been mali- ister of Communications, is faxed to the Parllr
ciously fabricated. She also said the paper had ment PressRoom." It beginswith'Mr. SudcA
no businessintruding into her privacy. Her Thuksuban-an all-time lover' and goes on rD
relationship with other screen actors, she said, atack him outright. First his financial stann
was "absolutelysolely professional." He was declared bankrupt when he first began
On the same day, another publication, Mat- his political career. But now he turns millioo-
ichon, carried an intewiew with the actressin aire. Then, his private life. He is alegedh
which she denied the Daily News storv. involved in an affair with Mrs. Srisakul
Techapaibul,sisterof Mr. Nipon Prompan and
PotN$ or nl{,qlysts wife of Mr. Pornthep Techapaibul. And latek
l.The Daily News was the only newspaper with Mrs. Anchalee Vanich Teppabutr, Phuket
that caried the false story, Two things are clear M.P...."
about its reporting: first, it did not check its Mrs. Anchalee Vanich Teppabutr filed a libd
factswith other sources.Second,it did not seek suit against the Nation Multi-media Group
out the chief subject*the actressherself. Co., Ltd., publisher of lhungthep Tiarahit,ar
Matichon, on the other hand, had only a Phuket Coun.
follow-up, and for that it made sure, firsr, ro On October 30, 1999, Ihungthep TLrakit
get the story straight from the actress;and sec- printed an "apolog/' in the samepolitical sec-
ond, not to call too much attention to its story tion, on t}re same page, that carried the leaflet
by burying it on page 20. story. It said:
2. The Daily News' attribution was inade- "Regarding the inaccuratestarementreporr-
quate. The paper cited as its only source ttre ed by lSungthep Turakh newspaper dated 8
January 1999 which directly insults Mrs. An-
reliable. chalee Vanich Teppabutr and Mr. Tosaporn
3.The Daily News alsowent into allegations Teppabutr, the editorial staff and all involved
of past relationships between the actressand wish to apologize for the false news contenr
politicians, businessmen,and actors in an ob- which might have causeddamage to the repu-
vious attempt to foment public speculations tation of the abovementioned individuals and
as to who could be responsible for the alleged their families. tVe would like to assurethem
Pfegnancy. that there will be no more such mistakesin our
4. An illustration accompanying the story reporting in the future. Adisak Limparungpa-
was also irresponsible. It showed a photo of tanakit, editor."
the actress looking as plump-faced as expect-
ant women are thought to look like, and in a Potrurs ornNru-ysrs
materniry dress. The paper said that a reporter l.The lGungthep Turakitwas the only news-
had been sent to the hospital where the actress paper that reported the story. The focus of the
supposedlyhad beenadmitted and that a nurse libel suit was the last paragraph.
to discuss the subject for ethical 2. It referred to a repoft by the parliament
H;.r1"0 pr€sscorpsconfirming that an anonymousleaf-
let had been faxed to the PressRoom.
Ogsenvmotts 3. It extensivelyquoted rhe part about the
The Daily Neus printed a detailed accounr relationship between Mr. Suthep Thuksuban
ofthe actress'explanation,and stopped ali re- and Mrs. Anchalee Vanich Teppabutr. No other
porting on the'pregnancy." sourceswere cited to confirm this report; nei-
The caseinvoived the use of an unreliable ther was any attempt made to get the side of
news source. Information appearing in the the characters involved.
Internet is usually unreliable and therefore re-
quires screening for accuracy. Becauseit was OesrnvmoNs
not balancedby the subfect'sversion ofevents, The failure of the newspaper to get the side
or her comments on the story the story was of the people concernedled to the publication
damaging to the abtress. of an inaccurate,and worse, libelous story. Al-
The newspaperput lessweight on reporting though the story involved public figures (mem-
the protest of the aggrieved actressthan it de- bers of parliament) who were therefore fair sub-
 rilun inil i:-l:i:ir. rhe leaflet touched on their
in1gle6rfi j, ':-i ivhich the public has noth-
ililtrym rtr *:-.ss it involves the discharge of
r*;:,. :-.rbiliry. To publicize someone
11111q[1fl!q
d!* nt,,l:. .iarrs, and without sufficient ev-
- : . .-nlr-a seriousviolation ofhuman
ullJlluuuui,:,
rnllWhn,.. .. :.isoa violation of a fundamental
, -;^-:-l-
ililru ,4r, L on July 23 nearly all the newspaperscarried
'--:' ::.iper did not immediately make
';:ong done. Instead, it
illtmfi r "--: waited for
irillrn!,1
r:r-: ::--.rrhs until the couft issued an or-
illllu''i--:xlogy.
3 Indeed, blood testsconducted on the vic- Pummarin-who confirmed rhar inuesiea-
AIDSscare
n - l+. \999 Siam Rath carcied the
r| f ;,ri: :eadline "Panic strikesentire city;
' n ( : - . - - - : i o n t o s p r e a dA J D S . " l r r e p o r t e d
3,Lit -:---::; rvas on the loose, motorcycling
lun rrr- --.:-s[ek, injectingAIDS into girls,and
:,il: -::.<ss voung women had fallen victim
rr * ::.ztn ft117/1
said the motive was likely
lyTi:.1--:. and that the maniachimself was a
lr': - i::: AIDS.
,': ::,., ran on the front page for seven
'r : , -: r. davs. On
July 25 the headlinewas
' ,.:-:.d is latestvictim; AlDS-filled nee-
u: :-r:d inro buttock; arresraftempt fails."
'*.r-:
'r ' "Psychopatharrested;suspectin
'.. -- ,-;3."
r. : -: on rhe Siam Rath x.ory, the Daily
"; .-.i irs own take. On July 25 its head-
r' : :. :ire front page, said: "\X/ild searchfor
- - -i :ran - in jectsAIDS! Femalepoliceon
r'-;- ::,r arresr."The story had a twist to it-
r-:" :--.:naniac hasinjectedhis victim, he an-
r - -.: ro her what he has done: "You are
' ..:ccredwith AIDS."
'.:: Path was on to it too. On
JuIy 26, it
' : i: .red: "ldentification of psychopath re-
::L::: ex-prisonerjust out of jail." The story
' ,---..i on the progressin the police effort to
-.-:-:e rhe man and elaboratedon his weird
_ : -r.ct.
, . rhe same day Matichon headlined: "Lat-
: : r:.rim of AIDS maniac: 14-year-oldstu-
:::-: :ushesto notify police; psychopath near-
:,:pped." It reportedan interviewwith Mee-
r,r:. a psychologistat the Department of Men-
:, Health. According to him, Matichon re-
:. red, the attacker must be an AIDS patient
:.-:rself, who had probably contracted the dis-
:ri from a prostitute and was now out for
-,.',6..
-\ early as Jlly 25, however,Khao Sod had
:.ported an interview with PaisalThn-ud, pres-
.ient of the HIV/AIDS Patient Network of
- hailand, in which he denied any report of
.:-rcha maniacal rampagereachinghis office.
Matichon itself on July 27 had on its front
rage a story basedon a letter from Usasinee
Rewtong, a member of an NGO concerned
ri-ith AIDS, saying that its story on the inter-
view with Kittikorn Meesap was unsupport-
ed by evidence. Said the letter: "This man
should not be accusedofbeing a person with infected needlewas mentioned only in its July
AIDS, or a psychopath due to his anti-social 25 issue. The front-page headline said "Vild
act becausethere is no widence to confirm this. searchfor syringeman - injectsAIDSI Femaie
Such a misleadingcomment or report may af. police on guard for arrest." The lead referredto
fect the knowledge and understanding of the a statement given by a victim, whose identiry
generalpublic of A-IDS issues." was not disclosed,that she had been told by
Finally the man fell into police hands, and her own attacker that she now had AIDS.
3.In Thai Rath, the AIDS aspectappeared
the story. As it turned out, he was not an AIDS only on JuJy 26 in the headline: "Injecting
sufferer;out of some compulsion he just found AIDS into bold young girls." The story did
himself cycling around pricking girls with nee- nor specilywhat the syringecontained.
dles and telling them he had given them AIDS In both the headline and the story, Thai
only to scarethem. Rath named a source-Police Colonel Nioon
tims were all negative. tion had raisedthe possibilirythat rherr,".I.r.
was an ex-convict.
PotNmorRNeLysts 4. Matichon alsoreported this story from the
7. Siam Rath coveredthe story most exten- beginning. But the AIDS issueappearedonly
sively. It was the first to print it, and went on in its July 26 issue,from an interview with
reporting it for eight days,from July 24 to 31. Meesap, the health department psychologist.
The story was given lessand lessprominence,
although still on the front pageand consistenr OeseRvnnoN
Siam Rath did not admit any wrongdoing.
In its last story on the subject, its headline in
fact read,"Psychopatharrested:Mr. AIDS nee-
dle." But after it had become known that
neither he nor his needle had .\7D5, Siam
Rath stopped reporting on the subject.
On the othe hand, Matichon admitted its
mistake. It reported the protest by the NGO,
the arrest of the perpetrator, and the blood
testson the victims confirming that they had
not been infected with the AIDS virus.
Thai Rath and the Daily News did the same
thing.
Noticeably, Matichon, Thai Rath and the
Dai/y Netasmentioned only once that the man
had AIDS and was using AIDSJoaded sy-
ringes.
At any rate, the AIDS aspectwas pure spec-
'.,.,]i ulation. No seriouseffort to checkit wasmade.
The newspapersdid not consult AIDS spe-
cialists. Instead, they waited until the NGO
protested. In fact, it was the newspapersthem-
selvesthat raisedthe AIDS scare.
From thesethree casestudies the followine
in saying that the syringe contained the AIDS suggestions may be made:
virus. Even when the man had been arrested First, errors in news reporting are usually the
and no AIDS had been found in either him or resultsof 1) an inefficient systemof checking
his needles,the newspapercontinued to refer information; 2) disregardof the basicprinciple
to him in its headline as "Mr. AIDS needle." that both sidesin an issuemust be coveredand
On the first day Siam Rath cited some iden- aired at the same time; 3) sacrificing profes-
tifiable sources.A man said his wife was one of sionalism for profit; 4) reporting speculation
the victims, had fallen iIl, and feared she had insteadofsticking to facts.
contracted AIDS. Three police officers-an Second,it is every newspapert basic respon-
inspector at Makasan police station, a depury sibiliry to admit errors, in which caseit should
commander of the Metropolitan PoliceBureau, correct them immediately and print an apolo-
and the director of the Police Hospital-could gy or publish the aggrievedperson'sside exten-
not confirm AIDS had anythingto do wirh ir sively if not wholly.
at ail. To avoid errors, rhe newspapermust insd-
In any case, the Siam Ratlt reporter himself tute a systemin which professionaland ethical
was prepared to believethe worst. standardsare observedas a matter of course,
2.'fhe Daily Neus avered this story from and staff members are supewised closely by
the very beginning, togerher with Siam Rath editors and other senior decision-makers.
and other newspapers.But the part about the

Ganhagewason
pascs
thclnontandop-Gd
pre$s
ol theManila
Bv BnRNnRoCnnlos BnlQutronR, PHtLteprNEs
Srlvlnqn,q Isr,qNoin Antique, about 290 kilome-
terssouth ofMetro Manila, r-urtila lew months ago
wasan unknown island.But thanksto civil society
groupsand the media it was tl-rrustinto the lime-
light when it wasrwealedtlat it would be the next
dumping ground for Metro Manilds tons of uash.
An abandonedmine pit of SemiraraCoal Cor-
poration owned by DM Consunji Inc. (DMCI)
in SemiraraIslandwasinitially offeredby a consor-
tium of DMCI and RII Builders to the Metro
Manila DevelopmentAuthoriry (MMDA) and
the Greater Metro Manila Solid WasteManage-
ment C,ommittee (GMMS\XMC) to be the site
of a sanitary landfill for Metro Manilas g"rbage.
The consortium won the billion-peso contract to
ship a third of Metro Manila's6,000-ton a day
garbageto Semirara.
December2000 marked the beginning of the
garbagecrisiswith the permanentclosureof the
San Mateo landfill in Rizal by the end of that
montir. At that time MMDA ChairJejomar Bi-
nay and GMMSV/MC Chair and Secretaryfor
FlagshipProjectsRobert Aventajadostill had to
identi$' a willing host for a new peimanent
dumpsite for Metro Manilas garbage.
Uncollectedgarbagestartedpiling up all over
Metro Manila while almost everyonewas busy
following the wists and turns of the Estrada
impeachment trial. Some newspaPers,notably
the Philippine Duly Inquirer, Manila Standttrd
and BusinessWorld,reported the issue comPre-
hensivelyand exposeda lot of irregularitiesin
'solution.'The
Metro Manilat garbage other
newspapers,meanwhile, managed to pay some
attention to the looming garbagecrisis even if
they were focused on the trial.
The mediasrelentlesscoverageof the garbage
crisishelped,firstin issuinga temporaryrestrain-
ing order (TRO) by the Antique RegionalTiial
Court for MMDAs plan to dump garbagein
Semirara, and finally when Estrada ordered to
indefinitely shelve the plan.
Someenvironmental issuesraisedifMetro Ma-
nilas garbagewould be sent to Semirara,which
would take at leasta day from Metro Manila' are
the following:
1) someof the trashcould fall from the barges
enrouteto Semiraraand might pollute major sea
routes aswell as the shoresof Bataan,Corregi-
dor, Manila Bay, Cavite, Batangas,Marindu-
que, Mindoro, Romblon, Aklan and Palawan
2) stormyweadrermight forcethe bargeto dump
the trashin the middle of the sea,or worseit might
capsizeand bring tons of uash down with it
3) bad weathermight stop bargesfrom sailing
away from the piers causingtrash to pile up in
the docks
4) trash might be washed away all the way to
Boracayduring stormy and windy weather
5) the Semirarapit is near undergroundwater
sourcesand garbagecould leachinto the seawa-
tet thus harming sealife
6 the oit has an unstable foundation and
landslidescould easilyhappen
7) earthquakescould causethe leakageoftoxic
substancesinto the water table.
SemiraraIsland had actuallybeendeclaredby
the Department of Environment and Natural
Resources(DENR) as a bird and turtle sanctu-
ary. It is part of the cluster of islands that in-
cludes the Caluya group, the Cagayancillo and
Cuyo islands and the.famed Tubattaha Reef
Marine Park,a-WorldHeritagesitethat is one of
the Philippines' richest fishing grounds.
Scavengers on a garbage mountain'
Aside liom the environmental concems=:mdf
the pressalsohad imporant storiesrelatedr m
Semiraraissue.The Inquirer reponedon Daro-
ber 26 (p. .A11) "Semirarasecurityboosted-r,Imnr
dump criticsrneal militiaforcd' (subheadin r--ai-lsr
and on December 29 "Top DND officia.i
'-reet
disbandmentof Semiraramilitia' (p. A1l . -hc
Nvoreportswereaboutan illegal120-member:;rp
militaly group that was beefedup with 86 =r:mt
people which, it is believed, was being rr..r u
intimidate peopleagainstthe project.In its De,s'
ber 29 repon rhe Inquirer quoted Ruben C.a::rr,
za,then Depaltment ofNational Defenseassl*rr
secretaryfor plansand programs,assaying*ra: :u
SpecialCafgu Active Auxilliary (SC,{A) or$c:sl
in Semirarawasamong the 34 5644" n21i6ntlr
tl-ratDefenseSecrearyOrlando Mercado hac :,r-
dered deactivatedeffecdveDec. 1.
On December 23 the Manila Standari ::-
ported in "Nvarezseeksprobe of Antique la::c*
fill" (p.1) that opposition lawmaker Heher*:
Alvarez opposedplans to award the garbagem;:.- ':'
agement project to R-II Builders, owned
ReghisRomero who is a presidentialfriend.
Then the Standard on January B banner;:
"P6mlday to dump trash on Semirara
. 4 bargesaniue cannotunload
. Residentssmell 'ouerpowering stench" (su!
head in italics).
The reoort baredthat the contractorswould h
paid almostP4 billion overa periodoftwo yearstor
handling and shippingout fie garbageto Semira:a
The Inquirer, on the other hand, said in in
January10 report"Semiraradump dealraisesstbli-
(p.Al) that the government would be payine
DMCI and RII Builders1.4 billion pesosfor ic.
two-yea-roperation, and that there had been no
public discussionon tle project plan.
.LnotherInquirer report on January10 "Semi-
rarafolk harassed to acceptMetro trash' (p. A14
saidthat residentswho joined protestrallieswere
being threatenedor harassed by DMCI emplol-
eesthrough collection ofdebts, rents, etc.
c
:
O
o
o
t
 "lllrm,t- . : neson|anuary9reported"Semi-
mm,:-- - .: :rot yet ready to receivegatbage"
-::
tlltr s, . =:ort saidthat the writer wasableto

Report$
andcomment$
flmrlrr( :-rjred dumpsite and discoveredthat
1fi,,r'' -.. ';st staftedpreparingthe dumpsite
mrlrrlu,r'-,. :: earbagewere alreadysent to Semi-

onManila
homhings
lmumriiL . -. :J DMCI project foreman Ruben
-Jr"-.- i .:iirg dratrheywerecaughroffguard
,[lllt,rtilil:
:": :-::gesarrived becausethey have not

dnamatized
media
issues
lilrl ,r. .:-: rlre dumpsite. The Timesalsore-
rnnlrlLilr
i 1-.,::D-VCI had not yet complied with
rr4,y' - ' : :he conditionsDENR had imoosed
ilf. -- .-:.r'Lng the projecr.
' - -:\\ aisoreportedthe plight of some By V'a. Roselle MtnRNoR.Purlrpprrurs
i$i,r ..r,:,ucban, Quezon (theInquireis"Pasay
-,:-+r dumped in Quezon"Jan. 19. p.
r- " i-riao, Bulacan(the Courieis "Bulacan
'::.rngprobed"Jan.9. p. 9) and Mina- Tul Drcetraep,n30 bombings shocked the Palabricaalso published in his column
. ::nga (rhe Couricr's"PampangaFolk country with its suddennessas well as its severalletters readershad sent expressing
, i::o trashconvoy''Jan.9, p.9) which g r u e s o m e r e s u l t s . T h e p h o t o g r a p h s their outrage after viewing a half-page In-
" ,: :Jr dumped with Metro Manilat trash. splashedacrossmost of the Manila news- quirer photo of a bloodied little girl being
'' -:
;;bage problem also prompted a num- papers' front pages the next day, however, carried out of the LRT (Light Rail Transit)
'' - -:-lispapersto come out with specialre- drew readers'protests. The objectsoftheir station to waiting ambulances. Palabrica
'- .:. it. Some of the newspapersthat came protestswere photographsof the victims disagreedwith Inquirer editors on the
wis-
L .-: specialreportswere BtuinessWorld on after the explosions,which were unspar- dom of using that particular photo, and
' ',: - rsr 29-30 ("GarbageCrisisin the New i n g w i r h b l o o d a n d g o r e . said that he thought it was in fact inappro-
,-- . , .\nold S. Tenorio), the Inquirer from A l t h o u g h o n l y t h r e e n e w s p a p e r sp u b - priate. Palabricaalsosaid that other photo-
..-:..rr J0 to January1 (three-parrseries lished such photographs,those in the De- graphs could have been used "that fcould
. ,-,- rfter mining" by Nereo Lujan) and have shown] the gravity of the situation
. : : tiom JanuaryB to 9 (rwo-partseries without having to make the readerslose
, -- :-::a Island sa Antique, pansamantalang their appetite or ruin their day."
r-.--r --a ng MM" by MercedesE. Rullan).
--.
PhilippineCenter for InvestigativeJour-
$ATURDA\ l4 killeil,9t) iillili
Opr-E'scoNrlrcr oF TNTERESTS
."., : PCIJ) alsocameout with a repon which nshonrbn rtrskMo The subsequentinvestigation into who
,::-. :i *re politics and money involved in gar- iS,rP :iiilil,i'i'i'iilllil the brains behind the bombings was was
-, .au1ing.This report by Marites N. Sison also reported by the newspapers. Howev-
$,
-.--: -rrt in theJanuary25 and26 issues of-Bruz'- ."w'' er, the statements from official sources
,,,-,.',':rt|. F
' J
rn,l' which appeared in the Manila newspapers
,:-,r'spaper columnistswere alsoable to give '' 5
Fi. .: all pointed to the
'usual
suspects'- Mus-
- . ::lts on the garbagecrisis,although someof reotrttrtls,tlcnprri
insnbehlnrlrlslEn
iim terrorists,
particularly the Moro Islam-
:-:.: suggestions could be challengedby some ic Liberation Front (MILF) and the Abu
: ,t:cnmentalists. Sayyaf, and the CPP-NPA (Communist
-,:
December4 Neal Cruz of the Inquirn sug- cember 31 issuesof the Manila Bulletin, P a r t y o f t h e P h i l i p p i n e s - N e w P e o p l e ' s
::,:ri using trash to reclaim land along Manila the Philippine Daily Inquirer and Toda1, Army) - despite there being no evidence
-,.,. *hich he daimed was being done in
Japan were in poor taste,parricularlythat on the asyet of their involvement,and widespread
- : rhe US. Cruz in his January 9 column also Inquirer front page which was in full col- suspicionsthat it could have been the Es-
--.-:1ed that the government acruallyviolated the or. The photographs of the sites where the trada government or those loyal to it who
1..:ronal IntegratedProtectedAreasSystemAct, bombs had been planted which the other were responsible,since the bombings were
, :-ich providesthat no portion ofa protectedarea newspapersused were either taken after the reminiscent of the bombings carried out
-<e a watershedcan be segregated and made into a bodies of the victims had been coveredwith by the Marcos military to justi$' the decla-
:rrrp, when it establishedthe San Mateo landfill newspapersor after the police and medical r a t i o n o l r m a r t i a l I a w o n S e p t e m b e 2r l ,
r:r a poftion of the Marikina\Tatershed Reserva- teams had already removed the bodies. 1972.
:on. Then on January 16 Cruz talked about Sen- The newspapersguilty of this practice The raid on the Muslim district in Quia-
.:or f-oren kgrda-kvistes Solid \WasteManage- usually justify it by saying that they did it po (January4), which was meanr ro sup-
rent Act, and his suggestionof giving incentives as a matter of public interest. This was pre- port the government theory, was criticized
:or nuning garbageinto compost. cisely the argumenr of the Inquirer when it by militant groups. But therewas no doubt
On January 10, RinaJimenez-Davidsuggesr- said that it published the protestedphoto- that the pressreports- 2166s1all of them
ed that government officials should seriouslypur- graphs so the pubiic would fully realize the w i t h o u t a n y c o n t e x t u a l i n f o r m a t i o n -
sue a garbagesegregationschemeas had been damage the bombings had wrought on the served once again to reinforce the Chris-
suggestedby environmental activists for years. lives of everyone whose loved ones had tian biasesthat Muslims are inevitably be-
The presswith its relativelycomprehensivecov- been victimized. The Inquirer's Raul Pala- hind all terrorist acts.
erageofthe garbagecrisis, in the processhopefi-rl- brica made the claim in behalf of the In- The opinion pages reflected the wide-
lv alsoraisedthe environmental awarenessof *re quirer in his "Readers'Advocate" column spread outrage over the bombings. But
peopleand raisedthe bar for the responsiblehan- ofJanuary 8 ("Bloody front-page photo," the Star went overboard in its editorial of
dling of garbageby government officials. January B, p. A7). December 31, in which it called for "who-
 formed to topple (then) President Joseph

Blooclyfront-pagephoto
Ejercito Estrada cannot escaperesponsibil-
ity... as allies of the communists they are
not wholly exempt from the odium of ter-
ABS-GBIU'$
hneacl
'IHE
Flit0r"llPAflH pho{o ol the trerrRtR's lJeL. -11 irJ0e. vhi(h
cinucJ rbc FI.,{lau,ned n{n Ft r'
s,nx!9. ad?cri, r-rf iu,L,hnln tbf rerdc^.
'l}e
)c"r,olil Crizele ALu.rr, Llrew

biggest nsnbsr, 30 fir. Anrl surpris*gl-y, lnlikc in othF conifi!

!f:'r:ir p04to:. 1\r urr ! "rr( l^ c\1r1.\\ r...nrIrry,,!rillun
rorism,"
Ople's column once brought into stark
ol media
ethics
S.r,e ot rny !ri.nd, 0ilit,. r.r;..1:
"rrr
!{,,\ tu vc'il tl'c'r,rhAe on .:".t,r'rIniflj
n.,oe,t nc iip riu rri, ,nc i.li_
r\c,, iufJJi-y'\rrth.nat
reliefthe conflict ofinterest inherent in ool- 87 Evelvx O. KnrtcaaK,PHruPPn€r
'
Shrql{) rnd hcrnblc pl(ilo
I im rel'dilcin, ;.i,ru q..'rc .d rh{ ,qterc
i r i c i a n s 'b e i n g a l l o w e d r o p e r f o r m m ; d i a
,
Ccrry qns
oore rn very, tory
v,lter "The i'sit page 0{ yarr Dcc. 3 l, 2000 'ssue lvas functions. Not only an obvious partisan of
***--
po6r qste. I |nve
niw{)rs pdttori?ed
E s t r a d a ,b u r a l s o a n a c r i v ep a r t i c i p a n i i n
nnd lr{ked {F to
y&u tn$rulil to,
the events he often commented on, Ople ON FreuARv12, the last day for the trli.S
dny. Cnpitdli?inSon
{rs l&gedy b,! ug,
was using his column in the aftermath of certificates of candidary for senatorial etif,"
rtA#/ I
l.f..ll'",-!:'1"qlu'Pc!ahricn the bombings to advance partisan political datesthis May, Noli De Castro, anchor of fu
yo! to {he levol ofan} orlEr tshl(irj,
Ou( ksic.'.l,o,rlJ l. gi\eo to the,,ctim. ot ltr\rrx;c.:y. I,jr..rr-
interests in contravention of the journal- high-rating TV news program "TV Pa::cr**
,h c r c r n i l r d c d r l ' , :
ist's responsibility to report and comment
. , h , g p . , d , ! v n i l r , c a d r r J , i fr ( . ^ o . f r , \ . d : , i t \ p ! , { r h
\ i l J l y r u n i m i a , i , i h r r , t J l r a e h . r , i l b j r , . l e (\l; r i
turned the news program into an "ofrcCf'
unncte,(.t.y
on events without the hindrance or com-
v , o L u , r ( . . . c l e nD r y n i r c e { r u r ' n r l n c w s , , . n l } 1 , ( . . r .
1 v n 4\ i \ r t ' r r ! f . i l h t . 0 h n , o a ( r , . r . , , t m J t i ^ : d .
o,, rF.J.i,u,1,:, launch site for his Senatecandidacy.
pulsion of personalinterest.
J " r r r ' 1 . . , . . n f ^ , , . , t t , - : ( ) " . . r . "o . t h " , r . r , r p r L J
i l . r l ^ , , 1 , l . l l r c ^ o 1 , u r n i l dt h 1 , . , j t h o u i h r h c J r r $ , , n v r s
rh^.r.. \rLnrjt! The week before the COMELEC rCom-
ir,t*i
ir\e.'tr ! h { r . . 1 , t c ) t o . , l i ( i l . , r , t( i n S ( . , r , , e d, q a ) t t . . m . h - b w , . mission on Elections)-setlast day of resli':n-
sr0 lvxt 0Dl nrces.irry.'
"()1
,tlo
hrn{kcds d-irlo&r tili.* ol lho bonbir{ts, why wrs liJis
QuesrtoNs oF AccuRecY AND Focus tion, De Castro was making the rouncis d
lxrtrcutaf ons chosel'] ;l I we.c the kid in the pictrye, I rvarki prob,
aldy bo {lclressrd silh how patircli( til{ in the ishiliprires is beiroye
enr dic
One of the bombing sites was in Makati, key cities in the country. Cebu and Iloilo wcse
)$u taice: thc fir$i time 1em n bonb blasi lncl th( $c(ond
{ime from beinB lhe bloody subiect of ihc wi,te$t rcart narional
clai}y near the Dusit Hotel. The bomb killed a oniy nvo ofthe placeshe visited for live broa;-
Motivc police bomb disposal unit member. That castsof "TV Patrol". On February 12, ro cr,
]\ \ea .,!ir rFrl R,'!ctx, trqili r\nrelsc,t hj\ rhilLghr{ iil lilipino
,
rlnl8 'he{e rln(. "l;unu 'trne o.q n) lt,hililk!\xt u.uir t,t,titi^r at least was certain. But the reoorts lead- his obvious useof a news program for his pe-
t,4r &rt\ tilt44t tt !1 krrnph ilril\! I'r\il nnp\J.\.?n'nnA n\ nteil
t
.ntnt!
hq Ltilta.ta. ho\il.iht tu,o t",',,,,,,,n0,,rrr,,",1r,.rrr,;a ,rr,r,1 ing to his death were in confliciwith each sonal interests,he included his announcernerfi
r\(tt-: rrent. ,.t \at.4 \, 4t,oL \t Ln\t il/ tja"S f.ht ,
-T'r'
" Kung ea! nx.otiho nbry) narmn uy nnipakitt,ra
t , k t t i l t r t o q q t t t ^ . . t et r , r t L \ 4 , i a r , : r a t h . t u . t t 1 .. . r
tngatrtttaalhiltt other. The Inquirer, Standard and the Star of his candidacy among the headlinesof
rilta&l alr
1\, tt, tadoast, 'il" Sil
!illdt ').t,, ,t| ht,,t, ,,,;,.,tt. t ,tq t * it,,,. on December 31 said that a securityguard Patrol" on the most important news of tla
onN )iltd ir(h, m$ \rlkut pakiil,utu,a ba|*L.t tnhuktLhkt: pa sita
dtthil kotupad nilil ailt kttukng nga ytoio (lf bclore rve cirtercd of the hotel had spotted a plastic bag near oay.
wrln nsvsfiiper n prfson \rho died fron i crjminil rct so rhc vul,
{utes o, our sociely lvolld no1 cxploit thc sccn.. wh} is ii now it.a
frd newspapers who rfc likc the vullures lvho nrc hlngry for *e
the establishment before the oolice were Towards the end of the news program. &
llcil ofrhe dend? ]fyour rrotive is ro shorv i! m thc shanreieis people called in. The Srandard and.Sar both said Castro announced in tearsthat he had to lea"r
re$ptnsitrle ior tlf crio., do yo! tbink they will l.ke
tiry on lei: I
d(r, rLrl.o l l c , a u s ( r n c ) a r e d e , x , , n .\ r r ( ' 1 o n o r ) r r \ | r n ) , f e e l .
rtd( ot relr.,, .e bur arc nr\brhly.'lorrrnij he.irse rhrr ri\)mpLshcd
that two street children retrieved it for the broadcasting to heed the call of public x:-
rheir !o!l)." guard while he called the police. However, vice. That was the signal for Eugenio lopc
G(nc li,nc(i. .r,mi,cJ r h i r rhp lx.unr( tul Ldrcd rlrc lh.!o r, 'tn
I n n r c p ^ o p l e . ^ . r l : / r h c wr : f l i h ) . r \ c , e r | r r s r i c i v . , < ' 8 , , r . h e w r o i c ,
''tef$oilrlly, the Inquirer, it was a scavenger who as- III, ABS-CBN Chairman and CEO, to an-
I thiilk people al.eady rerli&d how terihle ir was lvithoilt
(l t having ro rce $omoola's poor s0nglcd child pl$tered on ever"v
new$paFe. slind; i2) tvirlort thinking ahat ihe parenls of lhis child
sumed it was a bottle of liouor and who nounce over de Castro'sprogram and his ne:-
r n u \ r \ a v c t n r r h r l n U h s e c r l g r h . I ( ! i l d r t rl h a t h a n , h l e { r i ' r : ^ r i 1 )
sitharr lr.i\Ing ro Jc.rb( whfrhrr rhc pxper phs cn an rnlnnnrlr^fl cnF
brought it to a friend to share. lr was only work that De Castrot'ABS-CBN family" s-a;
srdc or timply dcapcrdte D $el' more pnten.'' upon discovering that it was a bomb that in full support ofhis candidacy.
I{cfcrral
I crlled lhe atterlioil ol (ho rdibrirl $rllo lhe (onphints. h $m, they called the police. Still in front of the camera,ABS-CBN big-
some of ihem r!{rcd with m. dre aonccm l|lfir Nhi'drcn .nd fiiend}
exprsss(d lDon leeing the ficture. So who discoveredthe package,and who wigs then approached De Castro one by one
They pere lDffified by lhe haif-page photo oftbe ningled brdy of
Crirele dlfing a ser$on d*diraled to rhc pronotion oI peace nnd hrr- found out it was really a bomb and not and shook his hands. As the find program
mory iftoilE men. Co{ldn'l the me$J{go sNghl to be aonvoycd havc
bcen rc1eywl with similnr imFict by a iess gory pl]alo?
.
holiday goodies?This information, as basic credits were being shown, video clips of De
as it sounds, was not available from any of Castro, similar to those being shown in the
ever was behind these bombings [to be] the Manila newspapeis. birthday bashesof celebrities from an enter-
quickly arrested then hanged upside down The bombings occurred while the Estra- tainment program or variery show, were run
as live carrion feed." da impeachment trial was on holiday re- as background.
Many columnists had their own opin- cess. But with the resumption of the tr.ial The Inquirer ran a scathing editorial on the
ions as to who could be the masterminds on January 2, it was again big news. Devel- spectaclecwo dayslater, in which it rhetorical-
b e h i n d t h e b o m b i n g s . H o w e v e r , B l a s opments in the investigation of the bomb- ly asked if this meant that ABS-CBN would
Ople's column "Horizons" in the Manila ings were thus placed less prominently, now use its vast resourcesto get an individual
Bulletin entitled "The forces of destabili- although still on the front pagesof the Ma- of doubtful public servicemerit electedto the
zation are responsiblefor the bombings" nila newspapers. However, when the vote Philippine $snx1s-x1 institution recently
(January 3) can only be interpreted as a on whether or not to open the seconden- sullied by the mediocriry of severalof its mem-
partisan argument directed at anti-admin- veiope provoked country-wide raliies and bers, among them media personalitieslike De
istration propon€nts. began Peopie Power 2, news about the Castro.
Ople, one of the senators closely identi- bombings was totally edgedout of the news- For the information of De Castro and his
fied with then President Joseph Estrada, papers altogether. ABS-CBN bosses,that February 12 "TY Pa-
not only claimed that it was "the commu- The importance of discoveringwho were trol" episodewas not only in bad taste.It was
nists" who were responsible;he also said responsiblefor the bombings is still of pub- also unethical, raising questions ofconflict of
that not oniy should the actual perpetra- Iic interest, particularly to those who lost interest as well as suborning all ABS- CBN
tors of the act be punished for it, those friends and family members. IJnfortunate- claims of serving the public interest and non-
allied with them should be, as well. Iy, with their almost total focus on the new paltisanship.
In what could only be interpreted as a administration, the Manila newspapers Not only the Inquirer noticed this blatant,
call for the wholesale condemnation of the seem to have forgotten everything about Grand Canyon-wide breach of professional
broad alliance seeking the resignation or t h e D e c e m b e r 3 0 b o m b i n g s , a n d h a v e ethics.Juan Mercado of the PressFoundation
ouster of Estrada, Opie also said, failed to provide readers further updates ofAsia, for one, describedit as "politicai fluff
"But regardlessof the hands (sic) that into the case. with the fig leaf of .fournalism draped over its
pulled the trigger, the strategic alliances ethical nakedness..."
 Appealsto PosKota also showed the same tendency.
Of 183 quoted sourcesin Republika,43 werc
rmmonalistsentiment government officials and 35 from the military.
lence that followed the referendum was ex-
plained as pan of the latent conflict among var-
ious groups in East Timor. The newspapersun-

r rePofting ln RafoiatMerdcha,of 123 quoted sources,17

were government sourcesand 16 were miliary
der analysisalso invoked nationalism as a factor
in resolving the East Timor issue.As a result of
dneEastTimor sources.Meanwhile, PosKota had 118 quoted this claim, the East Timor issue was not only
-efferendum sources-23 governmenr officials and 31 Indo-
nesian military officers.
comprehended as requiring an effon to a peace-
ful resolution among the conflicting parties, but
The media provided more spacero govern- alsoasa conflict between "us and the foreigners".
fr,''!;.'" s519, lttooruesn
ment and/or military sourcesbecauseIndone- In a conflict that involves other countries, the
sian reponers had little accessto other informa- media are often unable to free themselvesfrom
rilnil Shanto
hasstepFd downand tion sourcesin EastTimor. Moreover,EastTimor
wasviewedasa battleareaamong interestgroups
being part ofthe state apparatus.The successof
government and military officials in inciting the
|tr b r ffigenany [anonneponting from Indonesia and other countries. The gov- nationalist spirit was at least pardy due to the
ernment and milirary were anxious ro present media.According to Majid Tehranian,in an in-
mrilftdis$ues, press
theIndonesian their views in order to shape public opinion ternational conflict media practitioners facea di-
n bil sileltl
ont[etastlimonissue againstthese"other countries".
How were the pro-independence and pro-
lemma. On the one hand *rey are mandated to
cover both sidesof the story; on the other, as
integration groups covered in the stories? citizens ofa pardcular country their loyalties are
Though they were the interested parties, the often solicited by their governmenr. Instead of
, , . J'-rr,s Aditjondro, an Indonesianintel- media provided less space for their views than writing balancednews accountson an issuein-
*r,--:,i .tiro has long been an outspoken com- other news sources. Howwer, Kompas covered volving conflict, media practitioners tend to re-
fr 1: :-:: : on rheEastTimor issue,oncedeplored both groupsequallywhile RepublikaandRafoat solve the dilemma by being active players in the
flr :-::rlesian press'allegedlack ofcourage to Merdzha covered pro-integration groups more conflict.
:n:,,-:llv report the truth on the East Timor extensively.This seemsto have happened be- long before the referendum, the military had
-d\: Though Suharto has steppeddown and causethey had different sourcesfor their cover- invokednationalisc sentimentsin attemptingto
'sensi-
ir,,::: -: no longer any ban on reporting age.Kompasquoted sourcesfrom pro-indepen- influence public opinion on East Timor. The
ri' : ..isues,according to Aditjondro rhe Indo- dence groups and foreign pressagencies,while Indc,r.resiarmedia did not explain to the public
r.i :.: eresshas kept silent on the East Timor Republiha,RafoiatMerdzka and PosKon mostly how DastTimor becamepart of Indonesia.Un-
'l :]-:
quoted Antara news agency. awareof this background,people thought that
'-:tondro's observationis correct.Under the
EastTimor had alwaysbeen an integral part of
',- ' Order government,EastTimor was a sen- THe aATTr-E or otscouRsE Indonesia.They viewed the intervention of for-
.... issue.The Indonesian presstended to How did eachnewspaperframe its coverage? eign partiesin EastTimor asinterferencein In-
: -*.nr the good sideof EastTimor only and, in By "frame" we mean how a news medium re- donesia'saffairs. The East Timor issuewas thus
r::-d, supportedIndonesia'sannexationof it. ported the EastTimor issue,how the issuewas viewed as a domescicissue,not an international
l:-. :ressalsocondonedmilitary abusesin East framed and classified.For instance,in the po- one. Therefore,an international conspirarywas
L,:r rr. For a long time, the dissemination of lemicon Indonesian Military (TNI) involvemlnt thought to be behind the effort to "dismember"
..-,:,:rnadonon East Timor was controlled by in post referendum violations, did rhe media Indonesia.
:. nilirary. This did not mean only that the report the violence as a fight among EastTimor The nationaiist discoursethus led to unbal-
-,-,:::ry was the main source that the media
groups or asa systematiceffort backed by TNI? anced reporting on the East Timor issue.The
.:.-:;ld quote, but also that the military took The media are necessarilydrawn into a politi- media in their discourse accusedUNAMET
-::.r control of reponing if there were reporm cal issueofsignificance. They shapediscourseon of helping convince the East Timorese to opt
-: East Timor that were different from their that issueand even sustain it. The media usually for independence. Most media organizations
'.:sionsofevents. play two roles. First, they use certain ways of reported mostly on the groups hostile to UN,
)oes Aditjondrot observation apply aswell coverageto take sides,for or against one gioup. AMET and reported rarely on the groups that
:: media reports on the referendum in East Those media organizations that sided with the regarded UNAMET as faiq neutral and pro-
llmor? pro-integration groups, for example, used the fessional.The findings of some organizations
samelogic, argument and version of wents that that claimed UNAMET wasDarrisanwerenei-
N gvvsrREeueNcrANDsouRcEs the pro-integration groups used. Second, the ther verified nor further investigated. This led
Four Jakarta-basednewspapersthat covered media include and exclude the panies involved to public opinion that UNAMET was indeed
--nisissuewere analyzed,namely Kompas,Rafotat
in a particularissue.For instance,the media or- unfair. The four newspapers under analysis
.'.ferdzka,Republika, and dan PosKora.The news ganizations that took the side ofpro-integration did not report anyverification of UNAMET!
.ampleswere taken from their August 1 to Sep- groups interviewed only the actors from pro- supposedpartisanship.
:ember 10, 1999 issues,which coveredthe cam- integration groups and did not include pro-in- In fact, President Habibie urged UNAMET
raign period, referendum and post referendum dependencegroups in the polemic. to investigate accusationsagainst UNAMET.
riolence in EastTimor. LINAMET did establish an elecroral commis-
The newspaper that covered East Timor the Naloruttsr pnopAGANDA sion in nvo consecutivedays ofpublic hearings
most was l{ompas,which provided specialspace Content analysesof the news repons in the in Dili. The commission members came from
on this issue before and after the referendum. four newspapersshow that the media discourse South Korea, South Africa and New 7.ealand.
Kompaswas followed by Rafoiat Merdzka, Re- primarily put the opinions of government and./ The hearing was followed by a pressconference
publika and dan Posl{oa. or miliary officials forward. The referendum that in Jakarta. The electoral commission concluded
Government sourcesdominated the coverage wasfinallywon by the pro-independencegroups that most of the chargesof violations wer€ not
of the referendum.Of 313 total quoted sources was explained in terms of the supposed decep- supported by reliable widence. The Indonesian
tn Kompas,55weregovernmentofficialsand 45 tion and partisanship of the United Nations massmedia, however, did not reporr rhe public
military officers. Republiha, Rafoat Merdcha, and Mission to East Timor (LINAMET). The vio- hearings and their results.
Reportingthe
North Malukuconflict
By MuHnmmnoQoonru, lNooruesn
onileUnoups
frWhlllnrntssediudmenl
lthequently
inconflict. fie
descni[ed
Muslim andtlnClri$ians
rusiliuely,
ne0atiugly.
TuB coNrrtcr in Maluku, Indonesia began
more than a year ago, Neither the govern-
ment nor the communiry have found any
solution to the Maluku Conflict, Chapter I
referring to the casesofviolence in
Maluku which occurred around January un-
til March 1999. On the contrary the con-
flicts even spread- to North Maluku, a new
province created out of the province of
Maluku. The conflict between various groups
in North Maluku occurred around August
1999 (and seemsto be continuing up to this
writing). In Indonesia it is referred to as the
Maluku Conflict, Chapter II. This article is
limited to an analysisof media reporting on
the Maluku Conflict, Chapter II.
This analysisis based on two chronologies
of the North Maluku conflict which were re-
leasedby the Indonesianmedia.The first chro-
nology is from -FaramKeadilanMagazine Qan-
uary 23,2000). This magazinepresentedtwo
versions of the story: the Moslem (MUI of
North Maluku, FPI of North Maluku and
Pos Keadilan Peduli Umat) and the Christian
version (Majelis PekerjaSinode Gereja Mase-
hi Injili Halmahera). The second chronology
was releasedby TempoMagazine (Jant'nry 23,
2000).
'We
can seefrom both chronologiesthat both
partieswere attacking each other. At one time
the Muslims were attacked, and in another
the Christians. It seemsthat an attack caused
another attack in retaliation. To examine the
consistencyof the reports from the media,
both in terms of frequency and angle, this
analysiswill be divided into two periods, the
first between October 25 and November 15,
1999 and the second between December 26,
2000 and Jamttry 15, 2000.
Basedon the chronologiesmentioned above,
in the first period the Muslim group attacked
severaltimes with the Christians astargetsand
victims. In the second period, the reverseoc-
curred, with.the Christians initiating the vio-
lenceagainstMuslims.
From the above chronologies,especiallythe
Christian version, it appearsthat during the
period October 24 :unrilNovember 15,1999, ly sensitiveissuesin Indonesia. Under
the Christians were attacked many times by tot rule, the problemsarisingfrom rdryd
the Muslims. Basedon this chronology, there differenceswere hidden and could not bc
should have been a lot of news releasesre- cussedopenly. The communiry sav'
garding the conflict in North Maluku. But a differences as a potential cause of
review of the news accounts in four newspa' which could explode at any time.
pers published in Jakarta shows that the re- Kompas and Suara Pembaharuan thougbt
ports tended to be in conflict with the chro- if the casewere described as a religious
nology releasedby the Majelis PekerjaSinode flict the news would trigger anger,or \x tl6
Gereja Masehi Injili Halmahera. groups involved would protest.
During the 20 days covered by this analy- Yet the Indonesian media do not hesium o
sis, only seven news accounts on the conflict tdk about the vertical conflict involving ec
appeatedin Republiha;11in Kompas;and nine versussociery.However, the conflict in Nar&
in Suara Pembaharuan. In PosKota there was Maluku put the media in a bind becausefrry
no news report at all on the conflict in North had to report a horizontal conflict berriEcn
Maluku. This disparity becomes obvious, Muslims and Christians.
when we compare the above facts with the
news releasesduring the period of December TnrcNc srors
26, 1999 until January 15,2000 - when Republika, Kompas and Suara Pembahor*,w
the attackerswere the Muslims and the vic- take different positions in reporting the Nonfo
tims the Christians. During the latter period, Maluku conflict. In openly describing rl-
the aforementioned newspaperswere active conflict asa religiousone, Republikaalso@
in reporting the conflict. During the 20 days judgment on the groups in conflict. It fre-
from December 26, 1999 until January 15, quently describedthe Muslims positivell', anC
2000, REublika released52 news stories;Ka- the Christians negatively.Howeve! comparcC
mpas 3l; Suara Pembaharuan 35; and PosKota to its reporting on the North Maluku con-fli,s
21. Chapter Il, Republihaseemedcalmer in its re-
ports in the early stageof the conflict. This ir
NevlcaNc* apparent in the words Republika used to dc-
'We
cannot tell at this point whether these scribe events and the parties involved in it. k
newspapersrealizethat the "illusion ofobjec- seemsthat Republiha became "fiercer" in iu
tivity' may be raised re their reports on the reports during Chapter II becauseRepubtilet
conflicts in North Maluku. \What seemscer- thought too much blood had been spilt on
tain, howeve! is that three newspapers- Ka- the Muslim side, which it supports.
mpas, Suara Pernbaharuan and Republika - Komoas and Suara Pembaharuan were verr
presented almost the same versions of the ."..frli in reporcing the conflict. Rather than
Maluku events,perhapsbecausethey depend- take sides, they assumedthe role of peace-
ed primarily on military and government makers and arbiters, perhaps in the awareness
sources. Republiha,a public newspaperwith that Muslims are in the majoriry in Indonesia.
an Islamic orientation, relied mostly on Mus- and that most of their readetsare Muslims.
'We
lim sources.As a result,-much of its news re- can seetheir caution at two levels.First.
ports presented events from the Muslim both Kompas and Suara Pembaharuan ne'ter
groups' point of view. passedjudgment on either of the groups in
The interesting fact is that Kompas and conflict. Second, they did not use religious
Suara Pembaharutn, tvvo public newspapirs terms often to refer to the groups involved. In
originally founded by Christian interests,did their reports, Kompas and Suara Pembaharu-
'the
not reDort events in North Maluku from the an rarcly usedwords like Muslim group'
Chrisiian point of view Their reports were or "the Christian group."
mostly from the military or bureaucrats'point Both chosemore neutral words in referring
ofview, perhapsto avoid accusationsofparti- to the protagonists, such as use of the phrase
sanshio for one side or the other. "a group in the communiry" or "among the
The conflict in North Maluku is complicat- members of the communiry." The samething
ed becauseit involves many factors. It is part happenedwhen they were reportingan event.
of the religious problem which is in turn in- Both newspapersavoided using phrasesthat
fluenced by the economic and political prob- could indicate that the accident in Ambon
lems of both Muslim and Christian groups. was a religious conflict. Neither used phrases
Each of the newspapersmentioned present' like "the conflict becween the Moslem and
ed the conflict from its preferred framework. Christian communiry" and instead used neu-
Out of seven news reports in Republiha, for tral words like "the conflict among the com-
example, five described events in North muniry members"or "the conflict among com'
Maluku as the result of a religious conflict. munity groups." Apparently both newspa-
But neither Kompas nor Suara Pembaharuan pers wanted their reader to view the conflict
describedthe conflict as a religious one.. in Ambon as merely a conflict among com-
The conflict in North Maluku in fact in- muniry members, and not one involving any
volves ethnicity, religion and race- three high- relisious issue.
 CoNreNr S.r'iatYsls

toeduoate
Medialailed
publio
ilmPhilippinc
m theMindanao Gni$i$
*lur. .n
,- ; ofthe Mindanao (SouthemPhilippina) crisisby
ieu and analysisofthepresscouerage
*-E
CENTERFORMEDIAFREEDOM
AND RESPONSIBILITY
RESEARCH
TEAM
ttutp1,[:;:entonthsof hostage+ahing by theAbu Sayyafgroupand theArmedForcesofthe Philippinesffinsiue against
;iri4': .:.":i-,lamicLiberationFront fom March toJune2000.

- -. ::.\ correctlysaidthat the "Mindanao indigenous Visayan-speakingpopulation has danao, including the Muslim areas.TheAmer-
", : ::r is far too complex to resolve over- been assimilatedinto the migrant population, ican policy was indeed to resettle Christians
'
+-: r .r'ell as in the battlefield. The Span- but were alreadyin the region when the Span- in "problem areas,"meaning areasof Muslim
u -r -:i their own Mindanao problem dur- iards arrived in the 17th c€ntury. restiveness.This policy, implemented by sub-
,,.1:.-,- period of Spanish colonization and "Moro" refers to the Muslim population. sidizing Christian resettlementin Mindanao,
'-
n : :.:led Statesa versionofit specificto its The term itself was first used by the Span- which in the American period and later was
1':-:",rnsin the Philippinesas a colonizing iards, who, upon finding Muslims in the re- touted in the popular press as "The Land of
I
ji"
::. gion when they fir'st arrived in the 15th cen- Promise," was made even more formal with
1..:;r' the ohrase "Mindanao Problem" is tury, referred to them by the same name as the establishmentof the National Land Set-
r-.,r::: referprimarily to Muslim secessionist the Muslims from North Africa who had oc- tlement Administration in 1939.
-:-.=:ds for an independent state, and the cupied Spain from 711 to 1492 AD. The Moro Province military administration
conflict that has resulted since 7972. As the Spanishcolonial period wore on, and was abolishedin 1913 and the Deoartment
-"l*-.,:
": !.srradagovernment also used the term the Muslims resistedconquest,the term Moro of Mindanao and Sulu put in its piace.The
::-r ro the lawlessness and terrorism of acquired the pejorative connotation of pirate. military administrators of the region were re-
..- ..i Muslim groups including the Abu In resisting Spanish rule the Muslims raided placedby civilian ones,but not by Muslims.
i .-i:. The Estrada government, uniquely Christian settlements in an attempt to deny Instead the Americans brought in Christian
--r ::rg past Philippine governments,also in- the Spaniardstheir basesof influence, thus Filipinos to run the afirbirsof the Department.
:.1 rhat the Mindanao problem is solely a the identification in the minds of Christian The Philippine Government establishedon
:'-.-:e problem. Filipinos of "Moro" with piracy and violence. July 4, 1946 continued the policies of the
.he Moro IslamicLiberation Front (MILF) The Spanish-Moro wars lasted over 300 American colonial government. One of the
..:: the Moro National Liberation Front years, with the Moros never being subjugat- more glaring manifestationsof thesepolicies
"l\LF) prefer the term "BangsamoroProb- ed, but with the Spaniardslabeling every mil- was the resettlement of former insurgents
:::..- though not asa problem ofthe govern- itary expedition against them as a holy war (known as "Hul<s") in Mindanao in the 1950s
-.:t in Manila. Insteadthe MILF regardsit againsta falsereligion, in the processdevelop- via the EDCOR (Economic Development
. :re problem of the Moro people, focusing ing presentprejudicesagainstMuslims among Corps) program. EDCOR was an anti-insur-
:,-.i-i on the issueswhich, as a result of the Christians. The 300 years in which Chris- gency tactic adopted by the Magsaysey gov-
, ,^-ilippines'and the regiont history, confront tians and Moros faced each other in the bat- ernment to halt, without dismantling the ten-
-:. Muslims of Mindanao asa nation distinct tlefield, aswell as the Spaniards'effortsto [ive ancy system,the perennialrebellion among the
::rm Filipino Christians. the conflict a religious flavor, have createdbe- Central Luzon peasantrythat historically has
The armed conflict in Mindanao and its tween Filipino Christians and Filipino Mus- been fueled by landlessness and sharetenancy.
;uses go back 300 yearsto the coming of the lims the mutual suspicion and animosiry that The resettlement of former Huks did de-
i:anish conquerors.The "Mindanao Prob- in largemeasurestill definestheir relationship. fuse agrarian unrest in Central Luzon, albeit
.m" is rooted in history and the colonial past. The American colonial government tried to only temporarily. But it also created further
-, historical review is therefore in order. "pacify' the Moros in the same way that the animosities in Mindanao becween Christian
Not only IslamizedFilipinos populate the Spaniardstried to effect their conquesr. \fhile serrlersand Muslims, who in most caseswere
\lindanao region. Muslims constiture only occupied with the Filipino-American war, the driven out of their lands by the settlers and
i0 percent of the population of Mindanao, United Statessucceededin getting a rreary who after 1948 had become minorities in
Palawanand Sulu. The Lumad, or the indig- signed with the Sultanate ofSulu to guaran- most of the region.
.'nous non-Muslim, non-Christian groups of tee peace in the South untii 1902. This was The central government in Manila, hav-
:he region, constitute another five percent. the Batesteaty. By 1903, however,the Amer- ing inherited the bias against the Muslims as
The remainingT5 percent include the in- icanshad organizedMindanao into rhe Moro "pirates and bandits," regarded them as a
digenousVisayan-speaking,Christianizedpeo- Province, a military government led mostly troublesome minority. The Muslim areas
ple of northern and easternMindanao, aswell by US veteransof the American Indian tVars. have remained among the poorest in the
asthe migrant population from Luzon and the It took a decadefor the United Statescolo- country, to which Muslim leaders from the
Visayaswho settledin Mindanao in largenum- nial government to pacify Mindanao militar- American period to the presenthad respond-
bers in the late 1940s. Before this time the ily. During that period, however, the colonial ed by demanding independence,or, in the
situation was reversed:the Muslims constitut- government passedseveral land laws, which 1930s,askingthat the Muslim areasbe made
ed some 75 percent of the population. The made Christian resettlement oossiblein Min- part of American territory.
Mnnrnl LAwANDrue MNLF sions include: Of these groups only the MNLF e:s.
In the 1960s the Jabidah Massacre fanned 1. Autonomy in Southern Philippines, but MILF still existtoday. The BMLO diri
widespread Muslim r€sentment against the within the framework of the sovereignty and grated with the deaths ofPendatun ani
Central Government. Muslim trainees, vari- territorial integriry of the Republic of the Phil- man, while the leadership of the lrfNLF
ously estimated as numbering from 28 o 64, ippines; formist joined the GRPI Office of
were killed on March 18, 1968 by their Phil- 2. Thirteen provinces (now fourteen) and Affairs in 1985.
ippine Army trainers when they refused to all the cities and villagesin them will comprise In 1986 Marcos was overthro\*'n ir
take part in a planned invasion ofSabah, on the MNLF areasof autonomy; EDSA Peoole Power Revolt. Corazon -{si
which the Philippines then had a claim. 3. Foreign policy, national defenseand con- assumed the Presidencv,and initiared i
The Moro National Liberation Front regards trol over mines and mineral resourceswill be negotiationswith the MNLF in the same
the date of the Massacreas its founding date, the Government of the Republic of the Phil- Aquino herself met with Misuari in Jolo i
and celebratesMarch 18 every year as Bang- ippines' responsibiliry. But nine issuesof au- 1987. Other meetings bewveen
sarnoro (Moro People)Freedom Day. The Ja- tonomy will be discussedbetween the GRP and MNLF representativesalso took plro !
bidah Massacrewas thus pivotal to the found- and the MNLF. Jeddah and in severalplacesin the Philippumc'
ing of the MNLF. But equally crucial in the 4. The issuesfor discussionwere identified Aquino was replaced by Fidel Ramor m
Muslim leaders'perception that the Christian as: the integration of MNLF fighters into the 1992. Through a seriesof meetings in Triprrib"
majoriry and the central government it dom- Armed Forcesof the Philippines, th€ creation Libya; Cipanas and Jakarta ltt 1t-tdsnssi2;rnilll
inated wanted no lessthan the Moro peoples' of a system of Shari'ah courts, an educational in southern Philippines, the peaceagreerD{lld
extermination were other massacr€sof Mus- system,an administrative system,an econom- of 1996 between the Government of the Rs-
lims by both the Philippine military and ic and financial system, representationin the public of the Philippines (GRP) and rlc
armed Christian groups, among them the Ila- central (GRP) government, the creation of MNLF was eventually put together.
ga group ofvigilantes. (Filipino Muslim schol- Special Regional Securiry Forces, the forma- The 1996 peace agreement bound bod.
ars cite 21 such massacresbetween 1970- tion of the LegislativeAssembly and the Ex- parties to a peaceful political solution to ri"'
1971 from a list they insist is incomplete.) ecutive Council, and the autonomous gov- "Mindanao Problem." The MNLF agrea.
But the last straw for Muslim leaders like ernment's share in mining revenues;and that the agreement "is the full implemenn-
Nurullaji Misuari was the declaration of mar- 5. The establishment of a provisional gov- tion of the l976Tripoli Agreement,"and rh"r
tial law on September2I, 1972 by the Marcos ernment for the identified MNLF area of au- the peace agreement supersededthe Tripo-
government. By ordering the conficastion of tonomy by the GRP Agreement itself.
their weapons, the declaration was widely re- In recognition of the binding character of The peaceagreementidentified cwo phase*
garded among Muslims as an attempt to deny this Agreement,the 1987 Constitution would in the realization of Muslim autonomy: dc
them the capacity to defend themselvesagainst Iater incorporate most of theseprovisions. In creation of the Southern Philippines Councii
military and Christian marauders. 1977, however the Agreement remained un- for Peaceand Development, and the estab-
The MNLF launched its first offensive in Jolo
on November 14, 1972, orlessthan wv'omonths
after the martial law declaration. This was fol-
lowed by the Cosbato offensive on February
nw qffw"'iq,,

27, 1973. From there the war becweenthe

MNLF's Bangsamorofumyand thefumed Forc-
esof the Philippines escalatedin terms ofcasual-
ties and the destruction of properry culminat-
ing in the Batde ofJolo of February7, 1975,in
which much ofJolo was burned to the ground.
In responsethe AFP launched various countet-
offensiveswhich resulted in some of the blood-
iestbatdesin the Philippinessince'World\VarII.
The war reached a stalematein 1975. The
stalemat€resulted in a cease-fireand the Tii-
poli Agreement of 1976 brokered by Libyan
President Muammar Khadaffy. However, a E
E
breakdown in peacenegotiationsafter the sign- :
E
ing of the Agreement led to the resumption
of hostilities tn 1977. Hostilities continued
sporadically into the 80s as the Tlipoli Agree- Government troops: complicationsin an all-out war.
ment remained unimplemented.
implemented. As negotiations berween the lishment of the Regiond Autonomous Gov-
Tue GRP-MNLF PEACE AGREEMENT GRP and MNLF broke down, the MNLF ernment. ln 1996, however,the MNLF won
The post-tipoli negotiations broke down fragmented into four groups: the elections of September9 and gained con-
when then President Ferdinand Marcos cre- 1. The MNLF under Misuarit leadership trol of the existing Autonomous Region of
ated through Proclamation 1628 and Presi- 2. The Moro Islamic Liberation Front Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) government
dential Decree No.1618 rwo autonomous (MILF) led by Salamat Hashim through an alliance with then President Ra-
governments, one in Region IX and another 3, The BangsaMoro Liberation Organiza- mos' Lakas Parry. It is the ARMM govern-
in Region XII. The MNLF rejected "autono- tion headed by Muslim politicians Rascid ment which has a term of up to late 1999,
my'' in this form, regarding Marcos'. act as a Lucman and Salipada Pendatun. since then extended by Congress till 2000.
violation of the Tlipoli Agreement. 4. The MNlF-Reformist led by Dimas However, substantive autonomy would be
The tipoli Agr€€ment'smost critical provi- Pundato. realized only in Phase2, the creation of the
 $
F Sourcesand Additional References
Irrc
rffistwljmll
ff F{*sh a[mGG
,rllit " - -r:ronomous Government. Phase2
*,, r. .: '.:in *,ith the end of the three-year
,r'in t .:. -\RIVIM government.The Philip-
- r r .:,::ess has so far not passedany bill
-"
-
----ino
___""i Phece 7
' r :.:::. of the ARMM coincideswith the
r: '- -:le SPCD, which would be phased
; , .:. RAG is created.The SPCD has
r - - -. r:r over 14 provincesand nine cities
-.:r:rao. The OIC is mandated by the
,*; : | -':::: to monitor its implementation.
*-i! r"
LF PostTtoN
- ',
l.illF did not participatein the GRP-
-: ralk that resulted in the peaceagree-
- ' - ' : - 996, althoughit did sayin the MILF-
--. _lointStatementof May 1994 that ir
,L--:,:::d the talks. However,the MILF also
.r: . :he samestatementthat it still adhered
, f:ipoli Agreemenr "in letterand spirit."
; :: -:..i. of what it believedwere substantial
-: :::ins from the Tiipoli Agreementin the
--' 'Le MILF found the
:- ^.1-^,,^.-
:: never, the MILF is no longer limiting
' ...: :o the terms of the Tiipoli Agreement,
- ::. rhe talking points it has identified in
- : .ourse of its negotiationswith the GRP
-.:seralking points - or what should con-
::-:e the "substantiveagenda"of the GRP-
-
,: -L F talks asfar asthe MILF 1566116g116c[
- rar beyond the concernsof the tipoli
-::iement. The MILF bottom line seemsto
- : : h a r r h e 1 9 9 6 p e a c ea g r e e m e nw
r ill not
: ::,. ide a lastingsolution to "the Bangsamoro
:::blem," since it does not addresswhat it
:=iards as the broad range of issueswhich
: -',mprisethat problem.
The issuesthe MILF has identified asneed-
.:g solutions"include, but arenot limited to":
i. Issuesof intrusion into Muslim ancesrral
iomain; the declarationby GRP of ancestral
jomain as public and disposable,alienable
.and; and the destructionof the same
2. Moro landlessness, including GRP reset-
:lement policies and the "minoritization" of
,he Moro people
3. Human rights issues
4. Socialand culruraldiscriminationagainsr
V u s l i m s i n s c h o o l sa n d r h e g o v e r n m e n ri n
.-
cluding efforts to "assimilate" Muslims
5. "Corruption of the mind and moral fi-
ber" of Musiims brought about by the mis-
representationof Islam in media and the
schools,aswell asby the proliferation of gam-
bling, drugs and prosrirution
6. Economic inequiry and poverty
7. Exploitation ofnatural resourcesinclud-
ing environmental degradation
8. Agrarian issuesincluding land grabbing
Primarily, the MILF is saying that the above
range of political, economic and cultural is-
sues constitute the roots of the oroblem in
Mindanao;rharneitherrheTripolfAgreemenr
nor the peaceagreementof 1996 addressed
them; and that, therefore, the problem is far
from being solved.
In any event, the MILF has emerged as the
leading armed Muslim group in the Philip-
pines. Its program has beenfairlywell articu-
lated by its chair, SalamatHashim, who in his
The BangsamoroMujahid: His Objectiuesand
Responsibilities identified the MILF's final ob-
.jectivesas:
1. The establishmentof a true Muslim com-
munity;
2. The establishmentof an authentic Islamic
system of government; and
3. Enabling Muslims to live an Islamic way
of life.
T h e M I L F h a s a F o u r - p o i n tp r o g r a m t o
achievetheseaims: Islamization;organizational
development; development of its military
capabiliry;and self-reliance.
Islamization basicallyconsistsof strength-
ening Islamic reners among the faithful, as
well as linking the Moro strugglefor autono-
my/independence to the imperative to live
lives accordingto Islamic teaching,for which
purposethe MILF hasa core of Islamic schol-
ars. This is the critical difference berween the
MNLF and the MILF in that the latter re-
gards Islamization as fundamental to Moro
liberation. This approach has also enabled
the MILF ro expand irs forcesrapidly.
Organizational developmenthasmainly con-
sistedof the MILF's organizinginto regional
governmentsthe major cities and provinces
of Muslim Mindanao. As of 1997 the MILF
haveorganized
17 regionalgov-
:tlil:l.J:
The MILF armed forces have six divisions
with a claimed strength of 120,000 regular
troops and 200,000 irregulars,although some
estimateshave been higher. In late 1997 esti-
mates of its weaponry ranged from 70,000 to
80,000 assaultrifles, machine guns, mortars
and anti-tank weapons. These figures would
make the MILF the biggest and most well-
armed revolutionary group in the Philippines.
The MILF also has a small arms factory, but
has admitted receiving arms from foreign
sources'without strinssattached."
Cagoco-Guiam,Rufa.Tellingthe Truth of the "Other":
lmages of lslam and Muslims in the Philippines.
Gowing, Peter. Mandatein Moroland.
KalinawMindanaw.Introducing
aw. (w.
The Peopleof Mindan-
mindanao.com/kal
inaw)
Maful,CesarAdib. Ihe Muslimsin the Philippines.
Santos,SolimanV. Jr. The Moro National Liberation
Front (MNLF) and the Moro lslamic Liberation Front
MILF).
The study
The war in Mindanao has alreadycost many
lives,aswell as millions of pesosin economic
lossesand government funds for military ex-
oenditures.
But the threat ofprolonged conflict has not
dissipated.Tensions between Muslims and
Christians are intensifying, with all their at-
t e n d a n t p o s s i b i l i t i e sf o r c o n t i n u i n g a n d
heightenedethnic strife. The long-term im-
pact of the Mindanao crisis,particularly the
a r m e d c o n f l i c t , o n P h i l i p p i n es o c i e t ya s a
whole could also include the worsening of
the economic, social and cultural problems
that have piagued the Republic since its
founding.
For its consequences alone, the Mindanao
crisisis news.Sincethe massmedia arethe main
sourcesof citizen information on the crisis, it
may be presumedthat much of what Filipinos
have come to know about the crisis as well as
theirsenriments on themainprotagonists come
lrom massmedia. This makesmassmedia cru-
cial factorsin public understandingofthis cri-
sis, and therefore,in the publict opinions as
important inputs in governance.
Massmediapractitionersmay claim that their
task is merely to mirror what is happeningin
sociery.But media processes are subjectto the
selectivediscrimination of the reporter at the
beat and the editor at the desk. \7hi1e mass
media shouldideally'tell what happened,"the
difficulties inherent in meeting that responsi-
bility often make the tasksof reporters,editors
and opinion writers extremely problematic.
It is easyenough to say that the reporter
must report the truth. However, the individ-
ual reportert own beliefs and biases,the qual-
iry and quantiry of his sources, as well as a
newspapert editorial policy and those con-
victions and biasesmost individuals have on
an issueofpublic concern do shapethe kind
ofnews storiesthat appearon the front pages,
as well as the opinions that see print in the
opinion-editorialsections.The resultcould be
public misinformation - and therefore a fail-
ure of the democratic processwhich depends
so critically on a sovereignpeople'shaving ac-
cessto accurate and meaninsful information
Fordecision-making.
To determine the scopeofpress coverageof
the Mindanao crisis, as well as whether it has
been substantially fatr, enlightening and bal-
 3. W/hat sourceswere used,aswell asr"irm ,n
= 1633
Total Articlesby NewspilpBr number of sources,or only one soutce,ua5 mil

Contentanalysisfindings
As expected, the broadsheetsstudied -.:n,-
;..;' ered the Mindanao crisis extensivelr'.,\ :,:crl
of 1,633 articlesappeared tn the Busines:Y+1''nn
tt,'t":',
the Manila Bulletin, Philippine Sraa *re Pirr-
M a n i l aB u l l e t i n ippine Daily Inquirer md Tbday durinE *'
164
'i""',1 period under study.
Reflectingthe rapid deteriorationof the \{-:-
danao situation into crisisproportions, 1-y rr-
ticles appearedin thesebroadsheetsin l{r:l
220 in Apnl; 543 in Mayl' and 691 in Jr:,:
Of the total articlespublished during the t..r--
P h i l i p p i nDea i l y
month period, 30o/oappearedin the lru1*:*r
Inquirer
25o/oin Today 22o/oin the star 13o/oin Br::-
486
nessWorll;and 10% in the Bulletin.
As the Mindanao crisisintensified, the nu::.-
ber offront-page articlesbeganto increasefroi:-
tr lillilq Conllal
alow of 67 in March to a high of 370 in Junr
Subject Matter w &bion
for a total of 879 articles appearing on tht
D MLF
T o t a l A r t i c l e sb y M o n t h= 1 6 3 3 front pagesduring the four-month perioj.
I ftu kwd Articies on Mindanao in the inside pages.to-
tr &sibnhslages
ta1ing756, alsoincreasedfrom 112 in Marcl
to 321 by June.
Of the total 1633articles,columnsand corn-
mentaries accounted for 172, while editorial-.
numbered 102.

180
MWOIC/MIF
Discussion
Reports on the Mindanao crisis appearedin
A tuvsmm€nl Polbies
the Star as early as March, when the shooting
E Oltufs
war was just about to break out. Most of these
reports, 27, werc in the inside pages.Eleven
(11) were front-pagearticles.The number o[
anced, the Center for Media Freedom and lapped in the few instanceswhen an opinion Sar front pageMindanaonewsstoriesincreased
Responsibiliry (CMFR) did a content anaiy- column alsoattempted to provide background to 32 in April while those in the inside pages
sis covering the months of March, April, May material on Mindanao; decreasedto 18. The number of Star articles
and June 2000- the critical months of the on the Mindanao crisis increasedin late April
crisis,and therefore the months during which Subject matter, On the basisof subjectmat- after the kidnapping in Sipadan Island.
the Philippine pressconcentrated much of its ter, the researchersidentified the followingas The number of Mindanao crisis-relatednews
coverageon Mindanao. the subjectsof the articles studied: Military stories in the Sar continued to increasein May
conflictl Soldiers:the Mindanao situation; the andJune.Sixty-seven(67) newsstoriesappeared
Methodology. Content analysis as used in Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF); the on the front page,while 52 were in the inside
journalism researchis a method that through Abu Sayyaf;the Basilanhostages;the Jolo hos- pagesfor May. In June, there were 143 Mind-
purposive sampling and analysisseeksto de- tages;Local business;the National economy; anao crisis-relatednews stories tn the Star. Of
termine the content and slant of news and Evacuations and refugees; Peaceand unity; these,77 were on the front pageand 66 in the
opinion, the treatment of personalitiesin the Peacenegotiations; \7omen and children; the insidepages.The number of storiesin the inside
news, and news sourcing, Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao pages included 49 Star editorials and columns
(ARRM), the Moro National Liberation Front during the period coveredby the study.
Newspapers studied. The CMFR study (MNLF), and the Organizationof the Islamic The Inquirer articles about the Mindanao
Iooked at the news and opinion pagesoffive Conference(OIC); Bombings and other kid- crisis in March were almost equally divided
Metro Manila-based broadshsgs - fiu5ing55' nappings; the Federalismproposal; Govern- between the front page and the inside pages.
Vorld, the Manila Bulletin, the Philippine ment policies;and others. Twenry-one (21) articles were on the front
Daly Inquirer, the Philippine Star and'Today. The analysis of articles used the following pagewith the remaining 16 in the inside pag-
The period covered was from March l-June criteria: es in the Inquirer issuesof March. In April,
30, 2000. 1. Number, frequency and prominence of the number of Inquirer front-page articles in-
articles- placement of news stories;whether creasedto 36 out of 50 articles; inside page
Article t1pes. The researchersgrouped the they appeared on the front page or in the articles were only a little more than a dozen.
articles in the above pagesinto news, editori- inside pages The subjects of these articles ranged from
als and columns, aswell as background mate- 2. Tieatment - whether the story treated MllF-government negotiations to the Basi-
rial. However, the last rwo categoriesover- the news subject positively or negatively Ian hostagesand the Abu Sayyaf.
EDJ'

?hilippine President Fidel V. Ramos (center) and Autonomous Region Governor Nur Misuari after the 7996 peaceagreement

- i:.rmatic increasein the number of articles ber had increasedalmost three-fold at I 59 World pur only one article on the front page
'. ., [itquirer, both on the front page and in news articles.One hundred-five (105) were in March. For the whole month ofApril, noth-
, .:.-ridepages,occurred in May ar-rdJune. on the front pagewhile only 54 were in the ing on Mindanao was printed an the Busi'
'.-O nessWorld Front-page.It banneredthe Mind-
: [nquirerarticleson the Mindanao crisis inside pages.
.1;r'. 100 were on the lront pagewhile the Bannerstorieson Mindanao startedto reg- anao situation only twice in May, but nine
,::.,-ining70 were in the insidepages. ularly appear in Todal towards the end of times ir-rJune.
':.e BusinessWorld front-pagearticleswere consis-
Inquirer printed 122 front-page news March, due to the MILF's occupationof the
- :::s about Mindanao in its rentlv lewerthan its articlesin the insidepages.
June issues.For- Kauswagantown hall on March i6, which
' -::..c (45) articleswere either editorials or s i g n a l e dt h e s t a r to f i n t e n s i f i e df i g h r i n gb e - Almost all, or 13 out of the 16 Bulletin
. .:ion pieces.The total number of Inquirer tween governmenttroops and the MILF, fol- March reports on the Mindanao crisis,re-
,::-;les on Mindanao for June was 229. Of lowed by the Abu Sayyaf kidnappings in ceivedfront-pagetreatment.The reportswere
: :s., 184 were newsstories,22 editorialsand Basilan and Sipadan. In May and June, the mostly on the possibleoutcome of the peace
--. opinion columns. Todaybanner story was almost always on the talks berweenthe GRP panel and the MILF
.he Abu Salyaf's admission that the foreign Mindanao crisis. and the government'svision for peace and
: :rists kidnapped in Sipadanin late April had BusinessWorld. published 217 articles on developmentin Mindanao.
:en turn€d over by another group to their Mindanao from March to June. Of this num- The Bulletin gave news about appeals for
- ;stody increasedthe number of articlesin the ber, 193 were news reports and 24 oprnion peaceFrom varioussectorsprominent treat-
.-,:t/ttirer. The increasedcoveragethe kidnap- articles. Despite BusinessWorllsmarket niche ment in April. However, its reports on the
::ngs drew from both national and interna- as a businesspaper, it gave considerableim- Abu Saryaf kidnappings outnumbered its
:ronal media further boostedthis number. portance to the Mindanao situation. Business- reports on the escalatingwar between the
-\ total of406 Mindanao-relatedarticleswere World did not have any editorial on the crisis MILF and governmenttroops. The number
:rinted by Tbtlayduring the period under sinceit doesnot normally havean editorial. of Bulletin reports on the Mindanao crisis in-
'rudy. There were 259 front-page reports; Among the 2I7 articles publishedby Busi' creasedfrom 16 in March to 24 in April, most
117 tn the inside pagesof which 23 opinion nessWorlddtring the four-month period under of them about the Abu Salyaf kidnapping.
articlesand 15 editorialson Mindanao. study,only five werebannerstories.All five dealt However, the Bulletin continued in April to
As the crisis in Mindanao escalated,there with the effectsof the crisison the economy. give banner treatment to storieson the gov-
,vasa steadyincreasein the number of Today's However, there was a steady increase in ernment'sviews on the GRP-MILF peace
Mindanao-related news articles from March the number of BusinesstVorldnews articles talks. Although reports on the governmentt
to June. At the sametime, the news reports' from March to June. The figure for May w a r w i t h r h e M I L F a n d r h e M i n d a n a oc r i s i s
placement gradually shifted from the inside (7t) was more than dcuble that of March as a whole were dominant, stories from the
pagesto the front pages. (28), and April (30). In June, the number g o v e r n m e n tp e r s p e c r i v ew e r e a g a i n g i v e n
At the start of the conflict in March, TodaT increasedto 76. prominent treatment in rhe Bulletin in June.
printed only 59 Mindanao news articles.Of BusinessWorldprinted 12 front-page articles In general, the Bulbtin gave reports on the
these, 21 were front-page news articles while on Mindanao; 205 Mincianao-relatednews Mindanao crisisprominent treatment. Of 164
38 were in the insidepages.ByJune the num- articles appearedin its inside pages.Business' articles, 14 1 appearedon th e Bulletin front page.
Of 24 inside page articles, only ten were news
stories.The remaining 14 wereopinion pieces.
From these findings it is evident that the
broadsheetsstudied regardedthe Mindanao
crisis as significant enough to deserveexten-
sive coverage,including fronr-page rreatment.
The amount of information made available
to readers,at leasr from the five newspapers
studied - three of which claim the largestcir-
culations in the country - would thus appear
to be adequate,averaging326.6 per newspa-
per during the four-month period, or 81.65
articlesper month per newspaper.But the kind
P r o v i d i nB
g ackground
7
6 nity in 18, civil society 37; the leligious -.:-
E
,
1 were from hostile sourcessuch as PNP D:-
0 rector Panfilo Lacsonand AFP Chief of Srar:-
.^\d
-.$-
t'>tt"
-.e"
o$" $o"s at""t'"t
TotaISources= 1428
n GOvernment
M N/ILF
I Abu Sayyaf
tr Business
I Civil Society
E Religious
Sector
I Others
of information that was thereby made avail-
able - as reflected in subject marrer, arricle
rype, and treatmenr - is equaily crucial.
Sualecr
mnrren
In terms of subject matrer, the Mindanao-
related articles in the five broad sheetswere
overwhelmingly on the Jolo hostages(317),
followed by the military conflict (279 arti-
cles).Articles on the Basilanhostasesfollowed
in frequency.with I B0 arricles.th.r. *.r.
136 articles on bombings and other kidnap-
pings; 108 articles on government policies;
100 on ARMM/OIC/ the MNLF; 97 onthe
peacenegotiarions; 80 on the national econo-
rrry; 66 on the rhemes of peace and unity.
Soldierswere the subjectsof9 articies;articles
on the general Mindanao situation 48; the
MILF 46; the Abu Sayyaf37; local business
23; evacrations 24; women and children Bl
and federalism 23.
These figures show that the reporting on
Mindanao followed the patterns dictated by
commercial interesrs in the form of circula-
tion boosting, given the emphasison violence
and other issuesthat lend themselvesro sen-
sational treatment. The lop sided emphasis
on the Jolo hostagescompared to the cover-
age of the Basilan hosragesappears to have
been motivated by the above impulse.
The reporting on the Jolo hostageswas also
accompanied by photographs meant ro em-
phasizetheir state ofhealth and living condi-
^'*'
tions as well as their momenrs of emotional
crisis. \fhile this is understandable,that the of the total number of sourcescamefrom the
Basilanhostagesdid not receivethe sameievel g o v e r n m e n r . S t a t e m e n t sf r o m t h e A b u
of attention suggeststhat the news agenda Salyal the MILF, the religioussectorand other
was being shaped not only by the world at-
tention focused on the foreign hostages,but
also by their story's being more susceptible
to sensationaitreatment.
BncrcRout to tIATERIAL
Of the 1,633 articlesthat appearedin?ll
five broadsheetsfrom March to June, only 22
may be classifiedas background material, in
the senseof their attempting to put events in
Mindanao in a socio-historicalcontext so asto
broaden public understanding of the crisis. governmenr sourceclaimed that a $2M ran-
This is only a little more than one percent of
all the articles studied.
Of the 22, three appeared in rhe Bulletin;
two tn BusinessWorld;sevenin Today;two in
the Star; and eight in the Inquirer. The most government sources.
comprehensive background materials were
provided 6y the Inquirer, which published,
among other articles,a rwo-part interviewwith
M I L F C h a i r S a l a m aH
t ashim.
However, the relative paucity of back-
ground material raisesthe question of how
successfuiiythe presshas made the Mindan-
ao crisis comprehensibleto their readers,since ing company earnings,hitting stocks," "Tiad-
events reporred out of conrext are iikely to
be misunderstood.
\X/hen reports on such eventsare ar:i: o*
time predominantly sourced from :M
".:-r
of two protagonists, the problem is :--rur
compounded, since the parries involl:: xm
the conflict have their respecriveaE.:..:-d
which could be furthered through rhr :iL'c.
semination of misleadinginformarion. c.: :,m
through disinformation.
SouRces
The overwhelming source of informa::,n
as far as the news stories and some oi =c
opinion pieceswere concerned- a ror;- :r
1,428 - was government, which \\'ri 3.
source for 1,055 of the above articles. l:,,t
Abu Sayyaf was the source in 72 of the a::-
cles; the MILF in 67: the businesscom::-:-
tor 38; and others, 141.
The Star reports were generally based..:
government sources,including its repo:::
on the MILF and the Abu Salyaf. The :.-
ports about Nur Misuari and the NI\Lr
Angelo Reyes.Only the Star'sbusinesssro-
ries were sourced from non-governmenr
sources(businesspeople).
The amount of governmentsourcesusedin
the Inquirer's amicles greatly outnumbered
sourcesfrom other sectors. In March, Mar'
and June, a great ma.joriry of its sourceswere
from the governmenr - 271 out of 300
sourcesfor the three-month period. Hower'-
er, in April, only a little more than half (58olo)
groups accounted for 18 of th.e 43 sources
counted for that month.
Information from the Inquirer's govern-
ment sourceswas usually followed by a cor-
respondingstalgrnsnl-.d/trsther comments,
opinions or objections- from the orher par-
ry either the spokespersonof the MILF or
the Abu Salyaf. The Inquirer also had re-
ports in which a governmenr official contra-
dicted what anorhergovernmentofficial said.
Such was the caseon May 19, when one
som was being demanded by the Abu
Salyai while another said that no such de-
mand was made. Bur out of the 389 major
sources used in Inquirer stories, 271 were
The Inquirer used the businesssecfor as a
source three times during the period under
study - all in June. Only mo of the stories
were about the businesssituation in Mindan-
ao while the other was about a businessman
donating P1 million ro free some of the Basi-
lan hostages:"Mindanao fighting seen siash-
er givesPlM for Basilanhostages,""Fighting
keeps PAL away from Cotabato."
 ^rr
--',lottirer used sources from the reli- ernment officials, civilian or military, who clear- lished, the military said it took up the offen-
,tu *", more often than sourcesfrom the ly received positive treatment in the coverage. sive because,among others,
:i&rrllrr.iii;ommuniry. Fifteen of the total In general,favorableffeatment was reserved .The MILF hadviolated terms ofagreements;
lll:ffnre: i Inquirer sources were from the for the government and military and the neg- . The MILF had resorted to extortion; and
Jffjt!ryr:,roector. The majority of these were ative for the Abu Sayyafithe MILF and Mus- . The MILF had begun attacking civilians.
mrm -:c Carholic Church. Some of the head- lims in general. A retrospective analysis shows the following
'3ulacan
,:nrr, Muslims denounce Abu However, the editorials were more critical of events and the appearance of repons on the
-CBCP
;rrirlrffi;,:' condemns killings," "Pope government, even as the military continued fighting.
r:,,uslr.:h of hostages,""Bishop appeals for The agreement on April 27 between gov-
ursmi:: \{indanao evacuees,"and "Sin calls ernment forces and the MILF over the Narciso
mnr't',-:a' prayer and fasting." Ramos Highway suggeststhe odd timing of
'-ic
ioremment was almost always the ma- the military anacks against the MILF. Both the
lu,t'r:,i:e oi Todaynews rePorts.At any given military and MILF had reached a tentative
:n,rri 'r---:r rhis study, almost all of the articles of agreementto work out a solution to the occu-
,:,t*o,.r'
::lied mainly on gov€rnment sources, pation of parts of the highway by MILF forces.
L: '.{-irch, 50 out of 57 Todayreports were Part of the agreement was that their respective
ut.'u-:.': liom the government. The next ma- forceswou.ldremain in their positions.
rl- j: -:;. was the Abu Sayyaf- which was, This agreementwasnot givenany prominence
rrir' i ::. a major sourceof only three articles. in the news coverage,although it was vaguely
l-:.:: *'as a drop in the number of articles referredto in a number of stories.A story of the
;iL;:r iourced from the government in April. Inquirer enumerated the points of the military-
.,". 19 of 54 Mindanao-related Today arti- MILF agreement,but this was buried in the
:x$ 'i.re artributed to the govefnment. The jump section of a front-page story.
rns:;:=aior Todaysourcewas the Abu Sa1yaf, These points were:
irr-:: *'as the source of eight articles. . For the Philippine National Police to take
. , \{av and June, 92 of 116, and 102 of over the Ramos Highway to ensure security
- loday articles were sourced from the to get negative comments. MILF treatment and iaw and order.
l :, :i:rment resPectively, in the editorials was mixed, but Muslim per- . For government and MILF units to re-
j*-::ost all the Mindanao-related articles in
sonalities such as Nur Misuari generally re- main in their current positions.
j,t :,:c-,: Vor ld were similarly sourcedfrom the ceived negativetrearmenr. . For the joint ceasefirecommittee to sub-
!: ':inmenf. mit its recommendations on the issue on or
- :.c government was the major source in Busrrurs/EcoNolry before May 15, 2000.
'- our of 193 Mindanao-relatedarticlesin The discussion of Mindanao as a region Only the Philippine Post gave this promi-
:;-':,tess\World. Far behind the government should include the perspectiveor outlook for nent front-page play. This story had peace-
, .:: 'Others,' 16 articles,and the MILF, 13 businessand the regional economy. During advocatepriest Fr. Eliseo Mercado as a source
--:,;les, the n€xt Nvo major sourcesof infor- this crisis, the business/economic news re- and drew from his perspective.
-,'rion tapped by reporters. ceived significantiy less news space. The Inquirer referredto speculationin some
lnere were no BusinessWorldreoorters in Even in BusinessWorld, Mindanao economy sectorsabout the purpose of the war in an
.l.rdanao; all were in Metro Manila during and businessdid not arnount to much in the editorial (May 9) and in an interview with
-:.. period under study. BusinessWorldthere- news agenda.
Muslim leader and academic Dr. Michael
::re relied heavily on the servicesof Reuters Mastura (May 7).
'-,,1 other wire servicesfor reports on the hot WH,cr cAuseo rHE "wAR"? The editorial referred to a "wag-the-dog"
,r*lts in Mindanao. The coverageof Mindanao before the first scenario. In the interview article, Dr. Mastura
Tlte Bullztin reportswere alsogenerallyanrib- critical date in this period ofanalysis, the Basi- referredto the government scenarioasthe "Pu-
-ied to government sources.As in the other pa- lan hostagetaking on March 21, revealedthat tin formula."
-rs, the reports about the MILF and the Abu the presscarried mostly storiesabout the peace
!:rvaf had gov€rnment officials such as Orlan- talks which were still in processbetween gov- THe lNvtstglesecuRtrYFRAMEWoRK
:o Mercado and Roberto Aventajado assources. ernment and the MILF. The stories on mili- In the course of war and other conflicts,
Government officials were the major sourc- tarylMILF encounters or on armed actions news will usually involve the larger perspec-
.s in 161 of the Bulletin's reports. Twenry- by Muslim militants appeared in the cover- tive ofnational security from the appropriate
j-'\-enarticles relied on sourcessuch as foreign ageassporadicincidents. None ofthese served governmenr authorities.
ournalists, foreign governments, and person- as any indication that the MILF or the mili- Referenceto this larger framework of securi-
:1 observation, among others. tary was building up or preparing for a total ry in the press was practically nil. National
The Bulhtin repofts on personalities lobby- war offensive. SecuriryAdviser Gen. Alexander Aquirre said
ing for peacewere mosdy from government or The topics in March before the Basilankid- that as of September 1999 the Cabinet Secu-
qovernment-r€latedsources,if not government nappings were: riry Cluster had drawn up a framework on
officials, with the €r(ceptionof some religious 1. Peacenegodations between the GRP and the Mindanao conflict. Yet there was noth-
leaoers. the MILF, and ing about this in the pressexcept much later,
2. Skirmishes berween government troops when Nur Misuari had made his much-ma-
Posttvp nruo NEGATIvE TREATMENT and MILF. ligned speechat the Organization of Islamic
How did the major actors in the Mindanao Newspaper readers musr hav€ found the Conference in Kuala Lumpur.
story fare in media treatment? sudden outbreak of hostiliriessurprising, in-
Those who ended up looking good were viting the question, "V/hat causedthe'war' to CottclusroN
alsothe dominant sourcesof news. \X/heredid break out?" THn ror-r-ovaxc.coNclustoNs MAyBEDM\rN
the pressget much of the stories?From gov- According to the reports that did get pub- FROM THE RESULTSOF THIS STUDY:
 1.The preponderanceof the government
view raisesquestions not only about the bd-
ance and fairness of the reporting, but also
about the accuracyof the news reports and
the reliabiliry of such news storiesas the basis
of opinion pieces - of columns as well as
editorials. Statementsto the pressabout the
courseof the war generallywere sourcedfrom
AFP headquartersin Camp Aguinaldo. There
were few, if any, correspondents directly in
touch with field commanders or with com-
munities affected by the war.
2. The disturbing pauciry of background
material raisesthe question on how well the
press made this crisis comprehensible to the
public, since events reported out of context
are usually op€n to misunderstanding, espe-
cially if they are part of a complex historical
Process.
3. This poverty of background material
blurred in the public mind the clear distinc-
tion bewveenthe Abu Sayyaf and the MILF
and the differences in their goals and meth-
ods. This resulted in their equal "demoniza-
tion," and unfortunately, that of all Muslims.
This was aided by expressionsof anti-Mus-
lim sentiments by some columnists and edi-
torial writers aswell as by the mostly negative
treatment Muslim sourcesreceived from the
press.
This lack of background did not diminish
public ignorance about the course of imple-
mentation of the comprehensive PeacePro-
cess. The media did not refer to past gains,
nor the courseset by law to provide meaning-
ful autonomy for the Muslim community.
The public had no real understanding or ap-
preciation of the legitimate grievancesof the
Muslim communitywhose membersstill have
to convince themselvesthat the government
is serious about addressingthe demand for
autonomy and the recognition of their way of
life.
The lack of background material in the press
matched the policy sryle of the Estrada ad-
ministration, which often resortedto decision-
making without consideration of, and refer-
ence to, a larger policy process.
These gaps in presscoveragealso ignored
the larger policy questions and prevented
a more comprehensiveinterpretation of the
crisis as more than just war and military
operations.
4. The emphasison military conflict and
the hostage incidents drove other subject
matters out of the news pages,thus providing
a lop sided picture of events in Mindanao.
There were days when the front pagesof the
major broadsheetscovered nothing else but
news of the hostages,providing a distorted
picture of events in the rest of the country.
5. Becauseof the greater emphasis on
the Jolo hostagesrelative to the MILF con-
flict, the Abu Sayyaf received more expo-
sure than the MILF; despite the latter's
lengthy on-again, off-again peacetalks with cade, inter-faith harmony had risen st=-&
the government. Both the Abu Sayyaf cantly, especiallywith the relative stab",:v
'We
and the MILF were commonly referred to gained during the Ramos years. cut ...r:ir
as "terrorists " and "rebels," again blurring hooe that this crisis will not funher di.re
the distinction between the two. Christiar and Muslim Filipinos.
6. The Abu Salyaf ended up gaining more The coverageof this war together with &o,ic
legitimacy than it apparently deserves.This official public statementsby the govemmea:
exDosureon the same level as the MILF and which showed a marked insensitiviry to *c
the merging of their identities into one paint- rightful place and struggle of Muslim Filirr-
ed the Muslim struggle in the darkest tones, nos may haveeasilyraisedlevelsof resentmen:
weakening the case for the need to address Carol Arguillas, PDI Mindanao Bureau chid
their grievances. and columnist, recounts incidents of prejuci:-
cial treatment of Muslim civilians in ManiL
fluly 10, 2000). Unless government begi.c-r
to change its tack and reverts to the Fiame-
work of its total approach, the resentmen:
betweenMuslims and non-Muslims can deep
en into lines of conflict that will be more dill
ficult to erasein the firture.
One can speculatethat the higher appror-ai
ratings enjoyed by Estrada during the crisis
came from the successfulwooing of public
approval through the means of war. The Es-
trada government might have found a solu-
tion to the problem of his saggingpopularin-.
7. There was no attempt to call readeratten- But we cannot know what this has cost in
tion to the fact that the armed hostilities were terms of peace.
taking place between Filipinos, not between
Filipinos and people from another country. A svtlt-r-lNo NARRowAsPEcr
On the contrary, there was much saber-rat- As for the press, the treatment of these re-
tling and even calls for a ruthless battle cam- cent developmentsshows once again a failure
paign against "the enemy." This could have to conduct the public serviceofnews gather-
contributed to the resurgenceof anti-Muslim ing and dissemination as an educational pro-
sentiments evident since the Sipadan hostage cess. It is not enough for people to know
taking. about the conduct of military operations by
gov€rnment troops taking over former MILF
OpeNcoveRnce territory. This is only a small and narrow as-
Recall the conduct of the war in Mindanao pect of what is really going on.
during the Marcos regime, not as a prescrip- The news here is not only about the events
tion of how to do things, but to note the but the background and context of events.
impact of "news" on public sentim€nt. The Once again,the "bad news" hasnot occasioned
war in Mindanao during the Marcos period a learning experiencefor the public - the
was largelykept asan invisible operation, since broadening or deepening of public under-
the presswas controlled and regulated by-the standing about historical conflict.
government. The news that came out of the The public remains ignorant of the whole
military establishmentwere mosdy limited to picture that constitutes the Mindanao realicy.
ceremonial appearancesof generals,public In rhe beginning of this crisis,some respon-
officials with Muslim surrenderees,and later dents to television surveyssaid that they real-
the Tiipoli agreement. ly did not feel affected by the news, saying
In contrast, press cov€rage of the March- Mindanao was so far away. Such listenersand
July war has been open and extensive. But readerswere provided with limited informa-
the sryle and treatment of news also triggered tion and it would not be surprising if, after so
negative public perceptions of, and opinions much news on Mindanao, they did not gain
about Muslim Filipinos; perhaps more than a greater understanding or appreciation of
the Mindanao wars of the seventiesdid at the what is needed to create the conditions that
time. will finally bring peaceto this part of the coun-
The survey firm Social'WeatherStationshas try.
pointed out that one ofthe constantsofpub- The flawed treatment of complex events
lic opinion in the Philippines has been a de- holds back public understanding of the is-
gree of anti-Muslim prejudice. Nevertheless, suesinvolved in any crisis. In the caseof Min-
the Philippines has been fortunate enough danao, this public ignorancemakesit so much
not to be afflicted by the kind ofethnic con- easierfor the national leadershipto keep slip-
flict seen in neighboring ASEAN countries. ping into blind corners,and to undertake and
\7ith the peace processgaining ground and sustain a course of action that createsbigger
the work of peace advocates in the last de- problems in Mindanao and the rest of the
countfy.
Thswwwwffiffim
a$ ffircWffiwffiK&ffiKffiff
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edffiffimKwmtr
ngffiffiffiffiWWWW87
MruNon
euNros
oe ps
.ppues
Jesus,
i:t,L 7i2Js5us,a former newspapereditor is executiuedirector of the Center
ic::o,uibility, a watchdogfoundation, and publisher of the Philippine Journalisrn Reuiew. Her
tre:: is an updated adaptation forn a paper she dcliuered at the ASEAN PeopletsAssembly in
i;;;nt Indonesia in Nouember 2000.
l. " .\ THEassignmentof this subject,a jour-
-., isr presumesthat the term "media" refers
;:'ocifically to the news media or the "press."
. le pressincludes not only newspapersand
. ier similar print formats, but also broadcast
:.sws media such as radio and television. It
:::av also include other new forms of news
::ansmissionin cyberspace.The characterand
-onduct of the press set it apart from othei
:redia such as theater, film and books. The
rress provides news and commentary relevant
:o public affairs. It is oriented toward politics
;nd policy-making. It is seenasan institution
ct power in its own righc,its practitionersen-
ioving both stature and influence that lasts
beyond the elected officials'term ofoffice.
In a sense,the pressplays a roie in the sys-
rem ofgovernance prevailing in a country. In
controlled political systems,the pressservesas
'government,
the handmaid of providing in-
formation with official guidance or control.
In democratic political systems,the pressacts
as the "fourth estate" whose function is to
check the practice ofpower and to create the
meansby which citizens can become engaged
in governance,albeit in varying degrees.
The press as we know it today has evolved
from a practice that was quite simple and
limited. Individuals who gathered together
for talk about various questions started the
first forms of press,.tiuiry giving more per-
manent form to this stream of conversation
by recording it in writing and spreadingsuch
for Media Freedornand
writings to a wider circle or audience.
As these ideas gathered support or consen-
sus, facilitating change or action. The im-
portance and significanceof the pressgrew as
t h e m ed i a e x p a n d e d a n d d i v e r s i f i e d .
Through the press,people who did not know
each other could share and exchangeknowl-
edge and information and conduct continu-
ing dialogue and debate.
Through the media, the discussion reaches
a multitude of people. Assisted by techno-
logical advances,this could be accomplished
in an instant, reaching so many all at once.
Thus, we have seen the subject of the me-
dia cropping up like the proverbial bad pen-
ny. Today, discussionsabout any other sub-
ject often take up the role ofthe press. People
see media as a major factor in the course of
public events,whether as help or hindrance,
an ally or an enemy.
\7e may all agree about the media's impor-
tance; but as Henry David Thoreau observed,
so much of it could be taken with a grain of salt:
"I am sure that I have never read any mem-
orable news in a newspaper. If we read of one
man robbed, or murdered, or killed by acci-
dent or one house burned or one vessel
wrecked,or one steamboarblown up, or one
cow run over on the W'esternRailroad, or one
mad dog killed, or one lot of grasshoppersin
the winter - we never need read of another. If
you are acquainted with the principle, what
do you care for myriad instancesand appiica-
tions? To a philosopher all news,asit is called,
is gossipand they who read it or edit it are old
women over their tea,"
Clearly,Thoreau was speakingin a different
time. His politically incorrect description of
the users of news rings like an echo from a
distant age. But he does underline what ex-
ists even today, the application of pressprac-
tice to trivia and the seemingly ephemeral
qualiry of "news" from day to day.
In this day of 24-hour global news provid-
ers and of Internet, the need for keeping in
touch with news gains new meaning. It is
good to examine what we get from the media
and what we use it for.
The general public has only scant under-
standing of the character of the press and of
news. There is iittle public knowledge about
how the public usesnews. Journalists also
avoid being pushed into playing any kind of
role, becauseany other assignedfunction can
affect their news judgment.
\Thether the media like it or not, their pres-
ence is a pervasiveone, their reach extensive,
and for some, universal. Clearly, there is a
basis for presuming their influence and im-
pact on the courseofpublic affairs and on the
conduct of government.
The premise of my discussionobservesthat
while the pressmedia are cited as an influen-
tial force in shaping sociery and forming the
public mind, these are limited in what they
can do. This is due to the inherent nature of
F{

:j
..r,i ,
i- r'
-$ ]
{JJ

Community education through the news

the pressand the character ofthe news. 5. Eminence (Prominence) sal presumption that life itself is good.
If we examine the press media as instru- '!7hat
6. Novelry (the unusual, the extremely un- journalists do with rhese "news" con-
ments of information, education and reform, usual) stitutes a process, an established system of
we will see that they can do these things only 7. Human Interest (emotional background) searching these out, a decision-making pro-
if the media undergo some changes in the 8. Timeliness (freshnessand newness) cess about what to include, and analysis and
way they work and they can do only so much 9. Proximiry (local appeal) interpretation of its meaning. The qualiry of
on their own. These criteria do not carry equal weight with the system varies from newsroom to news-
media practitioners. The approach to gather- room, and sometimesfrom day to day.
Wxnr unresruEws? ing of news and the application of criteria to In the process,the presssystemarically leaves
["et's look at what t]re information that the determine what will be included for the next out important and significanr information
media carry. In other words, what makesnews? deadline is not a cut and dried process. Budf that the public needs. There is news that is
Some journalists, editors and reporters, in- we were to anabze much of the news content, generally appealing and these are easily in-
sist that they choosewhat news to include by we would see how the majority in the press cluded in the agenda. These have to do with
instinct ("I know it when I see it!"). Thev favors conflict, disaster,eminence, novelty and persondities who are well-known, and those
claim that news stands out from the land- timeliness more than the other criteria. sensationalsubjectsofnews, such assex,scan-
'We
scapeof social conditions scannedin the pro- can conclude then that in approaching dal and crime.
cess. The news obtrudes, it calls artention. its task of informadon, journalists apply filters But other kinds of information are more
One definition, attributed to John Bogart of of selection. They inform but selectively. difficult to package as news. Policy-oriented
the New Yorh Sun, is now a classic, "\7hen a There are different kinds of information and information in complex issuescan get short
dog bites a man, thar is not news, but if a man not all kinds of information make it as news. shrift in news trearment. The example of the
bites a dog, that is news." Media analystEver- Some are excluded becausethese are not in- health-care debate in the US press and the
ett Dennis quoted newssrsterDavid Brinkley teresting enough to the gatekeepersof news. debate over the basesnegotiarions in the Phil-
who said, "News is the unusual, the unex, Despite their claims for objectiviry, journalis- ippines show how despite extensivecoverage,
pected. Placidity is not news. If an airplane tic practice is subjective, subject to the biases the news audience still lacked sufficient infor-
depara on dme, it isnt news. If it crashes, and emodons of the men and women in the mation for sound judgment. Often, citizens
regrettably,it is." newsroom. Information can be excluded for claim they are left confused after reading or
Acadernics have identified standard criteria the simple reason that there is only so much reading contradictory or opposing views. Such
that define what news is. The following is a spaceand time that can be appropriated for information is more difficult to processasnews
, list compiled by Dennis: news in the media. but citizensneedthis kind of inftormationmore
1. Conflict (tension-surprise) Note: # 3 and #6 in the list above favors if they are to exercise their right as citizens,
2. Progress (triumph-achievement) the inclusion of so much bad news. Disasters either as voters or as continuing pardcipanrs
3. Disaster (defeat-destruction) are natural subject for news. "Bad news" rep- in the course of public affairs.
4. Consequences(effect upon community) resentsthe out-of-norm. since there is univer- News criteria can exclude a lot of informa-
 r', i ::,:: -.henews. And becausejournalists
l$rr ' --:-5€ standardsintuitively or from the
;r: .i -oii of information never gets to the
r1r"ir: :q.ause the media edited it out.
-'::
i:--ure to inform can also be blamed on
' L-": : :frcials or policy makers who do not
r,( : :--.-;kill to make policy information pre-
ilj:TL;.1:,:]j news.The pressgoesout to get the
r rir ; : ir it doesnt do a thorough job at all.
- -rrceshave to become more assertive
r*r..:,rlitul so that they can g€t their news
dr.: ..:.rrimationacross,Public officialsmust
:r:: :- govern through information, apply-
,+ ;,-""-. and resourcesto the collection and
--itr:;-:::rrent of information that is useful to
It : : -rrilStltU€ItCl,
I . : :.temple, one of the most scantily cov-
-: : : ienciesin the Philippine governmentis
rr: Jepartment of Budget and Manage-
n::.: in fact, it is one of the most important
:. :::.:nent agencies,which takes over the
: -:,:.is of budget disbursementonce Con-
:-.,i has legislatedthe National Budget.
,,--.=: there are controversiesover money fe-
:::-j{::and the like, the Budget director is al-
' ; .'. rn the news,but the context of the agen-
: . rctir.ities, its firnctions and the conduct
j
.:' rask,is not known or understood.
t:.other example:in the recentcrisisin Min-
:"l: ro. government officials quickly cited how
- -:r money had been given to the Autono-
- ::is Region making the Muslim grievance
.::n-ar groundlessand without basis. But the
-:.rs did not carry information about the time
': berween the decision to allocate and the
.:--:-ia.ldisbursement of money and the com-
::n experienceof funds not being available.
.inother reasonfor exclusion is the difficul-
. oi getting information from government.
.: many countries, governmentsare such a
::aze of bureaucraciesand their information
:.r remain inaccessibleexcept to the elite few
.'ho will do "investigativereporting." An-
: -her problem is the way government infor-
.:Lationhas become simply government pro-
:aganda - information packaged to make
:oliticians look good. Unfortunately in the
Philippines, journalistic cynicism about gov-
:rnment renders most of these efforts quite
:neffective, leading to the employment of
oublic relations experts or of payola so thar
:heir news can get to the public.
The other filter is the "bias for bad news"
rvhich most journalists hold instinctively.
Thus, progress repofts on government suc-
cessesin public service are routinely exclud-
ed. Admittedly, in many developing coun-
tries saddled by corrupt governments, such
progressis probably quite rare. \Vhile their
rariry should fulfill the criteria of "out-of-
norm;" journalists find it difficult to get excit-
ed about good news.
The news story is usually about an €vent.
But significant issuesare not experienced in
isolated occurrenc€s. These revealthemselves
aspart ofan unfolding process. \fitness, the
processofenvironmental degradation or even
much of the ethnic conflict that flare up in
violence. Quite often, we never know about
these until there is a crisis and it is too late.
The news format uses the inverted pyra-
mid. The most important key information
goes into the lead paragraphs.These include
the main "'S7s," the who, what, where and
when. The "\X/hy'' and "How' is often left
out for lack of spaceor inclination. News
media take the easyway out and reduce gov-
ernment coverageto low-level information
about a public official involved in an isolated
event, with little or no connection to the com-
prehensive system of governance. Context
reporting is something that many journalists
have to learn to make their articlesmore inter-
esting for their readers.
\7e presume that the media in providing
for news and information also educates. The
rationale for press freedom argues that con-
tinuing public education is important. It pro-
vides the meansfor people to continue to learn
about public matters that affect them. People
should know or have the right to know be-
causeit is through public enlightenment that
the population can be part of decision-mak-
ing and policy-formation and, when neces-
sary, cnange.
Again, the formats of news are not always
gearedfor education and learning. Ifwe ana-
lyze the effects of news criteria, it becomes
evident that "news" may have little significant
content in terms of learning. \Vhere the me-
dia are free and market-oriented, stories are
selectedand packaged for popular appeal.
V/hen government determineswhat the press
covers, then there is much that can be kept
from public knowledge. Increasingly,the news
cycle is designedfor short memory. Except in
time of crisis and turmoil, news stories lose
their appeal or currency after a period often
days. Media usually fail to follow-through
with consequencestories. Such treatment fails
to provide material that enablesthe public to
build up knowledge and understanding.
The news doesnot instruct in the sameway
astraditional teaching. News is usuallyframed
as a story. Increasingly,these stories come in
increasingly limited packages,short and ab-
breviated by force of limited time, spaceand
interest. News leave impressions, symbols,
images, sound-bytes or slogans. These are
processedby the public audienceaccording
to stereoqrpesthat have already taken hold in
the public mind.
Tiaditional stereorypesare difficult to break.
The durabiliry of racist prejudice is one exam-
ple; or the popular appeal of a public figure.
In Philippine political experience,so much in-
formation about a popular president'smiscon-
duct can have little effect on the bedrock of
support he or she enjoys in some sectorsof the
'Witness,
populace. the long standing loyalty
of some groups of Filipinos to the dead dicta-
tor Ferdinand Marcos and now to the very
much alive actor PresidentJosephEstrada.
The educationd impact of dre media must
therefore be supponed by other forms of edu-
cation and learning, provided by other institu-
tional resourcesthat have influence with the
populace. These include family, school and ed-
ucational system aswell as religious institutions
and civil societyorganizations. Iffor any reason,
these resourcesare weak, then the news media
cannot do much on their own. The media do
provide continuing public education; but if
these operate in a vacuum, then thesewill be
inadequate to the task. Media to be tnrly effec-
tive must be part of a learningsociery.
In times of crisis such as the outbreak of
epidemic disease,political turmoil, or envi-
ronmental calamiry the media can undertake
public education but they have to use special
formats that are designed for quick instruc-
tion or for in-depth understanding. For ex-
ample, graphs and illustrations can more quick-
ly describecomplex processesand data. Pub-
lic serviceannouncements can provide quick
instruction about avoiding diseaseor coping
with emergencies.Documentariescan more
effectively interpret complex social and polit-
ical problems.
Now that television and radio have demon-
strated their primacy over print in getting the
news first and fast, print media need to pro-
vide greater interpretation and analysis. The
newspaper audience makes up those groups
that have a greater interest in policy. They
generallyrepresentintereststhat wield greater
power and leadershipover public affairs.They
should have the meansof learning more about
critical issues and understanding better the
problems calling for solutions.
Nrws lNo cnnNcE
Academics provide us with normative con-
cepts of news. In his book, Media and Public
Poliry, editor Robert J. Spitzer gathersvarious
experts to discussthese models. Journalistic
practice validatesthe academicdiscussion,al-
though journalistsarenot necessarilyconscious
of thesenorms. (Most of the referencesin this
section were culled from the book.)
The most widely acceptednorm is the "mir-
ror model" which regards"news" asthe reflec-
tion ofthe realiry out there, or some aspectof
reality. The media simply "tell it like it is."
tVhile there are standardsor criteria that de-
termine what gets into the news, this concept
projects the journalist as a neutral and disin-
terestedobserver. Other models describe the
media as "conduits" of information and news
(Graber,1989). Describingthe sameneutral
character,the media is also describedas "neu-
tral transmitter" (Linsky, 1986).
The idea is the same. The meCiamake up a
neutral factor, not an activist element in the
course of events,
On another level, media'sweight gainswhen
seenas a "funnel regulating the flow of com-
munication benveen policymakers and oth-
ers in the political system." (Schattsneider,
1975). More recent theory projects the me-
dia asan actor in the policymaking process,as
planng a role in agenda setting. (Iyengar &
Kinder, 1987) (Kingdon, 1984)
The effect of media on politics and policy
varies. The news media can educatethe pub-
lic, facilitate the exchangeof ideasamong dif:
ferent actors, and organize the issuesand
project scenariosto prime the ground for public
acceptanceof certain policy options. (Haw-
thorne, 1994) In other words, the media can
play a role in promoting consensusin resolv-
ing problems and in bringing about change.
But collectively,the newsmedia createa mar-
ket of ideasand options. These may be oppos-
ing and contradictory in interest and intent.
The media reflect a strugglefrom within soci-
ery of opposingforcesand their interests.\Vhen
there is a polariry of positions, the media can
also become divided and unable to galvanize
political will to chooseone path for change.
There is another level of failure. The press
can sometimes miss out its option for bring-
ing about desired positive social and political
change. The framework of news is reactive. It
reports only what has happened. In its cur-
rent formats, newsstoriesareabout eventsthat
have occurred. It is seldom about ongoing
processor development. Often, even in reiat-
ing events, the pressfails to provide context,
perspectiveor background.
Thus, as the late Tarzie Vittachi pointed
out, the press missed out the story of global
environmental disasters,such as desertifica-
tion and deforestation,becausethesewere not
events. The presscould only report on these
conditions only when these could be made
tangible as crisis. fundamental quesdon as the fitness of a r::s;
The press is also oriented to covet events dent to govern, I doubt if it is possibler-o::,:
from the perspectiveof the "beat," the gov- pressto remain a neutrd player in *ris a';
ernment agenciesor buildings to which re- \7e are seeingonce again how crisis ttl::,e;
porters are assigned.The most "credendaled" out the best and worst in media. The pt:",l'=:
sourcesof news are public officials. By citing of the presslies in its speed,its immediao a::
the government position or statement as the its reach. Filipinos are finding that ther-a::
dominant perspective, the media legitimizes quite unable these days to stop watching a-.-:
what can be a lack ofaction or the failure of reading the news. Internet and telephone ie-r-
action. It has been pointed out that govern- ting puts any owner in touch with the end-
ments in many parts of the world are poorly Iessrun ofnews, ofgossip,ofjokes. The speed
equipped to respond to pressuresfor much of communication has made it possible to
needed change. quickly organizemassaction on the streetsand
If the pressis to become a reformer, then itdifferent kinds of discussion. TV and radio
has to be in touch with other initiators of constitute a constant stream of interactive ex-
change. Reportersmust include among its change. Individuals form their opinions and
sources those provocateurs of change, the call in and expresstheir ideas,forming their
members of civil sociery or in some casesthe judgment more quickly than pundits can pre-
alternative sources of power such as revolu- pare their copy for the next deadline.
tionary movements where ideas that change The live airing of the hearings on "jueten-
the world take seed. gate" (the illegal gambling scandalwhich im-
The speedand magnitude of modern com- plicated President Estrada) gave the public
munication confronts journalism and the accessto the sameinteiligence and at the same
media with an historic challenge. Technolory instant asthe public officials. It is in this man-
has revolutionized the means and arrange- ner that the judgment of President Estrada
ments for producing the news. Perhaps,it is has become a done deal with the critical mass
of Filipinos. And it is no longer Estradabut
time for the news processitself to submit itself
to re-invention and re-modeling to keep up the senatorswho are on trial during the pro-
with the needo[ rhe times. cessof impeachment. How well can they per-
form this task of judging the Presidentk fit-
THe clse tN THEPHTLTPPINES ness to rule and deciding the future of the
The current crisis in the Philippines pre- country?
sents another laboratory for studying demo- At the sametime, the media are also on trial
cratic change and the role that a free press as talk ofpayola and bribery raisequestions
plays in national reform. In the case of the about the agendaof somejournalists and news
demand for PresidentEstrada'sresignationand organizations.
impeachment, the media are definitely play- Hopefully, the forces for reform will win
ing a critical role, informing, educating and out as they did when People Power toppled
hopefuily promoting much needed change the Marcos dictatorshipin 1986. This time,
in the countryt political culture. we alsohope that the pressmedia in the after-
The media asa conduit of information trans- math of the crisis will do better in using their
mit the news coming from thosewho support freedom with greater senseof responsibiliry
the president and those who are asking for his applying the power of the media to inform,
resignation.The media reporr opposingmes- educateand reform Philippine sociery.
sages,servingaschannelsofthe struggleto oust
Estrada or those who want to retain him and
the statusquo. News organizationschoosetheir
anglesand their spin, indicating their own po-
sition about the crisis. The struggle reflects
basic and fundamental values. The pressmay
wish to provide a so-called "objective" "de-
tached" and balanced view. But on such a
Paying
thcPipen
ir ReuvRruRnsHro.Mnnvsn

l-= \'r.rR 2000 was annus nihilis for dot- Bangkok-based Southeast Asian Press Al- Of course, all this did wonders of pub-
: ::::: s'orldwide, but it provided a tremen- liance (SEAPA), which had provided licity for Malaysiahini. The website con-
:: -s shot in the arm for indeoendentMa- US$100,000 of Malaysiakini's srart-up tinues to draw hundreds of thousands of
i = . a ni o u r n a l i s m- i f s o m e t h i n go f a s l a p capital. readers(a claimed 130,000 per day), and
- :he face of its establishment counter- As the OSI is a project of the American e a r l i e r s ec u r e d a n o t h e r U S $ 5 0 0 , 0 0 0 i n
::::. financier George Soros, regarded in influ- funding, which should be enough for its
. l a l a v s i a ' cs o n t r o l l e d m a i n s r r e a mn e w s ential local sectorsas the arch-fiend behind next two years of operations.Advertising
-.=jia saw their hegemony assailedby mav- the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis, this reve- revenue, a trickle at present, is expected to
::.;ks on the unlicensedInternet. Nation- lation laid Malaysiahini open to siege.The grow threefold in that time - unless ad-
r, .liscourse,long constrained,rapidly ex- website had already raised eyebrowsby fea- vertisers shy away from a sire non grata to
: ;::Jed. Anti-establishmento , pposition- turing the critical commentary of John the government. (The Opposition web-
;:. dissenting or otherwise "alternative" Mallott, a former United StatesAmbassa- site Harakahdaily.com, however, has man-
.:r'points were presented and heard as dor to Malaysia, aswell as US embassyban- aged to hold its own in this respect.)
-,".'er before - if, as before, from beyond ner advertising. Significantly, there seems no official
of official licensing and accredita- Malaysiahini was suddenly on the front move to 6an Malaysiakini outright - the
,t',.tltt pages and the evening news as a stooge of implicitly more immediate threat is the
?re-eminentamong thesenew web jour- foreign manipulation. The website's re- srrenuousprosecutionofsuits againstdef-
:.:ls rvasMalaysiakini.com, which went on- porters were barred from official events. amation, iibel or sedition, should there be
.:re in November 1999 promising inde- Reporters and photographers from the justification for such. But then, the cen-
::ndent and professionaljournalism. Bare-
'; had Malaysiakini (MaIaysia Today) cel-
=irated its first anniversary last Novem- ii li$l$r.,
:er. however, when it found itself toe-to- .ri "
:oe and at daggers drawn with the Estab- i rl"' jti
-ishment. Ironically, the issue that finally
-:recipitated the long-anticipated show-
..own was not primarily journalism, but
rt?'\ |
r'-F,,.
rational sovereignty.
,\falaysiabini had had a terrific first year.
irs radical brand of alternativejournalism
had won it a large and appreciative audi-
ence. It received the International Press
Freedom Award, among many other acco-
lades. Under editor Steven Gan and CEO
Premesh Chandran, the website became a
leading source of alternative information
on Malaysia, and a principal forum for dis-
sent against the policies and administra- major dailies and the national news agen- tral issue in this is not press freedom but
rion of Dr. Mahathir Mohamad. cy descended on their offices in a suburb indeed the opposite: its sponsorship. (As
of Kuala Lumpur, seeking statements on though to underscore that point, the Ma-
MRmystnrcNtcoEs rHE DtsrANcE the controversy. They were fended off by laysian Ministry of Home Affairs on Feb.
The authorities' initial response was to the website's stiff, who were unprepared 15, at the height of this kerfuffle, granted
ignore it. Indeed, the year 2000 proved for such a confrontation, and asked to sub- a newsletter publishing license to the Peo-
an all-too-brief interlude of ootimism for m i t t h e i r q u e s r i o n si n w r i r i n g . ples' Party (Parti Rakyat Malaysia, PRM),
legions oF hopeful new "e-preneurs",and Veteran newsman Zainuddin Maidin, in responseto an application filed nearly a
there was little reason to believe Malaysia- erstwhile editor-in-chief of the LJtusan year before.)
hini, even with its growing impact and Group and now Parliamentary Secretary The Malaysiakini controversy therefore
readership, could go the distance as an un- to the Ministry of Information, was the goes much deeper than a local spat over
supported business. government's point-man in this little skir- contentious journalism, and mainlines into
But therein lay the kernel of the current mish. He engaged the website in a prickly matters of globalization and sovereignty.
controversy.A February 1 story in the Far dance ofprocedures, insisting that the sanc- As regards the fitful evolution of the Ma-
EasternEconomicReaiewattributed oart of tion against Malaysiakini was strictly in laysian press, the plot has thickened.
Malaysiakini! funding to the Open Soci- a c c o r d a n c ew i t h r e g u l a r i o n sr e c o g n i z i n g
ety Institute. via OSI contributions to the onlv accreditediournalists.
$EAPA
denie$
being
lunded
Iy U.s T
finanGrcF
$oFO$
Tur SourHeesr Asian PressAlliance (SEA-
PA) has clarified its relationship with online
news source Malaysiahini.com following a
Far Eastern Economic Reuiew (FEER) report
that George Soros, an American financier
believed to be responsible for the wave of
speculation on Asian currencies that led to
the 1997 economic crisis, funds the Malay-
sian news portal.
In a statement issued February 4, SEAPA
said it "has [only] helped raise startup and
operating capital for Malaysiakini." It has
assistedthe news oortal since December
1999 as part of an effort to promote the
development of Independent media in
SoutheastAsia, SEAPA added.
The statement was signed by SEAPA di-
rectors Kavi Chongkittavorn of the Thai
JournalistsAssociation, who is also SEAPA
chair; Lukas Luwarso, International Affairs
Director of the Alliance of IndependentJour-
nalists of Indonesia; Andreas Harsono, Sec-
retary General of the Institute for Studies
on the Free Flow of Information of Indone-
sia; Melinda Quintos De Jesusof the Cen-
ter for Media Freedom and Responsibility
of the Philippines; and Sheila S. Coronel of
the Philippine Center for InvestigativeJour-
nalism.
No OSIruxos
"To be very clear: None of the funds that
SEAPA has provided to Malaysiakini comes
directly or indirectly from the [Open Soci-
ety Institute] or George Soros," the SEAPA
statement said.
Earlier, the FEER, in the article "Leveling
the Field" cover-dated February 8, report-
ed that Malaysiakini receives funding from
Soro's Open Society Institute. It has since
ran a clarification on its website saying "the
Prffis,&l{$mr*e
$*utheestAs*mm
Open Society funds the Bangkok-based Chandran said Malaysiakini's funding,
[SEAPA], one source of funding for the which came from different sources,includ-
Malaysiakini.com." ed capital investments from its founders,
FEER's clarification implies thar. Malay- advertising revenuesand a grant from SEA'
siahini indirectly receivesfunding from the PA.
OSI through SEAPA. The clarification, ac- The Malaysian ruling party UMNO,
cording to SEAPA, is misleading. through its Vice PresidentTan Sri Muham-
SEAPA maintains that the funding it re- mad Muhammad Taib, earlier said that if
ceived from the OSI was used to pay a con- true, Soros' funding of Malaysiakini would
sultant's fees and for the administrative re- "reoresenta direct form of intervention in
quirements of running the organization's IMalaysias] affairs."
Bangkok office. Echoing Mr. Taib's views, UMNO Su-
"OSI...gave a grant to support the work preme Council member Datuk Ahmad Za-
of a project consultant from the U.S.-based hid Hamidi said that news providers should
Committee to Protect Journalists to work nor have links wirh Foreignorganizations
with SEAPA for 24 months ending in May. becauseit would affect their independence.
This is the only support that SEAPA has "\7e must not be indebted to those who
receivedfrom OSI...,'l SEAPA said. harbor agendas,"Mr. Hamidi said.
The statement added that SEAPA gets
funding from various sources. RrpoRrERsBARRED
Malaysiakini is a popular internet site in
CoNsonrtuv oF DoNoRs Malaysia,where governmentexercises strict
'As
an alliance of Southeast Asian press control over massmedia. Last week Malay-
advocacy organizations, SEAPA receives siakini editors revealed that its reporters had
support from a consortium of donors that been barred from some government press
i n c l u d e s , a m o n g o t h e r s , U N E S C O a n d conferences,and were likely to face the same
UNDP. Its member organizationsare rec- difficulties in the future.
ognized throughout the region for their in- Malaysiakini editor and co-founder Steve
dependenceand commitment to pressfree- Gan was quoted by the AssociatedPress
dom. SEAPA supports Malaysiakini as part (AP) as saying that the banning of their re-
of a regional effort to promote plurality and porters in governmentfunctions was an ar-
opennessin the SoutheastAsian media." temDt to censor the site and curb criticism
Meanwhile, Mr Premesh Chandran, Ma- of th. gorr..rr-.rrt.
laysiakini's chief executive officer, denied "The government is wary of our journal-
in a Straits Times report that the news por- ists going to functions and daring to ask
tal gets any funding from Soros. tough questions," Gan said in an interview
"L{alaysiakini was prepared to publicly with AP.
declare details of its income to show that "'We are going to test boundaries on this
'not
a single cent comes from the Open one and continue attending government
Society Fund,"' the report said, quoting functions," he said. "They will have to kick
Chandran. us out." Ederic PefiaflorEder
t
t
Az55-yeaF-old
dneam
By ArvnrcusuMAHAsrmRrvRDJA,INDoNESTA

Frr"auv,InooNr:rn s pariiament (DPR) haspassed Yunus has followed the footstepsof the first faced by South Sumatra only. It is a problem
-Jrenew pressbill into law. For Indonesianjour- information minister, Amir Sjarifuddin, who that hasconfronted many other placesin Indo-
nalists,it isthe reahzationofa255-year-olddream. declaredupon his installation that "the pressmust nesiasincethe fall of the Suharto regime.
The first newspaperappearedin Indonesia on be free [because]a presswhich is not free cannot Demonstrators in severalcities have forced
{ugust 7, 1744.) Once ratified by the President expressthe public view but only the views of radio stations,television stations,and newspa-
ar-rdenactedby the Minister of StateSecretary, peoplein power." per editors to broadcastor print their political
rhat dream- sponsoredby Dr. BachtiarAly of That was in 1945, upon d'reproclamation of statements. Some of the massmedia immedi-
rhe ruling Golkar Party - will haveftiliy come the Indonesian Republic. Dreams dont come atelymet the demand without consideringtheir
Irue. true that quickly in Indonesia.But the new press professionaland editorial independence.Secu-
"lt is time dre pressis freed from the feeling of law shows that they eventually do. riry people have beaten journalists covering
uncertainry freedfi'om feal and the trauma of the tWlhenthe drafters of the new Pressl,aw were student demonstrationsand damaged the
past,when the presstright of existenceseemedto deliberatingthe bill in Commission I of Parlia- equipment theywere carryingwith them. The
depend merely on the kindnessof the Govern- ment (Dewan Perwakilttn Rafoiat, DPR),I read officesof the daily SuaraTimor Timur (TheYoice
ment," declaredDr. Aly in his sponsorship speech. with sorrowcomplaintsofa pressworkshopcom- of East Timor) in Dili was also ransackedand
Under the new law a violator goesto prison for mittee in Palembang(SouthSumatra).The com- destroyedby a group ofyouths. Some 35 jour-
rwo yearsat the ma,ximum or is fined asmuch as plaint was inciuded in the "Program'sTerms of nalists in severalplaceswere terrorized or in-
Rp500 miliion. Two provisionsare most signifi- Reference"of the workshoo on Post-Election jured. This figure increasedsharply after the
cant (1) "Towarclsthe national plessthereshallbe News Coverage,organizedty rhe Institute of East Timor referendumof August 30, 1999.
no censorship,banningor prohibitior.rto publish Infolmation An alysis(L embagaAn ali sis I nfoma - Two journalists have also been killed in Aceh
or broadcast.(2) Tb guaranteepressfreedom, the si, Essai)and the Alliance oflndependent Jour- (northern Sumatra).
rrationalpresshasthe right to look for, acquireand nalists (Aliansi Jurnalis Indzpendez,AJI) Palem- The journalists'experiencesseem to have
disseminateideasand information." The latter bang Bureau. encouragedthe Regional Delegation of the In-
reminds us that many dernocraticcountriesal- The programt referencesaid: rernationalCommittee of the Red Crossin In-
readyhave freedom of information acts,br"rtthat "Prior to the generalelection(the first election donesiato supportthreeseminarson "Protec-
in Indonesiafreedomof informatior-r would apply sincethe New Order, June7,1999) until the tion oFJournalistsAgainst Violence" since the
ro everycitizrn, not only to the media. post-election,it seemsthat the pressin several middle of 1999 until the middle of 2000. T'he
In the newlaw, the term "press"doesnot refer regionshasnot indicatedany positivechangesas seminarstook placeat Gadjah Mada Universi-
only to the print rnedia; it also coversthe elec- a presson the sideof democracyin terms of its ry Yograkarta(Central Java)and the Universi-
tronic media (radioancltelevision)"and all kinds independenceand professionalism. ry of Syiah Kuala, Bandaaceh(Aceh). In Jakar-
of availablechannels." That would make inci- "On the other hand, somepartsof our public ta, the workshop was conducted by the Indo-
'awakened'
dentsiike the policet summoningANTeve jour- which have just from the domina- n e s i a n P r e s sa n d B r o a d c a s tC o m m u n i t y
nalistsobsoleteand anachronistic.Bachtiar,news tion of the New Order regime, have not said (Masyarakat Pers dan Penyiaran Indonesia,
editor ofANTeve, on Sept.6 wasquestionedby anlthing positiveon the role of the press. Some MPPI) togetherwith the Dr. Soetomo Press
rhepolice "asawitnessin a criminal casefor broad- still seethe pressas a tool of power.Therefore, Institute (LembagaPersDr. Soetomo,LPDS).
castingrnaterialsconsideredincitilrg, provoking they take the position that the pressis nothing The seminar in Jakarta stated in its recom-
and or could be reasonablyexpectedto be dis- more than a tool or the trumpet of ,restedinter- mendationon May 11, that:
rurbing the union and the unity of the nation." esm.That is why thosewhl feel agriwed com- "Basically,pressfreedomrequiresnot only free-
The police summonswere triggeredby an AN- mitted actsof violenceand intimidation against dom from licensing, censorship,and closure,
Teve.interviewwith the military commanderof the oress. but should also protect journalists from pres-
the FreeAceh Movement on Aue. 23. "Th. p..r, that hasimplementedchangesalso sures,threats,the use offorce, torture, murder,
suffered similar problems. They too suffered or even enticement by anyone including gov-
INTOANEWERA from the intimidation of thosewho had bene- ernment and securiry personnel in acquiring
So long as it is not supersededby other laws, fited during the New Order. As an example,in and disseminatinginformation that is objec-
suchasthe Bill on OvercomingDangerousSitua- South Sumatra, the daily Sriwtjaya Post was tive, fair, clear,credible and accountablein the
tions (the SecurityBill) now being deliberatedin terrorized by the United Development Party interest of the public.
Parliament, the new presslaw should launch the (PartaiPersatuanPembangunan,PPP) during the "Considering that independent writing is in
Indonesiannews media into a wholly new era- last election campaign, becausethe paper was the interestof the public, it is impossiblefor the
one delayedby Dutch and Japanesecolonization reporting the facts. This was also the experience non-freepressto be ableto reflectpublic aspira-
and native authoritarian regimes. of PalembangPoswhen it was occupied by a tions and it will alsobe impossibleto channelor
The new law was possiblebecauseof radical group ofstudent activists- who, throughout to support the formation of a democratic gov-
changesin the thinking of Indonesian power- this time were siding with those in power - ernment."
holders. Information Minister Muhammand becausethe paper'sreportswere basedon facts."
Yunusis one of the boldestof them all. He wants onrevs
CrruruRv-oro
"to expand pressfreedom and provide protec- PRogLeMsAFfenrHE FALL The journalistsconcernedunderlined various
tion to the press,so that journalistswill no longer The incidents described in the workshop effortsto seek a solution for the probiemssince
be treatedascriminals." committee's notes are certainlv not a oroblem I 998, ar leastin Jakana.Effonsro brineabo:r
:d ::ir,:z;B']l ,r dl€ dreams of journalists and by MPPI as a reference and comparison to acquire, possess,keep, processand passinfor-
;rss ryr in Indonesiawhich havebeen complete this law. MPPI is an associationof madon by using all kinds of existing channels.
r::xi rir *:nres of years, or even hundreds of pressfreedom advocatesestablishedin Jakana . Part X: Protection and Advancement
r:;r. ,hould bear fruit. Those dreams include in September,1998. . Article42 The rights of citizens to commu-
&e der-elopmentof a free pressin the midst of MMPI activistscomprise media practitioners nicate and receiveinformation is guaranteedand
democratic relations acknowledged not merely and observersaswell aslegal and masscommu- orotected.
as de facto, but also asde jure. There should be nication expertsfrom Jakarta, Ujungpandang Pressfreedomin a democraticcountry is basi-
both legal guarantees as well as constitutional (South Sulawesi) and Bandung (W'estJava). cally part of the communiryk right to free ex-
protection to enablethe pressto carry out its real The media practitionersarenot only from print pression. Therefore, initiatives to establishnews-
functions in a democratic nation and society. media, but alsofrom televisionand radio. papersor other media areamong the basicrigha
The reasonis very basic. Pres freedom must be The initial MPPI workbegan prior to the MPR of citizens to make their voices heard. The
for the sakeof public freedom to acquireinforma- (Peoplet Consultative Assembly) SpecialSession rights of every citizen, not only the rights of
tion aswidely aspossible. At the sametime, it is on November10-13, 1998. The MPR session journalistsor pressmedia people,are of course
alsofor the salreofpublic freedom to usethe press was noted in Indonesian presshistory asthe ini- also guaranteed. That is why the press is re-
asan instrument to disseminatetheir views. Press tiator of the first great work in the pressin over sponsibleto the community, at leastto readers,
freedom also includes the oublic's freedom to 255 yearc,and as a monumental work that can listenersand viewersof eachmedium. It is *re
choosethe newspapersthey prefer, according ro guaranteepressfreedom in Indonesia. But the people who can decide the rise and fall of the
their interestsand their aspirations. proposed resolution to MPR from MPPI ran media.
Therefore, it is very reasonablefor the new aground in that session.
presslaw, which has passedby parliament, to The proposedresolutionabout the MPR De- Ar rHe HEART oF FREEDoM
include an anicle which makes it punishable for creeon "Information and Communication Free- UNESCO, when commemorating \World
up to tlvo years' imprisonment or a fine of a dom through Mass Media" receivedfull sup- PressFreedom Day on May 3,2000, remind-
maximum Rp500 million to anyonewho dis- ed everyonethat "Pressfreedom is the heart of
urbs, prevents,or obstructs pressfreedom. freedom of expressionand without a free and
Both the Government and the political panies indeoendent media there shall be no democra-
in Parliament alsoagreedto expand the meaning cy." \When\WoridPressFreedomDaywas com-
'press."
of the word A pressproduct doesnot memorated,saysUNESCO, the commemora-
only apply to print mediabut alsoto journalistic tion was not merely for presspeople, but for
works in the electronicmedia,suchasradio broad- wery citizen in every country.
castand televisionaswell assimilar media. In the Similarly imponant is that pressfreedom can
United States,for example, the meaning of the enabiethe public to understand the meaning of
term "press" has been extended in that sense different views,indeedevenifthese be conflict-
since 7947. At that time iournalistic activities ing, so that peopleneednot resortto violence.
had widened from print media to radio broad- Freedom also means establishinga greater re-
cast and later to the newly dweloped television sponsibiliry. Only an individual is free who can
broadcast. Today, journalistic works have also port only from the United Development (Is- take action that is accountable,said psychologist
penetrated the Internet. lamic) Faction.It was the only faction that pro- B.F.Skinner. The responsibilities of peoplewho
Pressfreedom in Indonesia today not only ap- posed the draft during a general overview of are not free can only be guaranteed by those
plies to print media people, but also to those inthe MPR sessionon November 11, 1998. who do not give them freedom.
radio and telwision, who were previously not The proposeddecree,after being modified at So, how can we achieve and protect press
protected by the existing Broadcastlaw. Their the suggestionby the United DevelopmentFac- freedom?One of the important answersto that
freedom was not orotected either in the Bill on tion, stated: question is the effort to developpressand jour-
'Article
Broadcast,the draft ofwhich had been complet- 1: The stateguaranteesthe rights of nalistic professionalismand to hold firm to the
ed by the Department of Information. the citizen to communicate and acquire infor- journalism code of ethics or press ethics as a
The initial draft of the new or€sslawwas sub- mation through the massmedia. moral guide.
mitted by fie Depanmenroilnformarion and "Article 2: All forms of laws and regulations Professionalismis not merely the abiliry to ob-
was deiiberated on for 13 days, betweenAugust in the field of the press shall not limit press serve existing and universal standardsin the
20 and September9,2000. freedom. writing and presentationof journalistic works,
"futicle 3: (This Decree) assignsthe Presi- but alsothe ability to understand clearlythe tasla
A Lecnl vnsrenprece dent of the Republic of Indonesiato make law, of the press asbasically its devotion to the inter-
This law, passedby Parliament during its frrll which guaranteesthe rights of the sociery to est of the pubiic, and to firmly differentiateit
sessionon September11, is expectedto become communicateand acquireinformation through from other activities that only lower the integrity
a legal product which wili protect press free- the massmedia." and the statusofjournalists and ofthe press.
Jo*. Dr. B..htiar Aly r:his law to Aldrough the proposed decreeran aground, Dr. IgnasKleden, a sociologistftom deeUniver-
"*p""ted
become a masterpiece-the greatestwork on the special sessionof the MPR had accepted siry of Indonesia, once said that press freedom
the pressin the 255 year history of the pressin parts of another proposalfrom MPPI to be in- dependson how far those in power respectthe
Indonesia, since the first newspaper(the weekly ciuded into the MPR Decree#1717998 about press.The greaterthe respectof the power holders
BanuiascheNouuellesen Politique Raisonnement- Human Rights. for the press,the more reluctant they will be to
az, News and political Reasoningof Batavia)was This MMPI proposalwas accommodatedin: take repressiveactions againstthe press. But the
published in Batavia (Jakarta) on August 7, . Part M: Rights on Freedom of Information lower their respectfor the press,the easierthey can
1744. . Article 20: Every person has the right to take repressiveaction againstthe press.In his view
The Parliamentary parties and the Govern- communicate and receiveinformation to de- professionalismwill raisethe stature of a profes-
ment not only deliberated on the Press Bill velop him/herself personallyand his/her social sional, becausehis/her integrity is assumedby all
submitted by the Department of Information, environment. panies, and by both the pubiic and the political
but also used articles in the PressBill drafted . Article 2 1: Every person is entitled to seek, authorities.

lUew
media
andold
inEDSA
ll
87 LutsV. Teooono, PurLreerNESpractidoners were for the most part firnctioning
IN'rur ylan 2000 and from lanwary 16-20,2001,
hundreds of thousands of Filipinos communicar-
ed with each other via text. But they communi-
cated through that medium what they had seen
on television and read in some of the newspapers.
Although a phenomenon in itself, text messaging
during People Power II should be regarded as indi-
visibly joined with television and the print media.
Text messaging of course also spread rumors rap-
idly. But it was the media, particularly telwision,
which either confirmed or denied those rumors.
Beyond that, the text messagers,mosr of them
young and hip to the new technologies, also had
the Internet, where some 20 websites and several
e-groups devoted to the ousrer ofJoseph Estrada
had been constructed by outraged individuals even
before jueteng-gate.
Those websites were in addition to the online
editions of newspapers like Todal and the Philip-
pine Daily Inquirer, the websites of online maga-
zines like C1berD1aryo,or those of militanr groups
like Bayan and the NGOs. The anti-Esrrada web-
sites and e-groups were construcred by unaffiliat-
ed individuals or groups to help meet the informa,
tion needs of the moment.
The egroups that are still around, like elagda,
are transforming themselves into government
watchdogs to insure good government. They're
part of the vast movement in civil sociery thatt
sick ofcorruption and incompetence, and its role
in the impoverishment of the country. Although
only one-half percent of the population is online,
the influence of this part of the anti-corruption
movement was far-reaching becauseof people they
reached-mostlyyoung, professional,and simmer-
ing with disgust for the corruption and misman-
agement that has characterized not only the Es-
trada government but every other government
theyve ever known. The campaign against Estra-
da was the defining moment of the critical middle
class;it will never be silenr again.
The role oF rhe "old media"-TV, radio and
print-should not be minimized, however.
As in the 1986 people power revolt which oust-
ed Ferdinand E. Marcos, "old media' played an
important role in the year 2001 people power
uprising.
Unlike in 1986, in 2001 the Philippine mass
media were not under government regulation. In
calling the people out ro rhe streers,in 1986 the
anti-dictatorship media put themselves at risk from
a number of repressivelaws that in the name of
saGguarding national securiry were meanr ro in-
hibit them from reporting an1'thing that could be
perceived as anti-government. In 2001, however,
despite the absenceofgovernment regulation, the
dissemination of relevant and accurate informa-
tion was still problematic for a number of reasons.
Among the reasonswere some media practitio-
ners themselves. Because of the government's sys-
tematic efforts at the corruption of media, these
as
government public relations people and not as
journalists.
In the year 2000 it was evident that the Estrada
government had a veritable horde of media practi-
tioners from print and broadcasting in its pocket.
One of the most interesting revelations of the
jueteng Senate hearings in October 2000 and the
Estrada impeachment trial that followed was the
systematic corruption of the media, probablywith
the use of jueteng money.
THnEnrs FRoMGovERNMENT
The Estrada government had also tried to as-
sure favorable coveragethrough the acquisition by
close Estrada friends of newspapers, and through
pressureson individual newspapersthrough an ad-
vertising boycott as well as threats ofgovernment
tax audits. The transler of ownership of newspa-
pers like the Manila Times; the publication of oth-
ers under the ownership ofEstrada associates;and
the advertising boycott ofthe Inquirer had led by
the latter part of2000 to reports ofprior- as well
as selFcensorsbip, and thus to the constriction of
the democratic space for critical comment and
investigative reports.
Media practitioners shared some of the respon-
sibiliry for that state of affairs, with some editors
choosing to toe the administration line, yielding
to the pressureof advertisersclose to Malacafiang,
and shaping their reporting according to theirBer-
sonal and corporate interests.
But a number ofrank-and-filejournalists and even
an editor or two were also courageous enough to
resist the pressuresthat were being brought to bear
upon them, and even to de$, editors and owners
when necessaryfor the sake of the people's right to
information. It was thesejournalists who made pos,
sible even in the Fstrada crony papers coverage of
such issuesas the corruption charges against Mr.
Estrada, and the conduct of his Mindanao policy,
specially the military assaulton the southern Phil-
ippine island ofJolo in September 2000.
Estradat impeachment brought t-hepolarization
of the media into the front pages-it was evident
in press reponing and comment, from the trans-
mittal by the House of Representarivesof the im-
peachment articles to the Senate, untii the im-
peachment trial ended on January 16, 2001 with
the Senatevote which suppressedwidence against
Estrada. In a number of instances the polarization
led to almost daily skirmishes over what events
ffigrqmx**rgm.*'
should be covered and how between reporters and
decision- makers in the newsrooms of both print
as well as broadcast media.
Despite this polarization, however, that the me-
dia were not under government regulation and
were legally free permitted the rapid dissemina-
tion of information on the charges against Mr.
Estrada as well as on the impeachmenr process
.itself.Though polarized, and in general reflecting
the biasesof their ownerships, the newspapers in
Manila, for example, had to provide their readers
with day- to- day accounts of events both as a
matter of duty as well as of competitiveness. Ex-
cept for one or two Manila newspapers, out of
professional pride aswell asmarketabiliry, the press
could not suppressessential information. The bi-
ases of owners and individual practitioners thus
found expressionmostly in the sectionswhere they
properly belong-in the opinion and editorial
pages.
The newspaper accounts enabled readers to weigh
the evidence as it was presented, in the process
empowering them to make a choice not only as to
what they would believe, but also what newspapers
they should read. In this process the crony newspa-
pers were eventually the biggest losers, with the
independent press,including newco mer Pinoy Times
(which was lounded only in 1999) emerging as the
winners in terms of readership.
CRrrcnl MEDTUM
But it was television which may have been the
most crucial medium o[ citizen information and
opinion-formation during the political crisis. Be-
causeof the live, six hours daily, five times a week
coverageof the impeachment proceedings-a cov-
eragewhich did not permit slanted editing and the
intervention of practitioner and necwork biases-
millions of citizens all over the country were able
to arrive at a reasoned judgment on the charges
against Estrada without the disadvantage ofthose
biases.
By simply being focused on the Senateproceed-
ings, the television cameras brought into thou-
sands ofhouseholds the images ofarrogance, ab-
surdiry dishonesty and partisanship- as well as
of honesty, integrity and courage-generated by
the impeachment trial Those images were vividly
in the minds of the crowds at EDSA-and were
accordingly replicated in their often-makeshift
posters and streamers.
Almost despite themselves, and together with
the "new media," the old media of print and tele-
vision provided much of the information that
heiped remove Estrada, and incidentally install
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. But they also did some-
thing more-they focused atention on the irn-
perative ofhonest and competent governance. For
some practitioners the political crisis was also a
chance to examine themselves as well as the media
professions. People Power II has given both gover-
nance ald the media an opportunity for renewal.
But dont hold your breath. Opportunities like
these have been squandered often in the Philip-
pines. EDSA 1986 was.
Wffiwffi ffiwwwffiwreW
ffim*ffiww
87 Vencel o. Snrutos,PsrlrpprNrs
Ir ell began forgivably giddily. In time,
so the prediction went, the Philippine
media would get over their exuberance
over the freedom they regained after the
dictator had been driven out of oower
a n d a c r o s st h e o c e a n t o A m e r i c a n e x i l e ,
and they would check themselves.
Accordingly, allowances were made to
the media for returning with a ven-
geance.After ail, just liberated from those
dark years, the society was only too eager
to be reassured,and what better reassur-
ance than a blooming of free media, no
matter if they came in numbers too ri-
diculous not only to sustain economical-
ly but to staff professionaily.
But it has been 14 years! The guy who
walked around in 1986 wearing a plac-
ard prophesying doom is still on his feet
and is unlikely to go away fulfilied with-
in the near term.
'W'hoever
predicted that the media
would set themselves right perforce ap-
p a r e n t l y u n d e r e s t i m a t e dt h e u n s e e n
hand that drove the business-and con-
tinues to do so. It is not the leveling
hand of the market either, but the hand
that derives its power from big business
and politics and its inspiration from the
notion that media are strategicto the pres-
ervation of that power. That should ex-
plain much about the state of the media
rooay.
PnraoNlcE BYsPEctAL tNTERESTs
Many of them are known, if not actu-
a l l y s e e n , t o b e s u b s i d i z e db y s p e c i a l
i n t e r e s tg r o u p s . I t w o u l d n o t b e s o o b -
jectionable if these patrons revealed
themselvesin the interest of open plu-
ralism, but then that would defeat
their very reason for staying invisible.
Unlike the regular market, which is
regulated by laws that require a prod-
uct and its makers to reveal enough
about themselves,thus enabling the
consumer to make a reasonable
choice, the media market allows just
about anything to compete on it
free-wheelingly, that is to say, even
under false pretenses;it is left
to turn on the lopsided re-
lationship betweensell-
ers who may-and
d9-1s5s11 to
--:^l-^--- ^-J ^^
LrrLKsr)r' drlq )E-
\
crecy, an(l Duy-
e r s w h o m u s r r e l y o n r h e i r a s t u t e n e s sa t
reading subtexts. It, therefore, becomes
a perfect filed for players who reckon
profit not so much in money asin ascen-
dancy, influence, and power. tVhich an-
swers the question why some media per-
s i s t i n t h e b u s i n e s sd e s p i t e t h e i r d e s p e r -
ate economics.
At most only four of the nearly a dozen
s u p p o s e d l ys e r i o u sn a t i o n a i d a i l i e s ( n o r -
mally distinguished from the tabloid by
their twice-biggerpage size, and hence
called broadsheets;their more numerous
pages and their wider-ranging interests)
and probably only two of the six nation-
al television stations make a profit; the
p r o s p e c t sa r e m o s t p r o b a b l y w o r s e . O b -
viousln a broadsheetcosts much more to
p r o d u c e t h a n a t a b l o i d . I t r e q u i r e sa b i g -
ger, higher-skilled editorial staff, for one
rhing. In fact. every requirementFor
b r o a d s h e e pt u b l i s h i n g i s p r o p o r t i o n a r e -
ly enlarged. Naturally, the broadsheets
are priced higher, but even at double or
triple the tabloid price, they are able to
recover only a fraction of their costs from
copy sales. Their hope lies in advertis-
ing, but there's little of it to go around,
and, with the growing attractivenessof
television and other electronic media to
advertisers,there will be even less. The
losers among them are modestly estimat-
ed to be hemorrhaging at a rate ofat least
P25 million a year.
P25 mnlroN HEMoRRHAGE
On the other hand, the tabloids, be-
c a u s eo f t h e i r v i s c e r a l a p p e a l , a c q u i r e d
through sensationalism,and although
generally unattractive to advertisers,turn
a profit on sales,which account for more
than half the industry total, volume-
wise. But then they hardly qualify as
newspapersby the quintessential defini-
tion-they are a factory product, not a
oublic trust.
For the broadcast media, the situation
is in a sense no different. For those
that make money, it is made on en-
tertainment scarcelyon news.
If the media owners didn't
t h e m s e l v e sc a r e - a n d a p p a r -
ently they didn't if they made
money or not-then why
should anyone eise care?
That would be fine if the
media were just like any oth-
er business. As it happens, a democratic
society,such as we call ourselves,puts in
them a specially delicate responsibility.
The internationally respectededitor
Harold Evans gives a definition that hap-
pens to strike at the heart of the Philip-
^i-- -.^-ti^-.
"The pressis a frail vesselfor the hopes
it is meant to bear. The best that it can
do can never be quite good enough to
illuminate... the'invisible environment,'
the complexity of forces and agencieswe
cannot monitor for ourselves,but which
affect all our lives. A free, cultivated...
resourcefuland honest presscan only try,
and if we ever get one it will be interest-
ing to seewhat it achieves. In the mean-
time, the nature of the two distinct ar-
eas of restraint is central to our under-
standing. The first is external; the accu'
mulation of laws and convention which
l i m i t a n d p u n i s h f r e ei n q u i r y . . . . T h e s e c -
ond is internal: the vulnerability of an
editor to a proprietor, the resourcesavail-
able for serious journalism, and the uni-
ty and purpose of the staff.
"rWithout internal freedom there is
tle hope of producing a newspaper
quality and none at all ofchallenging
external restraints."
Those words first appeared when the
p r e e m i n e n c eo f t h e p r e s s h a d n o t b e e n
challenged yet by other media, and long
before the dawning of the Information
Age. Not that they have become outdar-
ed principles - principles don't become
outdated, only practices do.
And practicesindeed have to change in
this age, one in which territorial barriers
are being swept away by the inexorable
twin waves of politico-economic liberal-
ization, which provides the license, and
technology,which provides the tools. Its
exponents are rhe Internet, that single
global market of information to which
anyone can contribute ("upload") and
from which anyone can take ("down-
load"), and satellite television,which fills
the air with a babble of tongues. (Phil-
ippine television now speaksBritish and
Australian-apart from the long-famil-
iar American-Russian, French, Chinese,
Indian, Japanese,and, of course,ASEAN
most if not at all hours.)
I n t h i s i n c r e a s i n g l yo p e n e n v i r o n m e n t ,
information is flying acrossthe world so
fast and thick, makins senseof it has be-
come a nightmare, and Philippine jour- nalism, but these are mostly institution-
nalism, as it is hardly as "free, cultivated, al, not in-house, and dependent chiefly
resourceful and honest" as is required of on grant, therefore, limited. Moreover,
it, is caught ill-equipped to provide a de- with owners who regard media more as
'in-
cent degree of illumination on "the an instrument of power than as a busi-
visible government,' the complexity of ness or profession, it is doubtful wheth-
forces which affect all our lives." er the most reasonableprofessional and
could bring them
il5;;:sumenrs
T h e q u e s t i o ni s , H o w L o n gc a n t h e m e -
dia go on like this? The situation is cle-
cidedly bleaker and more expensive for
t h e p r e s s ,w h i c h i s b e i n g p u s h e d o u t o f
the market by its quickel and glitzier elec-
t r o n i c c o u n t e r p a r t . I t n e e d st o r e o l : i e n t ,
perhaps even reinvent, itself to fincl its
new Dlace in the sun.
f i t t t .
I h e b r o a d c a s jt o u r r r a l i s tm a y b c , r b l c
t o g e t b y w i t h d o i n g l e s s ,g i v e n t h e p o p -
ular readinessto understand the natural
limitations of their media and Forgive
them for their superficiality. But not the
print journalist. His media have always
been regarded as the serious media, the
sanctifying media. They are expected to
provide a refuge of enlightenment for
their audiencesfrom the information del-
uge of the age.
For the print journalist, news has come
to take on a new and deeper meaning. It
In fact, Philippine.journalism has come no longer suffices that he supply the five
under all sorts of criticism and accusa- \7s (what, who, where, when, why and
t i o n - c o r r u p t , b i a s e d , s e n s a t i o n a l i s t , how) of an event; he should now be able
t a s t e l e s s ,p r o f i t - h u n g r y , i n c o m p e t e n t , to answer the question, "So what?" In
graceless,ungrammatical and so on. As other words, he must be capable of go-
surely as one can find instancesin point, ing beyond the realm of facts and ven-
one would also find redeeming qualities turing into the realm of not only inter-
in the practice. Still, one would be hird pretation but of inference, perhaps even
put disputing the observation that in opinion.
general the practice is bad. If Philippine B u t F o ra p r e s ss r i l l r r y i n g t o g e t o v e r i t s
journalists were tested for their under- g i d d i n e s s o v e r f r e e d o m a n d s e t i t s e l f
standing of their own profession and for right, what are the chancesof it acquir-
the ethics, attitud€s, aptitude, and skills ing the skills, not to mention the degree
demanded by it, enough of them would of interdisciplinary specialization, re-
surely prove the critics right. quired of it in this age? And even if the
No wonder the quality of public opin- changeswere fair, with the galloping costs
ion is what it is-after all it can only be of publishing and the general economic
as good as the quality of the information disadvantageit suffers in comparison
from which it is formed, which, in turn, with the other media, how can it sur-
can only be as good as the quality of the vive, much less prevail?
journalist who handled and packaged it, If the Cassandrasstuck around a while
not of the technician who uploaded it. longer,they mighc yet get lucky.
The journalist's job, in fact, has been
made particularly complex by the upload-
ers, as numerous and efficient as they are.
To be sure, efforts are being made to
upgrade-and update-Philippine jour- Vergel O. Santos is a columnist
Fncmun
AuJA,
AsrRRRru
Anunrusumnn Journalist/Press Aduocate
Freedom
Magsay$ay
Indone$ian Awandee
twolullcincles
Gompletes
ByWnrurr D1n1nuro,lNoorursn
Arvarusuve.n Asrna, rlteole was born Oc-
'W'est
tober 20, 1938 in Labuan, Banten, in
Java.His father, Junus Astraatmadja, was act-
ing regentin Bekasidistrict, alsoin'W'estJava.
\While still in journalism school in Jakarta,
Atma becamea reporter at the Sunday edi-
tion of IndonesiaRaya in 1958 until Presi-
dent Sukarnobanned it in October that year.
Atma then bounced from one journalism
job to another in a bon uiuant qts.est for mul-
tiple, if not international, experience. Re-
porter at the Persbiro Indonesia ag€ncy
1959-51, commentator in the state-runRRI
radio service in Jakarta 1960-61, reporter
with the Duta Minggu weeUy paper in Jakarta
1960-61, radio announcer in the Indone-
sian serviceof Radio Australia in Melbourne
1961-64, announcer in Deutschewellein
Cologne 1964-65, chief of the foreign news
desk in the Antara news agency in Jakarta
1965-68, comm€ntator at the RRI 1966-
68, and member of the editorial staff and
subsequently executive editor in the post-
Sukarno IndonesiaRay 1968-74.
\7ith the government ban on Indonesia
Raya in January 7974, Atma's journalistic
journey has gone first circle: from one ban to
another in the samepaper in a 16-yearspan.
The distinction now was that the govern-
ment consideredhim to be important enough
to be put on a ?ersonanon grata list of jour-
nalists. Unfazed, Atma got a position that
dealt with the media within months. The
American embassyhad an opening in its
press section and Atma easily filled it. He
signed on as pressassistantand soon rose to
information specialistfrom 1974 to 1992.
During this time Atma undertook off-work
hour activities on rwo tracks that in the long-
run helped to enrich Indonesianjournalism.
He wrote a slew of articles for publications
using a pseudonym, and authored, edited
and translated a catalogue of books in his
own name. To date, Atmakusumah has au-
thored or contributed chaptersto 21 books
relating to media issuesand history. He has
edited eight books and did the prodigious
rask of editor and contributor for the mass
communication entries in the 1992 Ensiklo'
pedi Nasional Indonesia. His editorship pro-
duced more than 200 entries for this 18-
volume encyclopedia,consideredto be a com-
prehensivevault of knowledge on Indone-
Becauseof this and his own sterling status
a s a g o v e r n m e n t - s a n c t i o n e dP N G , A t -
makusumah received frequent requests to
speakon media matters:newswriting, news-
paper management,journalism ethics, free-
dom of the press,to name several.Many of
these meetings, particularly with students
and non-governmentalorganizations,were
done quietly.
A campusgroup in Bandung, for instance,
would invite him over but not give him the
addressof the meeting place. They would
meet him at the train station. He evenwent
out of his way to pay the transport fare out
of his own pocket when the inviting party
could not take up the cost.
His eagernessto teach and to be with
young, idealisticpeople got to a point where
Atma left his securejob at the United States
InformationServicebeforeretirementagein
1992. He joined the Dr. Soetomo PressIn-
sdtute (LPDS) as a full-time instructor' Es-
tablished in 1988 to train universiry gradu-
ates to become professionaljournalists in a
nine-month program, Atma helped the in-
stitute to open shorter coursesfor a wider
reach of attendees.
Atma taught at least half a dozen courses
that included news writing, media publica-
tion, features,presshistory, and media and
society. The subject that perhaps had the
"1t". most effect, if not the most popular, was his
,, one person who can't be idle: At
home, he can be working on the comPuter ethics in journalism course.Beyond regaling
till early in the morning. If he is not writing, his students about his years with Indonesia
he's reading," comments Sri Rumoati, his Raya and the investigative reports it did that
wife of 31 years, of Atma's creature habits. made two presidents furious, Atma instilled
The couple's love of books is infectious. in his studentsa senseof ethics and profes-
The need to read virus has touched their sionalism.It might not have been possibleto
children-three grown sons age 30, 28 and do investigativereporting under Soeharto's
20. Books in abundanceare in their home in New Order. But learn the methods. There
a lea$' neighborhood of East Jakarta. The will be a time in the future when you can
boys, particularly the third son now study- apply them, Atma would tell his students.
ing Astronomy at the Bandung Institute of The year 1994 becamea turning point. In
Technology, use their spending mon€y to March, Atmakusumah became executive di-
buy new titles. rector of the Institute. But perhapsmore im-
Atmak second track of activiry was speak- portantly, an event three months later turned
ing and teaching. It is a long-term invest- Atma into an active advocate.On June 21
ment that has now borne fruit. Governments the government dropped its sword of
can ban a newspaper,but cant bury its rep- Damocles again.This time it struck tlvo week-
utation. Indonesia Raya gained much inter- ly news magazinesand aweekly political news
national acclaimunder the editorship of Mo- tabloid. Soeharto banned Tbmpo,Editor and
chtar Lubis, who won the first Magsaysay Detih for their critical reporting.
Award in iournalism in 1958. "I was incensed and disappointed. Gov-
 Editor,BusinessWorld
Publisher/
Rnu Locsllu,

ernment officials and President Soeharto had

in recent years campaigned for a policy of
openness.It turned out it was pure rheto-
ric," Atmakusumah observed.
Atmakusumah joined more than 100 jour-
nalists,lawyers,students,NGO activistsand
support€rsin a demonstrationbefore the In-
formation Department to protest the bans'
He wrote to the department and made pub'
lic statementsdeploringicsaction.
Atmakusumah's activities outside the class-
room increasedwith more frequent requests
for talks not just outside Jakartabut beyond
Java, Indonesia'smost populous island. In
any given week, he could be in Semarang,
Central Javaone day, and in Makassar,South
Sulawesi, the next. Atmakusumah has trav-
elled to at least 30 cities in the far-flung ar-
'West
chipelago- from Banda Aceh in the
to Jayaputra in the East, a 5,000 kilometer
spread.
Organizations sprang in reaction to the
bans.One such grouping was the Alliance of
IndependentJournalists,AJI, formed in Au-
Atnicltof$pinc
.ByVencu O. SnNros, PHtt-rpplttEs
Reul LocsrN is six feet, and no burden of
force, not even his 69 hard-lived years,
could bend him one inch short of his full
height. It is no mere matter of conscious
posture; it is a measure of character'
"Before you even dream of touching the
stars," he remembershis mother telling him
repeatedly,"first, you must stand straight."
Although his selection for the Ramon
M a g s a y s a ya w a r d ( 1 9 9 9 ) i n j o u r n a l i s m
was a prestigiousvalidation of that lesson,
Raul Locsin is not one to covet such things'
All he has always wanted, he will tell you,
is to be able to produce a newspaPerstand-
ing straight, which has not been easyat all
to do in his time, unlike, comparativeiy, in
his father's.
Don Aurelio edited and published his
own daily, in Spanish, for a captive market
in'Western Visayas,central Philippines. In
time, though, his aging subscribers began
dying away, and so did the language' If
only for love and tradition, he might have
gone on publishing, but martial law dis-
couraged him. At any rate, when he finai-
ly closed his newspaper,it had had a good
run of more than 30 years.
The son himself had barely started his
own newspaper when he was caught by
martial law He was in debt and, havinq
'l
,ri]l:'

gust 1994. Atmakusumah was a sought-out

mentor in AJI's formative months spent on
organizationand drawing up documentslike
a code of ethics. Again, the meetingswere
sufrePtitious.

Posr-SoEsnnro PREss
On May 21 1998 Soeharto abruptly re-
signed as presidentfollowing a massstudent
sit-in at the parliament building protesting
his 32-year rule.
"The hope emerged that finally the press
could have freedom. But what was most im-
portant that came uP in my mind was that
in the end Soeharto had fallen and I wit-
nessedhis downfall." Atma said.
Meetings of journalism activists became
open and Atma joined them in workshops
and seminars,particularly those on the role
of the press to cover Indonesia'sfirst, free
multiple party electionsin 44 years in June
1999. A. forward-looking new information
minister invited Atmakusumah to help draft
a new Dressact that would dismantle the
mier seriousnewspaperof over 450,000 cir- "The better the qualiry of the press, the
permitssyste., end government resrrictions,
and place pressfreedom within a legal frame- culation. Kompasinv\tedAtma to chair a five- lesswill there be reasonfor people to try to
work. oerson board to run an Office of the Om- gag the press,"Atmakusumah declared.
An offspring of the new law is a new in- Lrrd.-".r to critique the paper'seditorial per- In June 2000, Atmakusumah repeated
dependent presscouncil that has the job to formanceand journalisticpractices. what his editor and mentor Mochtar Lubis
protect pressfreedom and settlepublic com- In looking five years into the future, what achieved in 1958. He won the Magsaysay
plaints brought about by media coverage. work must the Indonesian pressdo to pro- Award for Journalism. Atmakusumah has
Atma was again involved as midwife for this tect its freedom? completed a full secondcircle. This time he
council, and becameits first chairman. "Improve news content and presentation has arrived at the circle's peak.
Other new organizationsalso sought At- in iine with professional and ethical stan-
makusumah's participation. These include dards of journalism. Fairness,non-biasedre-
the Indonesian Committee to Protect Jour- porting and non-use of crude languageare
nalistsand the Office of the Ombudsman of values that can protect the pressfrom arbi- Warief Dj4anto is assistantdirector of the Dr. Soetomo

the Kompas daily, arguably Indonesia's pre- trary accusations. Presslnsfitute,

chosen to operate right in the nation's cap-
ital, he lay himself exposed to the agents
of the oppressiveregime. Five years earli-
er, he had taken out a bank loan for P5,000
to meet the minimum capital requirement
and sold sharesto raise money for the op-
eration under arrangementsthat guaran-
teed his independenceas editor and pub-
lisher.
Hrsowruvnru
In fact, independencewas what it was
all about for Raul. He had worked as a
reporter in the business-newssection of Thl
Manila Chronicle,the national daily owned
by Don Eugenio Lopez, the plutocrat, and
felt bridled, naturally. He left to launch
and edit the weekly Economic Monitor,
but did not last long there either. The last
time he had felt himself his own man was
when he dropped out of the Ateneo, the
Jesuitcollege,after two yearsofliberal arts
to travel around the country as a cigaret
salesman,an adventure that lasted three
years.
Perhapsit was predetermined by blood
that newspaperingshould be his life. His
mother wrote for his father's paper; his
brother Alflo was business-newseditor of
The Manila Times, the only truly indepen-
dent daily at the time; and his mother's
'Arsenic"
brother Arsenio H. Lacson,called
for the potency of his pen, is a legend of
the profession.
Raul himself determined to make it as
they all did, but more particularly as did
his father. It was to prove his own life's
strugglefor independence. "I didn't know
what I had got myself into," he now con-
fesses. "I found myself taking out a new
loan to pay the old one. I just hoped that
at some point, I would be rescued from
the vicious cycle."
BgnrtNc rHE DtcrAToRSHtP
But what chancedid a newspaper- not
to mention an independent newspaper-
have under martial law? As it happened,
BusinessDay managed in the end not only
to turn itself around; he was able not only
to pay the first loan on the 1l'r' yeirr and
free himself from all obligation on the 20'i',
but to also beat the dictatorship. He pLrts
it all down to "fortune and brinkmanship."
He saysFerdinand Marcos rcIeratedBusi-
nessDay possibly because,being a special-
ized and an essentiailynonpolitical paper,
"it had only a small circulation and was
beyond the reach and appreciation of the
people he worried xl6Ll1 - the masses."
But more than that, "he found it useful
sometimes,"Raul adds,recallinghow once
Mr. Marcos pointed a reporter from the
Philadelphia Inquirer, the American news-
paper, to BusinessDay to illustrate the lat-
itude he allowed the press. Indeed, no
overground Philippine pap€r other than
BusinessDay had dared test the regime n
its early years, and, as it sensed Mr.
Marcos's power ebbing, it continued to do
so with increasingboldness.
Nruov AeurNo's ASsAssrNAroN
In March 1984, six months after one sin-
gle, treacherousbullet felled Benigno Aqui-
no Jr., the chief political rival of Mr. Mar-
cos, and signaled his own downfall, Raul
delivered a paper at a forum of editors at
the East-\fest Center, the press-freedom
headquartersin Hawaii, U.S.A. It was a
momentous spilling of his nation'sgut. He
said, summing up:
"\X/ith the declaration of martial law and
the drafting of a new Qe151l1u1l6n-1hs
leadershipmade known to the land that it
h a d p r e e m p t e da r e v o l u r i o nt o c o r r e c t i n -
equitiesand injusticesspawnedby the con-
centration of wealth and oower in the hands
o F a F e u d a lf e w , d e f u s e a n a r c h y i n r h e
s t r e e t s ,a n d p r o v i d e f o o d , c l o t h i n g a n d
shelter,and economic well-being to every
man, woman. and child in a new sociery.
'And
thus even the great halls of our
Congresswere silenced, and what was
known as the freestpressin Asia conscript-
ed to preach the greater responsibility of
national survival for a nation whose pov-
erty and ignorance could ill afford the lux-
ury of delaying progress by protracted de-
bate and dissent...
"...It seemedthat the nation was caught
in the euphoria and exhilaration of devel-
opment, forgetting that the great civrliza-
tion of this world have seen their suns set
on horizons studded with Partheons,Taj
Mahals, sphinxes and pyramids.
"New developing nations, obsessedwith
the search for identity and self-sufficien-
cy, either contest or ignore the relentless
logic of history as if one could escapeits
conclusion. Thus, criticism becomesdis-
s e r v i c ea n d d i s s e n t ,s u b v e r s i o nr: e p r e s s i o n
by the state becomes a right and the free-
dom of the citizen a privilege. National
g o a l s . . .t h e i l l u s i o n g o e s . . .s h o u l d n o t b e
deterredby human rights and sensibilities
bred into mankind by the civilization pro-
rr::'
" B u r r h i s i s r h e p a r a d o xo F g r o w t h a n d
deveiopment. For the ascendancyof hu-
man rights and sensibilitiesis what really
transformsthe shame and dishonor of the
past into the dignity and honor of the
Present."
Dpvocnncv RESToRED
I n 1 9 8 6 , t h e r e g i m e w a s d e f e a t e da n d
democracy reinstalled. ln BusinessDay's
own case, the paradox was that, after
emergingpolitically triumphant and at the
same time financially healthy, it closed,
plagued by labor trouble, early the follow-
ing year. At about midyear, however, it
returned, restructuredas a cooperativeand
renamed BusinessWorld. Raul had been
contracted as publisher, editor and, effec-
tively, manager,but, to all intents and pur-
poses,it was, is, and will continue to be
his paper.
He has carried over to the newspaperthe
essentialcharacterofthe old, especiallythe
integrity, the independence,and the sense
of brinkmanship. Once, for instance, a
big advertisertook reprisalsfor a seriesof
stories about it by boycotting the paper.
Finally realizing it needed the paper more
than the paper neededit, it offered to re-
sume booking again,only to be told that it
would have to wait three months, the ex-
act length of time it had stayed away.
T h a r ' s r y p i c a l l yR a u l L o c s i n .
BusinessWorldis doing much better than
its forerunner ever did. It has consistently
turned a profit, it now owns its building
and the land on which it stands, and its
moderately expanding operations have
been unmatched in technological sophis-
tication in the industry. After 20 years of
BusinessDaT,PtauJsays,he should no long-
er have any excuses.
But he still believesthat the basictrick is
to produce a newspaper standing straight.
 Socms
Puhlish
andPenish
The Censorship
of OppositionParty Publications in Singapore
Edited byJamesGomez chosen to remain aloof, dismissingpolitical
Publishedby the National SolidariryParty developments elsewhereas irrelevant to Sin-
26 | pages gaporet requirements.
The city-statet political culture fits none
ofthe categoriesdevised by traditional polit-
ical science. It has been described as central-
ized, authoritarian and statist;but it has also
been portrayed as pragmatic, rational and le-
galistic.
Singapore conrinues to hold on to the ac-
coutrements of the British system of govern-
ment, with its parliamentary procedures and
be-wigged magistrates.Elections are held reg-
ularly, but political power has never been al-
lowed to slip from rhe PAPI hands since rhe
ciry-state secededfrom Malaysia in 1965.
A democracy patterned after \(/estern mod-
els, Singapore is most certainly not. It has no
tradition of civil liberties. No ciear lirnits have
been placed on stare power.
For this, Singapore'sleadershave remained
unapologetic. Their absolute authoriry has al-
lowed them to build the wealthiest economy
in Asia, secondonly to Japant. Their experi-
ence in development has been held up as a
model-but mostly by political leadersin oth-
er countrieslusting after similar levelsof un-
questionedpower.
Notes a US congressionalstudy: "The rul-
Punusu eup Perish doesit quite live up to its ers of an ex-colonywith a multi-ethnic pop-
billing. Rather than give an overview of the ulation, and a country independent only by
censorshipof opposition newspapersin the default, assumedno popular consensuson
tightly regulared ciry-state, it actually focuses the rules of or limits to political action. Sin-
on just one, The Solidari4t, official publica- gapore was a ciry-statewhere a small group
tion of the opposition National Solidariry Parry of guardians used their superior knowledge
NSP). to advancethe prosperiry of the stateand to
There are 19 registeredpolitical parties in bring benefits to what they considered a
Singapore,bur the ruling People'sAction Par- largely ignorant and passivepopulation."
ry (PAP) has won every generalelection since Done in 1989, the study still gives an actu-
1959. NSP is but one of the 18 other parties of Singapore''spolitical
that have so far failed ro caprure a significant :Xi:r:.:,."o.ion
measureof power from the PA? Other SoutheastAsians-especially journal-
Publishand Perishchroniclesrhe travailsfrom ists-who have gained for themselvesa cer-
1993 to 2000 of a'poiitical party that is still tain measureof democraticspacein recenr years
gamely trying to compereasbest asit can with cannot help but sympathizewith their broth-
the powers-that-bein Singapore. By docu- ersand sistersin Singapore.
menting the NSPI campaign for liberaliry and Editor Gomez (who asa non-NSP member
accountabiliry the book offersvaluableinsights guest-editedthis volume) explainsin his In-
into a political systemthat wili brook no dis- troduction: "In Singapore,publishing rules
sent, aswell as into the abuses,heary-handed- arestringentand a culture ofself-restraintpre-
nessand intolerance that the concentradon of r.entschallengesto the dsmlnxnl yis\M-x fg2-
near-absolutepower inevitably creates.
ture of its one parry-dominatedstate."
Unlike some of its SoutheastAsian neieh-
bors.Singaporehas nor felr rhe winds of de- GowRNrevr ltcENStNG
mocratizing change that have been sweep- Publishersof periodicalsneed to regularly
ing through the region since the mid-i9B0s. applv for governmenr licenses.Moreover,
Confident of the crucial role the ciry-state publishers,editors,writers and distributorsof
plays in the global capitalist order, its lead- all publications could find themselvesrun-
ers-and, to a large extent, its 6igi2sn5-hxys ning afoul of regulations as stipulated in the
Internal Security Act, Official SecretsAct, Pe-
nal Code, Undesirable Publications Act.
Criminal Law (Temporary Provisions)Act and
Sedition Act.
Gomez points out: "Although Article 14
of the Constitution of the Republic of Sin-
gapore guaranteesthe right of freedom of
speechand expression,which has been ac-
cepted in legal circles to include the freedom
of the media, operationally the above provi-
sionsimposed by Parliamentstand to restrict
these rights."
A compilation of selectedarticles that saw
print in The Solidarity over a period of eight
yearc, Publish and Perish gives an overview of
the issuesthat apparently matter most to or-
dinary Singaporeans.These include the huge
pay raisesgovernment officials have granted
themselves,increasedcost ofhousing and the
role Singapore'swell-educatedwomen need
to play in their sociery.
OruepensoN,TWo vorEs
There is even a lengthy discussionon a pro-
posal by Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew to
grant older and financially comfortable Sin-
gaporeansrwo vores in place of the us.ualone
person,one vote.
Absurd as it might sor+ndto outsiders,rhe
two votes-one man proposal is nonethelessa
gauge of the silent panic that has evidentll'
begun to grip the ciry-statet rulers. Their tra-
ditional constituency,which sacrificed liberry
on the altar of national survival and material
growth, is experiencing the inevitable effects
of natural attrition. They fear the rise of a
younger generation of Singaporeans,rhany of
whom believethere must be more to life than
an ever-expandinggrossnarional product and
squeaky-cleanelevators.
Publish and Perish, despite its occasional
lapsesin rypographyand grammar. is a por-
tent of things to come for Singapore,whose
well-educated and highly talented citizens
are destined to join the worldt communiry
of democratic narions.
The struggle for freedom, however, conrin-
ues. In an e-mail titled "JamesGomez sum-
moned by the police" and sent recently ro the
editort colleaguesand friends in Asia and else-
where, Jacob George wrote in part:
"'
"JamesGomez, executivedirector of Think
Center, has been notified through a letter dat-
ed 29th January 2001 to appearar the Cen-
tral Police Division HQ by Inspector Alvin
Chone.
to page 50 )
TheMedia
and
Peace
Reporting
0n Media and PeaceReportage
Perspectiues

Rmusnpp nqNovember 2000 by the Office of MEotAl,rANtpuLAnoN [aswell astheir rea*rs and audiences-D.M.] can
the PresidentialAdviser on the PeaceProcessin Notwithstanding the auocities commined by understand more firlly why events have come
cooperation with the Philippines' Center for the renewed counteriruurgency program, Estra- to passand the issuesreflected in various dwel-
Media Freedomand Responsibility(CMFR), ZZe da managedto improve his populariry ratings. k opments of society."
Media and PeareReportinghx gained added rele- did seemlike a true-to-life validation of the cyni- Inwitably, cerain quarterswill take issueover
vancein view ofthe decisionofthe new President cal theory of media manipulation tackled in the whether or not media-with their avowalsof "ob-
of the Philippines, Gloria Macapagal-furoyo, to Hollyrvood movie "\Vag the Dog," where a US jectivity' and "impartialiry'-should allow them-
resume peacetalks with the two main insurgent presidentwagesa fake war wi*r a foreign country selvesto becomepanial one way or another in the
groups in the country in order to shore up his saggingperformance in businessoffinding a negotiatedsetdementto con-
The allis cameto an abrupt halt last yearwhen opinion polls. There was, howwer, nothing fic- flict. The fact that the bookwas pardy underwrit-
then-president Joseph Estrada nee Ejercito de- tiond about the dea*rs and massivedisplacement ten by the Office of the Presidendd Adviser on
cided to relive his cinematic tough-guy role in the in Central Mindanao-and nothing hilarious
realm of public policy. Dismantling the gains about the Philippine media'sgenerally unthink-
painstakingly achieved6y the 1992-97 adminis- ing coverageof the campaign.
tration of Fidel V Ramos, the Estrada regime For the most part, the Philippine media-
hounded Marxist rebelsbelonging to the Na- which fancy themselvesto be Asia'sfreest-swal-
tional Democratic Front deeper into the under- lowed the gov€rnment line with litde efforc to
ground. At the sametime, it launched an all-out put the conflict in perspective, much less play
war against the Moro Islamic Liberation Front an even hand wich the protagonists. Some news
(MILF) in Central Mindanao, in a brual military agencieseven allowed themselvesto act asvirnr-
campaign that displacedover half a million peo- al propagandatools, dispensingancient preju-
ple and causeddeath to tlousands ofMILF guer- dices that for centuries have poisoned relations
rillas and government troops. Btrada cappedthe benveen Muslims and self-sryled Christians in
Armed Forces'momentary conquestof the MILF the Philippines.
by personally delivering beer and roast pork to
soldien occupying the Muslim heardand. Nmorun-nrcoNcuanou
Thankfully, the new government of Mrs.
Macapagal-A,rroyohaspromised to resumen€go-
tiations with the insurgents who, in turn, have
? fom page49 respondedpositively to the President'sinitiative.
Poucetwrsnc.mou Here is where TheMedia and PeaceReportiigan
"Inspector Chong, who is the Senior Investi-
play an important role in helping achievethe ob-
gation Office6 mentioned in his letter thatJames jective ofnational reconciliation on the basisofan
Gomez is askedto appear for a police investiga- informed and intelligent understanding of the
'in
tion, connection with an offenceofAssem- issuesthat gaverise to rebellion in the first place.
bly\Tithout a Permit allegedto havebeencom- The booh a compilation of 21 anicleswritten
mitted on 1Oth December 2000 between by peace advocates (academics, lawyers and a
0900hrs and 1500hrs at Speaker'sCorner, former insurgent leader)both in and out of gov- the PeaceProcess,a government agency,could
Hong Lim Green.' efflment aswell as journalists, offers perspectives give rise to some debateover journalistic ethics.
"The interview is set to take place on 10th
on socialconflict in the Philippina and discuses
February 2001 at 9.30am at the HQwhich is media'srole in the peaceprocess. PnoncoNtm trusoctAl coNFucr
located at 99, BeachRoad. In mrth, the mere act of covering conflict al-
"The Think Center has been active in orga- ready makesthe media prougonists in socialcon-
JounNlum'unsrs
nizing, either singly or joindy, monthly sessions In the rush to gather straight news and meet flicr By going into batde without the ammuni-
at the Speakert Corner since its inception on 1 their editors' deadlines,journalists far too often tion of background and perspective,the media
September2000. Up to date severalof its initi- fail to review tleir notes, among many other are put in serious danger of becoming helpless
ativesto overcom€ the limitations at Hong Lim lapses.As the book's Introduction points out: pawns in thewar ofpublic information that akes
Park have been met with police disapproval." "tWhat is not so obvious is tle need for journal- place alongsidethe killings in the batdefield. In
Publbh and Perish comes with a jacket that ists to keep up with the changing context of the the effon to savelives and end destruction, dis-
when removed revealsa plain, gray cover. The news. Journalists need to acquire the necessary agreement over ethical conduct would amount
better to avoid detection bv the ciw-state's background ofevens they cover,to add to their to nothing more than mindless, unconscionable
thought police. D,tU M'SRUNO
fund of knowledge and information that they nitpicking. D,lu M,sRuNo
Lasnr
Mor*rron
politician
Banknupt fightsolf libel
$srPft
J. B. Jeyaretnam (JBJ), veteran Singapore
opposition politician, has been declaredbank-
rupt but is currently fighting to hold off his
creditors.This is the latestnvist in the ongoing
sagaof the two libel casesthat have been filed
againsthim.
One is a suit by a
group led by Senior
Minister (SM) Lee
Kuan Yew that arose
from the 1997 Gen-
eral Election rally in
the Cheng San
Group Representa-
tion Constituency
(GRC) inwhichJBJ
said that his running
mate Tang Liang
Hong had fiied po-
lice reports againstPrime Minister Goh Chok
Tong, SM ke and nine other Peoplet Action
Parry(PAP) leadersallegingcriminal conspiracy
and lying. They suedfor defamation.
The second caseinvoives eight members of
the Thmil Language'Week Organizing Com-
mittee who sued JBJ for a 1995 article in in
the \Workert Parry newsietter The Hammer,
which the courts said had defamed the com-
mittee.
According to Jeyaretnam,the plaintiffs had
not pursued the Banlcuptcy Order, but that
the impending General Election has brought
about rheseacrionsto make him pay up.
His appeal against the Assistant-Registrart
dismissalof his applications to dismiss all the
acdonsby SM Lee Kuan Yew and sevenothers
was dismissedby JusticeLai Siu Chiu on Feb-
r u a r y1 3 , 2 0 0 1 .
JBJ is currently appealingthe decisionand is
looking into some public fund raising activiry
to pay off his creditors.
3 Pamnanga
new$edit0ns
changed
Purmrs
An AngelesCity police officer hasfiled a libel
suit against three editors of PampangaNews,
claiming an article published in the said news-
paper discredited him.
Antonio Salenga,Pampanga l/arzs publisher
and editor; Max Sangil,chair of the board ofnews
editors;andJojo Maiig, associateeditor, arefacing
chargesfiled by Police Supt. Amado Calaguas,
Chief ofAngelesCiryt PoliceStation 1.
Malig's story appearedin the December 6-
12 issueof rhe News, in which he quoted the
urban poor group Kadamay-Pampangaas de-
scribing the police officer as a" kotongkingj' or
"extortion king." 1t.
The article reported that Caiaguashad Alfredo Jimenez,.\Wootlawyer,filed the case
banned Apu Flea Market vendors from selling before the Zamboanga City Prosecutor's Of-
their goods and products along certain streets. fice.
It also reported the residents'claims of harass- Also named respondents were Times editor-
ment against the police officer as well as his in-chief Cipriano Roxas,executiveeditor Jose
'martial
alleged rule" attitude in sternll?imple- MacaspacIII, managing editor Ernesto Tolen-
menting the anti'obstruction law. tino, associateeditor Manolo Jara, city editor
In his complaint beforetheAngelesCityPros- Inday Varona-Espina, Mindanao Bureau
ecutor'soffice, Caiaguassaid the statementsin Chief Rene Bartolo and his deputy Carmelito
Malig's article "defamed, dishonored, and dis- Francisco.
credited" him. (7/ibune, January 9,p. Z) Concepcion, who also reportedly worls for
the government radio station dxMR Radyo ng
Bayan, wrote the allegedly libelous "Chinese
businessmanfacesraps for smuggling wastes"
llocton lonlibel
$uc$nadiomen December 15 in the Times.I:rslead
f.*lt:t.O
Pnrnn "He is one of the well-known allies of Presi-
Feb-
A doctorin IloiloCiryfiledlibelcharges dent Estrada,but to his consternation,alleged
ruary 2 against three radiomen of dyRI Radyo smuggler'WeeDee Ping, aliaslee Peng\7ee, is
'closeness'
Agong for allegedlyridiculing her on air. now probably realizing that to the
Dr. Aura Marie Grijaldo, 27, a residentphy- Chief Executive is not a license to flaunt the
sician of the West Vsayas Medical Center in law."
Mandurriao district, filed the chargesagaint \Wee'slawyer claimed that the Timesbranded
'Wee
Salvador Capulot Jr. a.k.a. Jun Capulot, Rex a smuggler. This is "libelous and very
Cantong, and Elmer John Ubaldo. damaging to his (\7eet) person." The lawyer
She claimed that on January 29, Capu\ot added that \flee is also preparing a civil case
called her "tisay mistisa ati "(black mestiza)on claiming P10 million in damagesagainst the
air, following it with a boisterous laugh. He respondents.(Manila Times,January 8, 2001,
reportedly added: "I pray that ifyoure taking j;
l,age Daily Ty'ibune,January 7, p. 3; Philip-
your supper now you will choke and die." pine Star Januaty 8,p. tn
Grijaldo said the libel was committed by
Capulot e,,,iththe full knowledge of radio sta-
tion manager Ubaldo.
Grijaldo added that the next day, Capulot po$tbail
Radiomen
and Cantong further criticized her in their pro-
gram Agong Kapehan, and that Ubaldo did Pnrnw
nothing to stop them. A Digos City, Davao del Sur radio commen-
\X4rile Grijaldo said she did not know why tator and his station managerhave posted bail
the reporters did that to her, sourcesfamiliar after being ordered arrestedfor libel.
with the casesaid the conflict stemmed from Judge Alicia de los Santos had ordered the
Grijaldo's refusalto give Capulot the resultsof arrest of Emerito Alfafara, host of the nightly
a medical examination on a rape victim that program Radyo Ukay and station managerFlo-
the latter wanted to foliow up for his radio rencio Campaner of the Universiry of Mind-
program. (Manilatimes.netFebruary 3) anao BroadcastingNetwork's dxDX.
Another radio program host, a councilor of
barangay Ruparan, Emmanuel Thgalog, filed
the libel caseagainst the two, whom he ac-
Estnada
buddV
$ue$'Time$' cused ,f maliciously criticizing him while read-
ing a letter of complaint from a listener.
Pnmus "He told his listenersthat I [was]not fit to be
An associateof ousted PresidentJoseph Es- a barangay official becauseI am partially dis-
trada has filed a libel suit againstaZamboanga abied. He was commenting on my disabiliry
City Customs official and the Mark Jimenez- while laughing. That was too much," Tagalog
owned Manila Times. said.
Mark Jimenezwas a closeassociateof Estra- Alfa$ra denied Tagalogt that he laughed at
da, but distanced himself from him after his Thgalogt disabiliry. He said he read the entire
ouster last January 20. letter of complaint against the latter without
Named respondentsin the lil-'el suit filed by comment.
Former PresidentialAssistantfor Mindanao Thgalog said he also named Campaner as a
Economic Affairs Lee Peng\7ee were Cr'ftoms respondent becausehe failed to exercisehis
Collector Lourdes Mangaoang, the primary editorial prerogativeto restrainAlfafara.
sourceof the allegedlylibelousarticle, and Times Both Alfafara and Campaner posted bail of
correspondentFaber Concepcion, who wrote P10,000 each.(Inquirer.net,December2B)
Evenurs
Fonum lsia'
on'Jounnalisn
Rrenn
Frenuanv: Journalistsand academicsfrom
the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Ma-
laysia and Singapore convened from Janu-
ary 10-13 in Makati, Metro Manila to dis-
cuss the first issue of the regional publica-
tion Journalism Asia, a quarterly forum on
issues,trends and subjectsthat bear upon
the relationship between the media and
the public in Asia.
Journalism Asia is an independent press
monitoring publication initially focusedon
the SoutheastAsian press,where in several
countries the processof democratization
has created a new environment of press
freedom for many journalists.
Journalism Asia will heip educate mem-
bers of the free press on the responsibili-
ties that come with press freedom. How-
ever,it recognizesthat in many of the coun-
tries of Southeast Asia press freedom has
not yet been achieved.In those countries
the first priority is to win press freedom.
The discussionson editorial policies,cir-
cuiation and funding were foliowed by the
election of Journalism Asia staff members.
Elected members of the Board of Advis-
ers were: Ramon MagsaysayawardeesRaul
Locsin (Philippines) and Atmakusumah
Astraatmadja (Indonesia), Eugenia Apos-
tol (Philippines), Kavi Chongkittavorn
and Kiatichai Pongpanich (Thailand) and
SusantoPudjomartono (Indonesia).Elect-
ed Country Editors were: \Tarief Djajanto
( I n d o n e s i a ) ,J a m e s G o m e z ( S i n g a p o r e ) ,
Darunee Hirunruk (Thailand), Rehman
-feodoro
Rashid (Malaysia), Luis V.
ippines), \Wilasinee Phiphitkul (Thailand)
and Vergel Santos (Philippines).
The forum was sponsored by The Japan
Foundation and the SasakawaPeaceFoun-
dation.
llnaftol fneedom
of inlonmati0nact $ulmittcd
htrfir$r
Mancs: The Coalition for Information
Freedom, a Jakarta-basedgrouping of 17
pro-democracy NGOs, will submit a draft
Freedom of Information Act to the Indo-
nesianHouse of Representatives, DPR, be-
fore the legislative body recessesin March
2001, a member of the coalition said.
Representatives of the NGOs presented
February 9 their draft law to DPR officials
in the Legislation Office (Badan Legisla-
sl), the body that receivesand tables drafts
for legislation. (The article-by-article draft
text itself was not submitted at that meet-
ing becauseit was still undergoing refine-
'.' ';q: :t:,ill:
lr',i1.!
l;ft;i.:
JournalismAsiap articipants
StandingAndreasHarsono(Indonesia),YoshinobuOnishi (TheSasakawa Peace Foundrttion),RehmnnRashid
(Mafusia), Danilo Mariano (Phihppines),ChauarongLimpanamapanee (Thaiknd), LuisV Tbodnro(Phil-
ippina), WrgelSantos(Philippines),JamesGomez(Singapore),SusantoPudjomartono(Indonesia).
Seated:AtmakusumahAsnaatmadja (Indonesia),WilasineePhipbithul (Thailand), Darunee Hirunruh
(Thaiknd), Melinda QuintosdrJesus(Phihppines),Madeline Nicoks (representingtheJapan Foundaion)
and Kiatichai Pongpanich(Thailand).
ment.) The 46-article draft act highlights - Institute for Pressand Development
six points: Studies (LSPP)
1) The right of the people to obtain in- - Institute for Public Affairs Advocacy
formation and Studies
2) The obligation of governmentadmin- - Center for IndonesianLegal and Pub-
istrators to respond to requestsfor infor- lic Policy Studies
mation in a quick, inexpensiveand simple - tansparency Indonesra
- S c i e n c eA e s t h e t i c s a n d T e c h n o l o g y
(Phii- manner
3) Exemptions are tightiy restricted (KTVPI)
4) State agenciesare required to upgrade - South East Asian PressAlliance
t h e i r i n f o r m a t i o n a n d d o c u m e n t a t i o ns e r - - Indonesian Environmental Forum
vrces NTALHI)
5) Parties that impede public accessto - Foundation for the Bolstering of Par-
information can be prosecutedand penal- ticipation, Initiatives and Partnership
ized of Indonesian Society.
6) The public has a right to redress
through law if the right to seek informa-
tionisviotated. Filipinoigunn-a-listwi!!$
organizations
Thet7 non-sovernment
" i0Ufnalism
inlFnna-tiOnAl
in thecoalitionare: lellOWShi[
- Alliance of IndependentJournalists(AJI)
- Indonesian Corruption \fatch Pnupprts
- Indonesian Center for Environmental JeNuenv25: Noel T. Pangilinan, editor-
Law (ICEL) i n - c h i e fo f r h e C e b u - b a s e dn e w s p a p e rI / e
- Institute for Information Flow Stud- Freeman, was invited by the US State De-
ies (ISAI) partment to particiPatein an international
- Indonesian Media, Law and Policy journalism fellowship in the United States
Center from January 25 to February 15.
- Rectors Forum The fellowship will allow Pangilinan to
- Consortium for National Law Reform visit big and community-based newsPa-
- JakartaLegal Aid Institute (LBH) pers and news organizations, exchange
- Institute for the Study and Advocacy views with US journalists and observenew
for an Independent Judiciary trends in American journalism.
 TheWnnersof

rTu0r $ffi tHrssAilsfi0l€Rlvnffi NT

thr$n:fn

TheJaime V.OngpinAwards
forInvestigative
Journalism
includeleadingFilipinojournalists
whoprobedbeneath of thenewsto
thesurface
revealwhatmaybehiddenfromthepubliceye,amongthem
Yvonne
Carolynfugurllas, Chua,SheilaCoronel,
Gemma DonnaCueto,
LtuCorotan,
Ma.CeresDoyo,JerryEsplanada, MiriamGraceGo,ChayFlorentino-Hofilefla,
Juliet
Labog,MalouMangahas, ArmandNocum,CarlitoPablo,DannyPetilla,Sheila
Samonte, HowieSeverino, MaritessSisonandEllenTordesillas.

In Philippinedemocracy, citizensto checktheabuse

thefreepresshasenabled
of powerwith informationandknowledge.Theseawardssingleout the best
investigativereportseachyearasawayof encouragingmoreto dothesame.

TheAwardswere finteivenin 1990tocommemoratetheworkofthe tl e "altemative"

lateJaimeVOngpininstrengthening
thesecrecyinstitutedduringtheMarcosregime.
pressasit challenged

TheCenterfor MediaFreedomandResponsibility
whichconceptualized of
thisannualprogramservesastltesecretariat
theawards,to begiventhisyearonJune28,2001.