Special Report - Imperfection (Lapses and Errors of Media Workers)

Grammatical or typographical errors, misspelling of names, wrong factual contents and bias in writing a story either negative or positive are among the lapses committed by media practitioners.

Then there are also mislabeling of non-government organizations, personal biases toward the government, lack of investigations on stories and misleading headlines -all of which have threatened the integrity of media.

Given this scenario, however, media practitioners and news sources differ on how to quantify these media errors and lapses.

Most media practitioners admit imperfections but some of them believe that typographical and factual errors are their frequent mistakes in reporting. News sources, on the other hand, say their reputation as sources of information are seriously affected because media practitioners are blind in disregarding errors.

"Ang media, dili jud unta angay masayop (Media is not supposed to commit mistakes) as much as possible," says Jerry Tundag, the editor-in-chief of The Freeman.

Tundag thinks media's work is specialized and journalists are expected to know more than ordinary people do because media is the purveyor of information.

Isolde Amante, the managing editor for news of SunStar Cebu, confessed that when she was still a writer she unintentionally committed errors such as writing fudged facts. But for her, the worst error that a journalist can commit is to insist on publishing article knowing that content facts are wrong.

Through negligence, a reporter might carelessly write a wrong report. This may prompt the offended party to file a complaint, which, if not resolved, would be elevated to court via a libel suit.

Disastrous errors are those that would make mediamen liable for libel, says Tundag. Suzanne Alueta, chief of reporters of Cebu Daily News, added that irresponsible journalism is most likely subject to libel because journalism for her is literature in a hurry.

Monsignor Achilles Dakay, media liaison officer of the Archdiocese of Cebu, experienced a lot of times being misquoted and misinterpreted. When that happens, he says he always goes back to the reporter to make some explanations and correct the mistakes.

Misleading headline is another lapse that does not do justice to the story, Dakay observes. He says Filipinos are headline readers, and it is sometimes distracting to see if the headline of a newspaper is negative because a headline represents the story as a whole.

Non-government organization members admit however they do not usually experience the lapses that Dakay has encountered. But they complain on misleading views about them plus the little attention accorded them.

Glemar Bacusmo, the developmental communication officer of the Central Visayas Farmers Development Center, says media is sometimes hostile tending to label them as leftists who always criticize the government.

Media workers lack knowledge of the principles of NGOs the reason why the released statements of these organizations are misunderstood, Bacusmo says, adding that reporters fail to investigate causing them to produce reports that lack depth.

Impact of the Errors

Both media and news sources admit that all of those errors affect the people's trust and the media's overall reputation.

Quennie Bronce, day desk editor of The Freeman, says media is supposed to sell information but if wrong information is given to the public, then media's credibility suffers.

Lapses are normal occurrences. These may be small but nonetheless create an impact because small mistakes make big changes, says CDN reporter Wilfredo Rodulfo III.

Anak ng Bayan spokesperson Jaydar Medrozo says lapses and errors have big impact because media influences the mind of the people so practitioners should be responsible on what they write.

"Always consider that you are only as good as your last broadcast" is the advice of Amante, imparting what she learned from her former teacher. She contends that even if you won a Pulitzer Prize two weeks ago, then committed a mistake yesterday, that instance becomes the barometer of your performance.

Medrozo points out that media should be neutral and must be "kritikal sa panghitabo (critical of the events)." He also observes that most media workers favor the government and the ruling class or the social elite.

Despite all these, however, news sources say they somehow manage to get along with the mainstream media. "I've learn to live with it. Fight lang (Just fight back)," Dakay stresses.

Causes of the Errors

Lack of journalistic skill and poor grasp of journalistic ethics are causes of these errors, Tundag says.

Bronce also confesses that they are also caused by negligence of reporters and the "tinapulan (laziness) to verify information."

Amante and Rodulfo agree, adding that errors are due to carelessness, lack of discipline, and lack of preparations.

But Dakay views it differently. "The editor always pika (strike)," he says believing that the problem is not really on the reporter but on the editors who integrate the facts into news but tend to change the content of the story without consulting the reporter, in the process.

He adds that such situation is due to the lack of chemistry or coordination between reporters and editors. Reporters, he advises, should speak out because they are the ones in the field and they know the whole story.

Sensationalism

Sensationalizing a story can be considered as a lapse if the factual contents are incorrect although this could also be used to spice up the story depending on how the content is set without destroying the facts.

Bronce contends that sensationalizing a story can be done without distorting the facts. It's a matter of angling the story, she says.

Running a newspaper is a kind of business. You have to find ways to sell your story so sensationalism is sometimes employed but responsibility should be the guide, she says.

Dakay agrees that any form of media is basically business, which main objective is to sell. But he says that, "truth can be very sensational; the only ethical standard of media is the truth or lack of it, which means that half truths are always big lies."

Right to Reply Bill

Everyone commits mistake and anyone is entitled to respond to correct the errors.

Senator Aquilino Pimentel has authored Senate Bill 1120 or The Right to Reply Bill, which provides the people the venue to air their reactions and corrections to the media lapses and errors, either in print or broadcast.

In the Lower House, Rep. Raul Gonzales (Iloilo) has his own version of the bill-with provisions of Rep. Clavel Asas Martinez (Cebu, 4th District), which mandate that every person is given the chance to be heard, equal space and time to reply over "negative" issues that appear in the media.

While both versions are still on first reading, media practitioners and news sources have been interviewed on their respective position on the matter.

Media practitioners say they are not in favor of these bills because these go beyond the boundaries of press freedom.

Amante reacts on the Martinez provisions in the bill arguing that these are unconstitutional as it abridges freedom of speech. She adds that any reply, especially if intended for the front page, would hinder the paper's cause to print other issues that are more important than that of the aggrieved person.

Tundag further argue that the bills curtail and hinder the freedom of the press because it tends to dictate editorial decisions.

Rodulfo agrees but Alueta says if only a journalist is responsible enough to present two sides of the story and write what is true, then there would be no reason for anybody to complain about wrong accusations and biases.

On the part of the news sources, Bacusmo says he is in favor of having the right to reply as this serves as the venue of people to clarify matters. But he is not for its enactment foreseeing that this would be useless in the end anyway because politicians will just exploit this law.

"You have to react if dili sakto ang gisuwat (if the write-up is not correct)," according to Medrozo who complains, at the outset, that even the "letter to the editor" or other form of complaint is useless.

Possible Solutions

Responsibility is the basic answer to the problem, Medrozo and Bacusmo say, referring to media's responsibility to conduct in-depth investigation of the truth to be able to present a balanced story.

Bronce advises journalists to be extra careful, and verify facts for a good and fair story. They should consider the notion that news sources have personal interests in giving or feeding information.

So journalists should adapt first a skeptical attitude toward given information so they would strive to investigate the truth behind the story, says Bronce.

Amante adds, "Media workers should be vigilant to the premise nga tawo ka (you're human) so masayop jud ka (you are prone to commit mistakes), and so you need someone to help you review factual data in your news story."