Pinay RM awardee pursues goal of enriching democractic discourse

Veteran Filipino journalist Sheila Coronel said yesterday that investigative journalism is "hard, lonely work" but it informs and empowers citizens to participate actively in democratic process.

Coronel, a pioneer in investigative journalism in the Philippines, is the 2003 Ramon Magsaysay awardee for Journalism, Literature, and the Creative Communication Arts for "leading a groundbreaking collaborative effort to develop investigative journalism as a critical component of democratic discourse in the Philippines."

She is the executive director of the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ).

In her lecture yesterday entitled "Enriching Democratic Discourse: Investigative Journalism for An Informed Citizenry," Coronel said the work of the PCIJ is based on "two fundamental premises: First, the capacity of citizens to understand the issues that have an impact on their lives, and second, the power of an informed citizenry to effect positive changes."

"The rigorous research that investigative journalism requires results in the production of new knowledge, in the uncovering of new information that empowers citizens. Compelling reporting, especially of scandalous corruption and abuse, also has the power to engage citizens - and to enrage them. Democracy is not a spectator sport. It relies on the collective wisdom and action of informed citizens. Without this, democracy is a sham," she said.

Under Coronel’s stewardship, the PCIJ had written several in-depth articles about scandalous mansions of alleged mistresses of then President Joseph Estrada, making Filipinos aware of the excesses of the Estrada presidency.

Coronel said investigative reporting sometimes "makes people so angry that they demand that something should be done."

"Most of the time, the fear of media exposure is the only deterrent to official abuse. Officials often have no qualms about stealing from the public coffers. They know that courts can be corrupted and the wheels of justice not only grind exceedingly slow, sometimes they do not grind at all.  Investigative reporting can help break this chain of impunity," she said.

"In some notable instances, media exposés have compelled corrupt officials to resign. If they don’t, public pressure forces governments to bring to justice those guilty of malfeasance. Because of investigative reporting, wrong policies are reversed, extravagant projects are shelved, and politicians whose misbehavior has been exposed lose elections," she said.

Coronel said investigative reporting "helps educate both officials and citizens on the notions of accountability and transparency."

"By exposing crooks, investigative reports not only publicly name and shame them. Exposés also show that corruption and the abuse of power are not publicly acceptable, and that those guilty can expect retribution, if not from the trial courts, at least from the court of public opinion," she said.

In addition, Coronel said investigative reporting "helps curb some of the excesses of a free press" which is especially true in new democracies. "Euphoria is a wonderful thing, but it does not always give birth to good journalism. There is a lack of skilled journalists to staff the news organizations created by the media boom. The boom also results in intense competition, which often means racing for the headlines and sacrificing substance and depth."

She said that investigative reporting offers a way out of these problems. "It addresses the problem of skills by forcing journalists to sharpen research and reporting techniques. It helps resolve the problem of sensationalism because investigative reports require sobriety and depth. They require that journalists be careful with their methods and that they act in a manner that is above reproach," she said.

"We have seen that investigative reports also help sell newspapers and give publications a competitive edge. If constantly exposed to excellent reporting, audiences develop a more discerning palate and will learn to tell the difference between fast-food journalism and substantial reading fare," she said.

"In time, they may even get weaned from the merely distracting and entertaining, and will demand more in-depth reporting. Unless exposed to new ideas and better kinds of journalism, audiences will stagnate and news organizations will be stuck pandering to their undeveloped tastes," she said.

Coronel said that apart from improving the quality of the media and the audience, investigative reporting helps widen the scope of journalistic freedom. "By constantly digging for information, by forcing government and the private sector to release documents, and by subjecting officials and other powerful individuals to rigorous questioning, investigative journalists expand the boundaries of what is possible to print or air."

Coronel said that carefully researched, high-impact investigative reports help build the media’s credibility and support among the public.

"The press as an institution is strengthened if journalists have demonstrated that they serve the public interest by uncovering malfeasance and abuse. A credible press is assured of popular backing if it is muzzled or otherwise constrained. Such support may not be forthcoming if journalists squander their freedoms on the superficial and the sensational."

"Public support buttresses the media’s capacity to play its watchdog role. Investigative journalism gives the media not only more bark, but also more bite, making them better watchdogs. The better the media, the more capable they are of finding proof of wrongdoing, the more they can hold powerful individuals and institutions accountable." she said.

In 1998, the PCIJ, together with other journalist associations in Indonesia, Thailand, and the Philippines got together to form the Southeast Asian Press Alliance, a watchdog group to promote press freedom in the region, she said.

The alliance facilitates exchanges of information among press groups, keeps track of press-freedom violations, and conducts training seminars. The PCIJ is also a founding member of the Freedom Fund for Filipino Journalists, which raises funds for journalists who have been killed or hurt in the line of duty.

"In the end, however, journalists alone cannot solve social ills. Civil society plays a role and eventually, the wheels of government have to be set in motion to fight malfeasance and abuse. At best, journalism plays a catalytic role. Investigative reports enrich public debate and put on the news agenda issues that should be of concern to citizens," she said.

In investigating the consequences of corruption in terms of the quality of government services or the magnitude of the waste of public resources, journalists help readers to understand the problems of governance and to make decisions about who they should vote for and what changes they should demand, she said.