Balance good, bad news - Noy

MANILA, Philippines - President Aquino asked the media yesterday to strike a balance between good and bad news. 

Speaking at the Philippine Press Institute’s 16th National Press Forum on Media Accountability and Public Engagement in Manila, Aquino said accuracy and accountability were being compromised for speed, especially among media people with Twitter accounts. 

“Where are we now?” he asked. “Is the principle to ‘get it first, but get it right’ still there? Or has this been replaced by ‘get it first, make sure the story will sell and if the information is not right, just say sorry later’?”   Aquino said as a student, he and his classmates’ main sources of information were newspapers when they were tasked to monitor current events. “Very seldom did we see wrong spelling, wrong grammar and most especially wrong data or details,” he said. “The difference between op-ed and news containing facts was clear.”  

Aquino said when martial law was declared in 1972, media became mere “tape recorders” as the dictatorship had curtailed press freedom. 

“When the country gained back its freedom in 1986, it would be proper to ask if the pillar of the media as institution had been fortified: credibility and integrity; fair judgment of the situation and faithfulness in data and details,” he said. Aquino cited a news story that the emir of Qatar had cut short his visit to the Philippines without clearly reporting on their bilateral meeting and the significance and gains of the visit. Those with Twitter accounts spread the news that he was on a date in Greenhills, San Juan when he was actually in a meeting in Malacañang, he added.

Aquino said doubts had been established before the clarification and verification, and the good news about the results of his meeting with the National Economic and Development Authority Board had been overshadowed.  

On that day, P133 billion in government projects were approved, he added.

Aquino said members of the Malacañang Press Corps could have been asked to check his whereabouts, particularly if his convoy had left. 

“I think they have the appetite to criticize first, and when they find out it was a bum steer, they then sought apology,” he said. “Is it too much to ask that Filipinos themselves should be the ones to take care of and look after Philippine interests?”  

Aquino said the Philippines was the only country headlining negative travel advisories. Without direct threats, the country’s safety and security were being questioned because of the treatment of these travel advisories in the news. 

Aquino said a Filipino who wanted to return home would have second thoughts because news from the Philippines were about violence and crime. “What more a foreign tourist who is estimated to spend at least $1,000 in visiting the Philippines, which can generate jobs and livelihood for our fellowmen?” he asked.

Aquino said 4.8 million tourists were expected to visit the country this year, almost half of the 10 million target for 2016.  

“Think about how fast we can reach this target if positive news about the Philippines will prevail and not the negative first?” he said. 

Aquino also said news about car theft had been given prominence, but the conviction of carjacker Raymond Dominguez was not. “Let us remember, our duties are tied,” he said. “We in government and you, as purveyors of truth.”   Aquino said both sides must be loyal to the truth, have balanced judgment and focus on what would be good for the people. 

He was not asking for invented stories to project a good image for the government as every word could affect the lives of Filipinos, he added. 

Aquino said cooperation between the government and the media could lead to good results.

Some news could boost morale, like reports on graft-free projects of the Department of Public Works and Highways and positive economic developments, he added. –With Dino Balabo