The new F-word

Herbie Gomez

IN 2003, a group of journalists in the city partnered with the academe, judiciary, religious and other civil society groups to assess and start a public discussion on the strengths and weaknesses of the mainstream media, and how the media audience can help the “ailing” industry. Needless to say, the spotlight was on the Cagayan de Oro media.

I was actively and deeply involved in that undertaking, and contributed my “labor of love” for over five years to make that happen. That project twice received technical assistance from the Australian International Development Assistance (Ausaid) through the Philippines-Australia Governance Facility (PAGF).

As early as 1999 when I was president of the Cagayan de Oro Press Club (COPC), we have been sounding alarm bells about the continuing erosion of public trust on the mainstream media due to a concoction of factors too complex that we saw it fit to bring the problem to the attention of civil society in the hope that the city’s media audience would help by becoming the “watchdogs of the watchdogs.” At the end of the day, what was at stake was the public’s right to be properly informed. Public pressure, we thought and still think, would make the mainstream media shape up. Sadly, while there have seen some improvements since then and efforts have been made to raise the standards, trust and public confidence on news organizations continued to erode.

In 2003, we noted the lack of professionalism in the city’s mainstream media, and that respect, honor and credibility were things many workers in the industry didn’t value. A survey we conducted at that time showed that the levels of professional trainings were too low. More than half of the respondents did not undergo mediaelated trainings before they became media practitioners, and majority said there were hardly in-service trainings. We found out that there was even a lack of educational preparation among the respondents and that explained why there was so much trash and illiteracy in the news and commentaries during that period. Adding insult to injury was the realization that even those who took up and finished communications courses couldn’t communicate well. That was a very sad commentary on the kind of mainstream media and the quality of education that we had in the city at that time. My worry is that it could still be the case today, about 14 years after that survey was made.

As public confidence in the mainstream media eroded, a newcomer called “social media” began to take shape and gave anyone with a smartphone the power to be a “citizen journalist.” All of a sudden, the faceless and nameless lone wolf in his briefs writes and posts something next to the work of a journalist with a Pulitzer or even a Nobel prize-winning scientist, and generates more “likes” and “shares.” Today, it is even possible for the man to do what he thinks is “citizen journalism” while sitting on a toilet bowl because when it’s on Twitter or Facebook, everything basically looks the same.

We saw the danger signs over a decade ago. What we did not see coming then was the rise of social media and its potentials to launch a “coup d’état” against the mainstream media that’s now apparently taking place. We just sat there and watched as it blew up in our faces, and by the time we realized what just happened, the godfathers of Philippine fake news were already exploiting our weaknesses, lording over us, and misusing their powers so that they could continue ramming down more lies, half-truths, falsities, and strange and dangerous ideas down the throats of the gullible who, unfortunately, are aplenty.

Mainstream media offered its audience a long, narrow and bumpy road, and a roller coaster ride to understanding things that matter so they could formulate well-informed opinions and decisions but didn’t and couldn’t guarantee change — somehow, a lot of people got fed up; the alternative provided the same audience a wide, smooth and well-paved road where they can have control and cherish the promise of utopia as they journey to an unchartered territory that may well be a dead end or worse, lead to a wider path straight to the regions of a dark abyss.

Here and abroad, “fake” is the new F-word — fake news, that is. That reputable news organizations are now competing with fake news peddlers was something unthinkable years ago. Civil society has a bigger problem, a monster we in mainstream media unintentionally helped to create. Face it — mainstream media’s weaknesses are among the reasons why fake news thrives on cyberspace today. We had it coming. And now truth and society have a new and humongous enemy, and that’s because mainstream media looked the other way or did so little to win back the trust and confidence of their audience. We just didn’t shape up the way we should have. Pastilan.