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HER name may probably be the primary focus of what could be the most forwarded email this year among us Filipinos. One noon time at work, I overheard one officemate mentioning HER name while narrating HER story to teammates as they were going down a flight of stairs. At lunch yesterday with another set of friends, HER name again came up.
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Old people would warn that if you accidentally bit your tongue, somebody somewhere has mentioned your name or that a group of people are talking about you in a malicious context. Right. But if this was true, I so would not want to be in Malu Fernandez’s shoes these days.
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Last Friday, ANC aired the episode of Media In Focus covering the controversy Malu Fernandez has allegedly stirred, more so for Filipinos working overseas.
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In the program, the judgment of Bloggers who let people comment anonymously, specifically those who let people express violent and personal invectives and reactions to the articles or posts they publish online, are questioned, among others. As comments generated by the more popular posts concerning the Malu Fernandez issue increase in number daily, so did the instances of comments containing malicious tirades and cat calls on Malu Fernandez’s weight which was frowned upon as uncalled for and a detraction from the real, more pressing issue.
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The absence of filters on said comments is feared to be a cause for alarm because blogs as examples of the new media could become the latest avenue for individuals with violent intentions to convene.
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On a personal note, although the trend for blog ownership and readership has been picking up in the last couple of years, blogs should not be perceived as the only venue where unmoderated comments are available and offered for public access. AM band radio stations do, too, and boy they could get just as ugly.
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AM Radio programs would almost always allot several minutes of air time where radio hosts read out shout outs from the texted in messages of their listeners. Other texters would send in praises, reactions, or suggestions in the context of the topics being covered by the current program. The more opinionated listeners may text in their own analysis of the issues based on facts. The more emotional ones would send in allegations, whether or not warranted.
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Last Thursday’s AM Radio topic was on Commission on Elections Chairman Benjamin Abalos’ golf game trips to China sponsored by ZTE, Corp. (read more on this story at Inquirer.Net). Independent texts on how corrupt Abalos is based on track record were read on air. One other text argued that the particular listener could not comprehend how it is that Abalos did not think that the common people would not find his playing golf in China shady under the current circumstance. Although playing golf and building strong international relations could in fact work hand in hand, the radio host did not add his explanation or own opinion to what it was he just read. In fact, radio hosts do not commonly do that. The purpose of reading the listeners’ messages is to elicit interaction and have the listeners’ messages aired. It’s simply that.
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Not only were two text messages read on air in that program. Multiply its instance with the number of hourly radio programs within a day, the number of radio stations that exist, and the number of people it could reach if we are to sort of quantify its coverage. Point is, there are other avenues where unsuppressed opinions are roaring loudly. Said avenues may not cater to everybody but there is one out there available for almost anyone.
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We Bloggers have a moral obligation to our readers notwithstanding the freedom of expression we enjoy. Some of us opt to not be anonymous by choice. Whether we write behind the online persona we create or otherwise, we must not forget that if we are to tackle something big or merely touch on sensitive issues, we are automatically bound by certain rules on responsible journalism whether we like it or not. The best part is, most bloggers practice this ideal most of the time, which is a good thing.
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Benj Espina and Josel Gonzales of the Philippine blogging community guests for the first part of the program. The second segment had on personalities from the print media, among them were Lorraine Belmonte (Mega Magazine’s Design and Art Director), Ricky Carandang (of ABS-CBN, also a blogger), and Alex Magno (from the Philippine Star).
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The Media In Focus episode closed and the guests have spoken their minds well in representing the media they belong to. Malu Fernandez has declined to appear on the said program.
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As the last names of the people behind the program disappeared from the screen, The music video “Don’t Discriminate” (the video below) from Youth for Human Rights was shown immediately after (which, IMHO, could not have been more appropriate).
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