MONTEREY, California — The average American journalist worries about job security, but most of them can avail themselves of packages that can help tide them over to the next job. They do not worry about getting killed, or being imprisoned for libel (it is a civil offense here, not criminal), or getting hit by a big rock while covering a protest, or being kidnapped while interviewing bandits, or being arrested for covering a coup attempt, or being scolded and censored by government officials. Not all Pinoy journalists face all these threats on a daily basis, but the dangers are there and can affect the way we work and how news — real news — is delivered to the people.
For David Kellogg, the Herald’s city editor, the biggest threats to American journalists are ethics and fairness. Ethics is a big issue in the media, he says, and with journalists being lower-paid than many other professionals, the temptation is there to give in to gifts, perks, and other forms of bribery. It works pretty much the same way it would in the Philippines: the briber hands out golf memberships or other gifts to journalists, and in exchange they expect favorable stories about them to come out in the papers. David proudly says none of the Herald’s staff gets any of these bribes, but he couldn’t say the same for the rest of the country’s journalists.
Fairness is also an issue, and there has been a growing sense that each side of a story should be given space. These two concerns are shared by Pinoy journalists, where bribery and the temptation to give only one’s favored side of a story are difficult to refuse. With the country perennially in crisis, it is not difficult to see why reporters — who are not well paid even in the best of times — give in. But that is no excuse: there is no reason for any journalist to engage in any activity that compromises the truth. As they say here, if they can’t stand the heat, they should get out of the kitchen.
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