The Media and their bully pulpit – Part 2

Rappler recently double-down on their aggressive stance against bloggers being treated in equal footing with traditional journalists. In a recent article by Pia Ranada – “Should bloggers be accredited to cover the Palace?” – Pia makes the same argument as Mr. Santos stating that since bloggers do not have accountability, they should not be treated as equals with traditional journalists. In this post I will un-pack the flawed logic behind this argument and argue that traditional journalists are in fact less accountable to the public interest than bloggers.

Pia and Mr. Santos claim that the nature of traditional media being an organized enterprise is the reason why traditional journalists are better than bloggers. They argue that since traditional journalism is part of an organized enterprise, they are subject to strict standards of accountability and are governed by universal rules of ethics. They argue that this strict standard of accountability and universal rules of ethics makes traditional journalism more accountable to the public interest. This is because, according to them, these rules and standards are geared towards ensuring that journalists and the media remain committed to promoting the public interest. Here are some of what Pia Ranada and Mr. Santos said: 

Pia Ranada and Mr. Santos would like us to believe that these standards and traditions make journalists better than bloggers because these standards and traditions allow them to better protect the public interest. This is nothing but a big fat lie. 

The nature of the establishment media as an organized enterprise is a source of problem not its strength. Media today is a for-profit enterprise earning billions of pesos in profit yearly. According to Ranada and Santos this is the source of the journalists’ strength. They are coming from the idea that since it is part of a well-oiled machine seeking to make profit, journalists have to abide by universal rules of practice and ethics and tradition. Implicit in what they say is the fact that if journalists do not abide by these rules set by the well-oiled profit making machine, they will be kicked out. What they assume and want us to believe without proof is the idea that this well-oiled machine is an altruistic force there only to provide funding for a profession that has proclaimed itself as guardians of truth and mediators of public discourse. They want us to believe that this for-profit organized enterprise is not beholden to special interest, nothing can be more intellectually dishonest. 

Aside from discussing how special interest may assert control, it is important to ask the question of why do they even bother? Why invest money to control a media company? Pia Ranada actually gave us the answer in her article: 

This is the reason why special interest groups would want to take control of media companies. If you have control of the media, you have the power to shape or influence public opinion and to confer legitimacy or condemnation of acts of government. That is serious power right there. 

Let us take Rappler as an example. Rappler the media company is owned by Rappler Holdings Inc. The biggest share holder of Rappler Holdings Inc is a company called Dolphin Fire Group whose majority owner is an investment firm called Menlo Capital Corporation. Some of the biggest share holders of Menlo Capital Corporation are Lucio Tan, Bernard Rabanzo, Melanie Villanueva, and Carlos Montes. Rappler Holdings Inc’s chairman of the board is Manuel Ayala. Lucio Tan is a multi billionaire with interests in different industries across the country (including mining) while Bernard Rabanzo has interests in the mining industry. What do you think will happen if Rappler start investigating the mining operations controlled by Lucio Tan and Bernard Rabanzo? Do you think Rappler is even going to do anything about it? If Rappler starts attacking the financial interest of its major shareholders, I don’t believe these shareholders will still be interested in keeping their investments in Rappler. When these shareholders start withdrawing their investments do you think the editors will keep running the stories that caused the investment flight? Who do you think Rappler’s editors are answerable to? The public interest or the bottom line of its shareholders? The profit motive for profit seeking individuals will always be stronger than the so called altruistic nature of the journalism profession. 

If the greatest appeal for investing in a media company is to use its power to shape public opinion, do you think shareholders will allow the media company to tarnish its public image? Pia Ranada herself acknowledges the fact that the media has great power yet she turns a blind eye on the obvious conflict of interest inherent in the for-profit model of the establishment media. 

So now that we have answered the why, let us look into the how. How does special interest control the media? Every media organization makes decisions on what stories to cover and what stories to ignore. This decision is made by the editors who answer not to the public but to the organization’s shareholders. I say this because ultimately power is in the hands of those who have the money. If the editor can publish one of two stories: story A is beneficial to the public interest but not favourable to its investor while story B is not beneficial to the public interest but favourable to its investor. Which story do you think the media company will publish? If the editors say no to a proposed story, do you think the journalist will still pursue it? Where will the journalist get the money to pursue the story? Follow leads? Etc. If the journalist does persist in following the lead and the editors have already told him/ her not to pursue it, do you think the editors will have a change of heart and still publish it? If the journalist is really persistent and publishes the story in a different paper do you think he will still have a job the next day? I don’t think so. Will the editors from another media organization hire someone who is shown to be belligerent to his/ her editors? I doubt it. The bottom line here is the fact that a story will only be published if and when the editors approve of it and editors make their decision based on what will be good for its shareholders. 

Most media organizations in the Philippines are owned and controlled by oligarchs who have huge financial interests that need to be protected. These oligarchs share the same interest in ensuring that the public remain blind to the power that they hold in society. Why do you think media organizations in the Philippines are full of sensational headlines and intrigue instead of thoughtful and well researched investigative pieces. Why do you think media organizations in the Philippines almost always cover the same stories in almost identical ways? Take the case of Sen. Trillanes’ allegations that President Duterte has Php 2Bn in his bank account. This has been widely covered and sensationalized by the media ever since it first came out during the campaign period. Now Sen. Trillanes is reviving the allegations and the media again swallowed the entire farce. Everything being written about this allegation came from one person – Sen. Trillanes who said his “documents” came from some random dude who gave it to him. The fact that the establishment media is content with just being the mouth piece of the government’s opposition is a clear sign that the media is not interested in the public good. If they are interested in the public good then they should challenge Sen. Trillanes to prove his allegations instead of feeding his ego in asking the person he accuses to prove his innocence. If the media is so decent and so righteous they should call Sen. Trillanes’ attention that in a democracy, the burden of proof is on the accuser, instead they reinforce the farce that Sen. Trillanes is spreading. 

Pia Ranada and Mr. Santos need only to look at the quality of reporting coming out of the establishment media to realize that the journalism profession requires a reset. For quality political discourse to be revived in our country, the space for public discourse and information dissemination needs a shock. This shock can only be introduced by a force as strong as the establishment media yet free from the inherent dangers of a for-profit enterprise. Pia Ranada and Mr. Santos will agree and will even preach that as journalists, the true judge of the quality of their work is determined by how their readers judge them. They will even stand on a pedestal built on their own ego and proclaim that “yes we are a for profit enterprise but as a professional we take pride in the value our readers get from our reporting”. This may be true but this claim is not exclusive to the card holding members of the journalism profession. Bloggers too are judged by their readers. The success of a blog depends on whether or not the community accepts it. Yes there are blogs whose main purpose is to troll but these blogs don’t usually last. Blogs that last are those who provide value to its readers. 

In the Philippines were the for profit media establishment has been hijacked by special interest for too long, bloggers serve as a countervailing force to the attempt by oligarchs to shape public opinion to serve their interest. Bloggers serve as an effective force to keep in check attempts by special interest to use the for profit media establishment to legitimize their hold on power. Bloggers have awakened the public to the reality that not everything they see, hear or read from the for profit media establishment is the whole truth. Bloggers provide the public with alternative explanations and solutions to pressing issues. This is very powerful because now the power to shape public opinion, to confer legitimacy to power or to challenge power is no longer held as a monopoly by an institution ruled by the profit motive. If Pia Ranada, Mr. Santos and Rappler truly believe in a freedom of the press then they should welcome the entry of bloggers. Rappler claims their name comes from two root words “rap” (to discuss) and “ripple” (to make waves). So why are they complaining when other people (bloggers) are making waves? Jealous much?