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Thursday, September 23, 2004
Officials, opinion makers clash
By Linette C. Ramos
Sun.Star Staff Reporter
AN EXCHANGE of accusations, the branding of some opinion makers as “liars” and the perennial complaints of news sources of being misquoted found media practitioners assessing the profession of opinion making yesterday.
On the fourth day of the Press Freedom Week celebration, it was the columnists and the commentators’ turn to be grilled by the news sources for their “false claims,” particularly by those they are fond of criticizing.
But the “News Sources Meet Opinion Makers” forum held at the MBF Cebu Press Center yesterday was also a venue for both the source and columnist to learn from each other and to resolve conflicts sparked by unfavorable commentaries.
“Opinion makers do not know what they are talking about and yet they have the temerity to emphasize their opinions as if nobody else was correct. They do not bother to go to news sources and ask in order to get balanced view on issues. Consult the person concerned in your opinions, especially in matters of law,” Assistant Regional State Prosecutor Vicente Mañalac told opinion makers at the forum.
He said news sources should not always be blamed.
“Sometimes, it is you, the journalist. Some stories do not come out even after a lengthy interview with a news source. I am even often misquoted,” he said.
When asked who he was referring to, Mañalac named two reporters and Sun.Star columnist and
dySS anchor Pablito “Bobby” Nalzaro.
He said he was often misquoted in the news reports and columns about the much-publicized case of Cedrick Devinadera, who was linked to the Alona Bacolod-Ecleo murder.
An irate Nalzaro retorted that news sources also fail to see the media’s role as both ally and adversary.
“The government uses media as a publicity tool. If our commentary is favorable to an official, pakpak silang tanan. But if kontra na gani, nabayran na kuno mi sa pikas,” he said.
“When I said something negative suko na ka nako. Is it wrong to question why you filed the case against Devinadera when another case was still pending in court?” Nalzaro told Mañalac.
In his opening message, lawyer and Sun.Star columnist Frank Malilong, the main speaker for the opinion makers, urged his colleagues to honor their covenant with their readers “to be correct, fair, circumspect and responsible even as we labor to inform, inspire and move people into action.”
Godofredo Roperos, another Sun.Star columnist, also reminded both source and opinion maker of their roles in a democratic society, and that they should abide by the same rules: sense of responsibility, fairness and respect for truth.
Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia, the speaker for the news sources, also raised her concerns about opinion makers, saying she has been misjudged by some columnists.
Garcia figured in numerous editorials and columns for her veto on resolutions of the Provincial Board, and more recently, for the lunch she serves reporters at the Capitol.
But what if the columnist is the one wrongly accused?
Lawyer and Sun.Star columnist Elias Espinoza said the governor’s staff once hinted that he was lying after he wrote that Garcia was running for governor, when at that time, she had not planned to do so yet.
“And then it turned out you were really running to become governor and now you are even governor and I was vindicated. How come there are no apologies for the accusation?” he told the governor.
While she may not agree with the opinion of some columnists, Garcia said she is “aware and respects the reality that opinion makers are what they are: molders of public opinion and shaper of public mind.”
As opinion makers, she added, it is the duty of the columnists to uphold the facts in the news page when the data of reporters do not support a speculation, or when they belie the speculation.
(September 23, 2004 issue)
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