Thursday, September 20, 2007 Seares: ‘Politics’ of news By Pachico A. Seares News Sense
LAWYER Rory Jon Sepulveda, Capitol public information consultant, said they study each published news story about Cebu province and look for its "politics."
What politics? Does a news story use "political tactics, sometimes specifically crafty methods" or "a functional scheming for power within a group"?
Those are meanings of "politics" one can relate to a news story. Stretching it further, it can be the "agenda" of reporter or editor. For personal or political gain, is that what Capitol hunts down in a news story?
Bothered by the use of "politics," I asked Rory Jon, who was among the panelists in Tuesday's Cebu Press Freedom Week forum ("Reaching Out to News Sources: How to Deal with Media"): Examine a story to look for its "politics"? What does he mean?
Avoiding a ledge where he could teeter, Rory Jon said they just want to find out why paper A picks this lead for a story and splashes it on Page 1 while paper B, using another lead, buries it inside. Capitol just likes to learn how to get its press release published the way it likes, he said.
Motive
Yet, I said, it can be just a search for motive. I often hear pissed-off news sources ask: "Are we not supposed to be your friends? What did we do to deserve this?"
Rory Jon assured they don't look for motive, which may not be what you and I hear elsewhere.
I suggested that news sources look only at the face of the story, note its errors, and ask that they be corrected.
When "mistakes" become serial though, I said, it's something else.
But it's not "politics." Just plain ill will and spite which can't thrive in a fairly decent news medium.
