THIS paper is dead serious in its commitment to be an independent monitor of power. And for us, SunStar CDO team, to be effective on this, we have no room for any of our representatives to tolerate the so called "envelopmental journalism."
To simply put, envelopmental journalism is when a journalist only works after he receives a "white envelope" from those he covers. A white envelope may come literally as an envelope with cash in it or may come in subtle forms of bribery like free gift checks, free accommodation to places, small and big favors, and the most classic, wine and dine. This is with the exception on feature and lifestyle writing, because those are advertorial in nature.
You see, I have been very much exposed to the dynamics of local politics not just in this city but in the whole country. One of the realities I saw and have observed in almost all LGUs is the accepted and widespread practice of bribing media personalities either to kill a story or to add flame on an issue. Some even go as far as fabricating stories or disseminating fake news to cover up a big mess and further the interest of a certain politician or a group of politicians, all for a fee.
To corroborate this, one simply has to listen to a radio anchor or follow the write up of a certain columnist even for just one straight week, and you will already have a pretty much idea whether the media man is a paid one or not and from whom does he or she get his "envelope."
This is actually pretty sad, because media today is the easiest and most accessible entity for people to run to and air out their grievances against the injustices of the all and might government. This explains why the TV program of the Tulfo brothers continue to dominate the airwaves despite corruption issue. Media in all its platform, is after all the people's last hope. And if the only refuge of the masses gets bought, the oppressed no longer stands a chance.
The call to be credible and fair among media personalities have become more challenging nowadays simply because our profession is not profitable at all. Yet that does not mean it is a lost cause, otherwise I would not have given up my lucrative job for this.
In these trying times, when corruption has become the norm instead of the exception, all the more our media play a crucial role. The least that media can do is tell the truth as a whole, not just parts of it. The next good thing to do is to provide the platform for dialogue and discussion.
But the moment that "white envelope" gets in the way, it will all be for no use. We would lose the war even before it begins. Lutong macao na gayud kana.