Bambee dela Paz, 9 months after

I really wonder whatever happened to the case that Bambee dela Paz' father and brother filed against Department of Agrarian Reform Secretary Nasser Pangandaman and his son Nasser Jr.

I did look her up and the latest news about her is this bit of information in an article titled "Women's golf team takes 1st at Fall Classic" from www.newsrecord.org:

"Junior Bambee Dela Paz, the UC Scholar-Athlete of the month award winner, finished in a tie for 16th place individually and shot a final score of 82–78–76=236."

I wonder if people in the golfing circuit and at UC know that Bambee had taken part in attacking a government official and his son at a golf course in Antipolo?

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Camille Villar as anchor of TV5's The Evening News may be a violation of KBP Broadcast Code Section 8

Martin Andanar's status update this morning had me blowing coffee out of my nose.

Martin said, "Camille Villar, our guest news anchor tonight (October 16) Live on TV5's TEN The Evening News at 11!"

This latest status update from Martin comes right after he announced that TV5's The Evening News would begin having guest news anchors.  It is, perhaps, a logical progression of sorts in a stream of never been done before innovations that began with its MTV-ish OBB and CBB, Lourd de Veyra inspired sound bed,  the coffee shop  look of its news studio, and its reversed news line up (with the least important news being reported first and the most important news being reported last).

I personally have to congratulate Senator Manny Villar for pursuing the Presidency in a manner that consistently challenges my ability to keep my food down in my gut where it belongs. 

Between Martin Cervantes screaming about how he was made to wait for PNRC Chairman Richard Gordon before he could distribute relief goods and Senator Manny Villar's relief operations, I think the latter is more despicable.

Do you think, that for the amount of money he is spending, he won't be asking for anything in return?

I didn't mind it so much when I heard Camille, Gilbert Remulla, and Adel Tamano hawking some event or other on Magic 89.9 where it seems Villar's presence is felt rather strongly.

But having a Presidential candidate's daughter as the anchor of a news program has prompted some people to ask if TEN has any idea of why this may be wrong.

Do you think people won't be asking if the JOURNALISTIC INTEGRITY of the key movers behind TV5's TEN has been put up for sale?

I have friends at TV5 and I am raising this issue because I have a feeling that the better judgment that should guide a News Department in making decisions such as this was probably ignored.

Moreover, has TV5's TEN even considered what the KBP has to say about this? My view is that  having Camille Villar, a known campaigner for her father and being strongly identified with Senator Manny Villar,  as an anchor of a news program is tantamount to putting out propaganda for a candidate in the 2010 elections. Here is SECTION 8 of the 2007 KBP Broadcast code:

Article 8. POLITICAL PROPAGANDA
(Note: The provisions under this section have been adopted
from R.A. 9006 or the Fair Election Act.)

Sec.1. Equal opportunity in the access of airtime shall begiven to candidates and political parties. ( S )

Sec.2. No program or sponsor shall be allowed to manifestly favor or oppose any candidate or political party. However, the right to responsibly inform the public on significant issues and events and the duty to provide a forum for the discussion of such issues and events shall be respected.(S)

Sec.3. The amount of airtime allotted to political propaganda and the rates to be charged for it shall be consistent with existing laws. ( S )

Sec.4. When a person employed or engaged in any capacity in a station becomes a candidate or is employed or retained in any capacity by a candidate or political party, he shall go on leave for the duration of the election period or his employment may be terminated by the station. (G)

Sec.5. All broadcasts of election propaganda shall be identified as such and shall be identified through the words "paid for by" followed by the name of the candidate or political party for whom the election propaganda is being broadcast. If the broadcast is donated by the station, the words "airtime for this broadcast was provided free of charge by this station for…", followed by the name of the candidate or party, shall be used.(S)

Sec.6. All programs related to the campaign and the elections shall be subject to the relevant provisions of this Code and all Election Laws. ( S )

There is a reason why leading news programs have never ever done things that TV5 has done with the news format and I don't even know where to begin telling you about it.

Watch TV5's The Evening News tonight.

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Bloggers' Code of Ethics

I got a chance to catch up with Patricio Mangubat who writes the blogs New Philippine Revolution, Pinoy Observer, and Filipino New Network at Annabels a while back. 

During a brief smoking session at the gathering sponsored by Joey De Venecia III, we had a little chat about coming up with a Code of Ethics for bloggers and putting up an organization of bloggers just like the National Press Club, which I assume will persuade the Filipino blogging community to blog more ethically.

Patricio, having studied law at the University of the Philippines, said that he was already in the thick of crafting a Code of Ethics for bloggers and was already organizing a group that would promote this Code of Ethics.

I praised him for his efforts and it is actually a good idea to do this, but also said I don't think a Code of Ethics for bloggers needs to be written at all since there are already a vast number of such codes available out there. 

Besides, you already know of my aversion for words and phrases that tend to give off  an impression that the writer is trying to look smarter than he or she really is.  I have a more folksy idea of "ethics", and I describe it as behavior that one needs to adopt in order to function as part of a community.  Sure, it might be too simple, but I think that is the heart of it.

Anyway, just to prove the point that a Blogger's Code of Ethics need not be written, I'd like to point you to a Code of Ethics for bloggers in a post shared by Ding Gagelonia on Facebook which comes from the blog of Danilo Arao. (How's that for source attribution?)

This Code of Ethics came from Cyber Journalist dot net

Be Honest and Fair
Bloggers should be honest and fair in gathering, reporting and interpreting information.
Bloggers should:

• Never plagiarize.
• Identify and link to sources whenever feasible. The public is entitled to as much information as possible on sources' reliability.
• Make certain that Weblog entries, quotations, headlines, photos and all other content do not misrepresent. They should not oversimplify or highlight incidents out of context.
• Never distort the content of photos without disclosing what has been changed. Image enhancement is only acceptable for for technical clarity. Label montages and photo illustrations.
• Never publish information they know is inaccurate -- and if publishing questionable information, make it clear it's in doubt.
• Distinguish between advocacy, commentary and factual information. Even advocacy writing and commentary should not misrepresent fact or context.
• Distinguish factual information and commentary from advertising and shun hybrids that blur the lines between the two.

Minimize Harm
Ethical bloggers treat sources and subjects as human beings deserving of respect.
Bloggers should:

• Show compassion for those who may be affected adversely by Weblog content. Use special sensitivity when dealing with children and inexperienced sources or subjects.
• Be sensitive when seeking or using interviews or photographs of those affected by tragedy or grief.
• Recognize that gathering and reporting information may cause harm or discomfort. Pursuit of information is not a license for arrogance.
• Recognize that private people have a greater right to control information about themselves than do public officials and others who seek power, influence or attention. Only an overriding public need can justify intrusion into anyone's privacy.
• Show good taste. Avoid pandering to lurid curiosity.
• Be cautious about identifying juvenile suspects, victims of sex crimes and criminal suspects before the formal filing of charges.

Be Accountable
Bloggers should:

• Admit mistakes and correct them promptly.
• Explain each Weblog's mission and invite dialogue with the public over its content and the bloggers' conduct.
• Disclose conflicts of interest, affiliations, activities and personal agendas.
• Deny favored treatment to advertisers and special interests and resist their pressure to influence content. When exceptions are made, disclose them fully to readers.
• Be wary of sources offering information for favors. When accepting such information, disclose the favors.
• Expose unethical practices of other bloggers.
• Abide by the same high standards to which they hold others.

I am all for ethical conduct, but just how do you enforce it?

The reality is that even the KBP and the Philippine Press Institute are challenged when it comes to enforcing the standards of ethical behavior.  They actually have very specific rules that govern the practice of ethical journalism, they have people whose main job is to make sure people follow rules, and they actually have a pretty small number of organizations to look after.  And yet certain members of the media persist in practices that imperil the reputation of their company as well as their personal reputation.

So, what do you do when you are attacked by a malicious blog?  There are ways of dealing with this and that will be the subject of my next post.

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