Media-Government Cooperation, Not Regulation

This week, the news and current affairs executives of the three largest TV network appeared before the senators in the Senate inquiry on the August 23 hostage crisis. The senators aimed to know the participation of the media during the said incident.

During the investigation, the senators lambasted the media for its participation and the eventual worsening of the situation of the hostage crisis. Senator Joker Arroyo specifically blamed the ABS-CBN for giving CNN the live video feed of the hostage crisis. Arroyo lamented that the tie-up between ABS-CBN and CNN caused the negative image of the Philippines around the world.

Some of the senators are pushing for tighter regulation of the media. This is, some of them said, to protect the image of the country because of the negative news that is being covered by the media, an example of which is the August 23 hostage crisis.

However, is regulation really the way to go? It can’t be denied that the Philippine media acted irresponsibly during the hostage crisis. Knowing that the hostage taker can watch the live footage live on a TV inside the bus, some of the news reporter from the big TV networks revealed the positioning of the SWAT policemen, thus foiling any of the surprise attack that they could have done against the hostage taker. Also, a radio program interviewed the hostage taker for almost an hour before the bloody end of the hostage crisis. The radio station greedily hogged the hostage taker from the negotiating panel in the name of getting the exclusive scoop.

However, these incidents should not be used as an excuse to control the Philippine media. Instead of stricter regulations, the government must foster an atmosphere of cooperation with the media. Clear guidelines must be set for any incident that involves human lives. Also, the media should develop policies within their ranks regarding those situations. The government must realize that it is the duty of the media to inform the people of important events. The media, on the other hand, must realize that principle of “Freedom of the Press” ends when it endangers the life of anyone or makes the situation worse.

Another thing is that the lamentation of Senator Arroyo regarding the negative image of the country is not acceptable. It is not the media who caused the negative image but the woeful action done by the authorities during the hostage crisis. The veteran Senator must realize that truth, no matter how much it hurts, liberates the people. No one have the right to prevent the media from revealing the truth.