(Part 1)
One of the most disturbing developments in the Philippines this year is the proliferation and dissemination of “fake news.” As understood in the current social and political environment, “fake news” means false information deliberately passed off as genuine news.
In the not-so-distant past, information disseminated to the public by the traditional print and broadcast media consisted of news, editorials and opinion materials, and propaganda.
“News” meant factual information obtained from a verified and credible source, and which is of enough importance or significance to warrant public attention. The more important or significant the news item was, the more priority or importance it got. Important news always found its way to the front pages of the newpapers, and got more broadcast time in radio and television news programs.
Since the rules on journalism ethics explicitly prohibit passing off unverified stories, opinionated essays, and promotional materials as news, the news stories disseminated by the traditional mass media in decades past were assumed by the general public to be truthful.
Tabloids are, however, a different matter. Because tabloids specialize in sensationalism—the use of graphic details designed to trigger public curiosity and, ultimately, to increase sales—the news published in tabloids do not enjoy the same level of credibility and acceptance from readers to whom news and current events mattered. Tabloids, therefore, do not define the news, and their reputation for sensationalism prevents them from being considered as credible news media.
The editorials and opinion materials published in the daily broadsheets are designed to help the reader understand the news, or form his own impression about current events. As a rule, editorials and opinion materials are published in a section in the inside pages of the periodical and properly identified as the opinion-editorial pages to distinguish this section from the news. This way, the readers do not mistake opinion materials for factual information. In fine, there is nothing wrong about the dissemination of opinion materials as long as they are not passed off as news.
On the other hand, radio newscasts are strictly limited to news stories, and do not include opinion materials. Opinion materials for radio are separately broadcast as “commentaries,” and they are usually anchored by professional radio commentators who must constantly identify their program as a commentary. The is so because a listener belatedly tuning in to either a radio news program or a radio commentary may not be able to determine if the material being broadcast is news or a commentary.
The same restriction applies to the television news media, although it is relatively easy for television audiences to distinguish straight news programs from opinion materials.
For one, news programs on television usually consist of a newscaster reading the news script from a teleprompter and periodic cuts to video footage of a news event covered by the broadcast reporters.
Moreover, opinion materials for television use the talk-show format where a guest or several guests are gathered in the television studio and a moderator asks them their views on current events. Labels and other graphics appearing on the television screen also tell the audience that the program is a commentary.
Some television commentaries do not use the talk show format and utilize a talking head instead. Throughout the broadcast, graphics indicate that the segment on the air is a commentary.
Propaganda consist of advertisements and similar promotional materials, as well as the usual campaign literature and segments which proliferate during an election season. They are easily identified by readers and broadcast audiences as propaganda because of the one-sided nature of the material concerned, and the intensity by which it glorifies its subject.
When an advertisement looks like a news item, the newspaper editor requires it to be labeled as an advertisement, and the radio or television station management adds a disclaimer at the end of the material. The measure protects the public from mistaking the advertisement for news.
Journalists identified with the traditional mass media are always required to verify their news stories and their sources, and to ascertain the truth of the news stories to be published or broadcast. They also have to convince their respective news editors that they have satisfied all the requirements for truthful and responsible news reportage before their news stories are disseminated to the public. Only by observing these exacting standards are the veracity of the news and news sources, and the credibility of the newspaper or broadcast network concerned, maintained and protected.
The veracity of the news stories and their sources is very important to the traditional news media because the news reported in newspapers and on radio and television are almost always considered gospel truth by their readers and audiences. Credibility is likewise very important because public acceptance of a newspaper or broadcast station as a reliable means of news dissemination depends on how credible the newspaper or broadcast station is to the public. When its credibility ceases, the reason for the existence of a newspaper or a broadcast news program also ceases.
All the foregoing restrictions describe what news dissemination is all about. They also define what a professional journalist should be.
For a long time, the traditional news media dominated the dissemination of all news, local and overseas. By and large, the traditional news media decided what the people should know, and conversely, what the people need not find out. This system meant that readers and audiences were at the mercy of the news dissemination industry elite.
The development of the social media in cyberspace has changed the news dissemination scene drastically. Today, not only is news readily available on line; newspaper readership has declined drastically. News on the radio has taken the backseat, while television news had to reinvent itself by incorporating entertainment value in the broadcast news. Viewers were no longer satisfied with plain news; they wanted entertainment with their daily news fix. (To be continued)