Mockery of Journalistic Integrity

Journalistic integrity in a country which enjoys the “freest press in Asia” is, now more than ever, suffering from mockery and disintegration by the biggest media organisations in the land. Media companies that should have been a bastion of integrity in journalism because of their vast resources and country wide popularity, instead have become a breeding ground for contempt, bias and bigotry.

In recent months, organizations such as ABS-CBN, Philippine Daily Inquirer and Rappler have become instruments of this government and of people possessing their same prejudice, discarding their obligation to the truth and betraying their loyalty to the citizens.

What with the demonizing of the former president and her appointees leading to the resignation of the nation’s ombudsman, suicide of a former AFP Chief of Staff and impeachment (through a blatant disregard of the merits of the case and ‘bribery’ of the ‘Senator-Justices’) of a Chief Justice. Even the ‘second most powerful’ man in the country was not spared by the unethical practices of these outfits. And recently, they have targeted religions of the minority.

These media organizations have desecrated the ethics of principled journalism. Sacrificing accuracy, balance, news worthiness and independence for sensationalism, biased reporting, worthless news pieces and corruption.

Watching the news from the said TV station is just like watching their “fanta-seryes”. Reading the news from the afore-mentioned print and web news sources is no different from reading a seedy tabloid.

They maybe the first when it comes to timeliness of their reports, but definitely the last when it comes to credibility.

But in such practices, not only have they succeeded in destroying or character-assassinating the above mentioned individuals and institutions, but they have also slaughtered the ‘fourth estate’ and have wasted the freedom of the press envied by so many in other countries.