Media and economic change

The right to information and the right to free expression are just only a few of the most important rights in the democratic space.  And I believe that these rights are not only worth fighting for, but even worth dying for that many had to dearly spend their own if only to preserve it. As Voltaire aptly wises, "I do not agree with what you have to say, but I'll defend to the death your right to say it."

Basic and unalienable as they are, we have not fully endeavored to reflect on their potential to drive business and economic revolution. For example, the media are inclined to cull stories by popularity rather than by importance. This is evident by the amount of showbiz content that pervades on TV and the sheer volume of ludicrous and frivolous stories that inundate many of our tabloids. Even if you read the editorial of a newspaper, the discussion of economic issues is sparse and confined mostly in the business section as if it were a matter reserved for the academe and technocrats. 

While they have the right to choose the kind of stories they carry or to convey their views to all and sundry, they also have a crucial role to play in "balancing" information and opinion. Balancing means that media has to side with or must place importance on quality news and useful editorial. Quality news is not just about presenting all sides of the story. It is also about the quality of the story itself.  I firmly believe that consumers do not only deserve quality stories, it is also their basic right to receive them. 

What I consider to be useful editorial is when the reader is able to make an intelligent decision over an issue. It is not just about any issue. It should be an issue of public interest (and the breakup of Kris Aquino and Herbert Bautista is not one of them). And more than just an issue of public interest, it must also be an issue of private interest in which the opinion being offered for consideration should at least contain a minimum amount of impact to its audience's in terms of their day to day or future affairs.  

The media being the producers of such content have the power to force their stories to consumers with extra powers to persuade the same. We are at their mercy because they have the control to choose on our behalf the kind of information we want to read, hear or see.  This brings us back to our ideal that the role of the media is not just to ensure our right to information or to censure erring functionaries of the state, it is also their role to fulfill the right of its consumers to economically benefit from the stories they present.   

For many years, foreign capital and even our very own OFWs are wary of putting their money here because our media highlight crimes, corruption, scandals, conflicts and other bad news which drive away opportunities for growth. It seems that it is so hard for the media to banner some good news to tell to our OFWs that it is time to come home and start their own business and be their own boss. Why can't we place the same importance to stories that encourage people to become entrepreneurs or to intimate to the most ordinary of readers to fold their sleeves and try their hands on a new venture that they can do in their neighborhood?   

I know that it is not easy for the media to invite a wider patronage to stories about the country's GNPs/GDPs, stock indices, and all, as headliners but media must go the extra mile to present them in such a way that even grandma can easily relate and understand. Our state of the economy is equally or if not more important than our state of politics because they bring food on the table of every family-man. People have so little business on petty crimes and private affairs of politicians and celebrities that find their way on the front pages of our newspapers. And media should be more accepting and welcoming to stories that open livelihood and invite opportunities to people.          

Media must be one of the pillars of economic change. The success of many economies in the Greater Middle East region can be attributed to their media's initiative to highlight more good news than the bad. Positive news builds confidence and creates an atmosphere of optimism. This is one part that our media that needs improvement.

Media has done an excellent job doing all the watching for us when it comes to the misdeeds of the government officials. But the role of the media is not just to watch every politician's behind and uncover their dark activities. The media must also be that guide to its readers, listeners and viewers to lead them to the light of economic transformation.

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