Media overreach

There is no more doubt that media have become more powerful and play a more vital and essential role in our country now. Our press, radio and TV have definitely a big influence in the life of our nation and of our people from all sectors of our society. Such role even grew bigger and more powerful with the emergence of social media using the latest information technology in the cyber space and the mobile phones. Indeed, news and other information travel faster now among the computer literate citizens who have been aptly dubbed as “netizens.” Even the major newspapers have put up their own web sites where the news published in their dailies can already be read ahead of time without buying the broadsheets anymore.

A very powerful and influential media have of course their own advantages and disadvantages. These are what we are seeing in our country now. Media has been showing us both the useful and harmful effects they have on our society especially at this time. 

On the plus side, they primarily keep our countrymen well informed of the important happenings here and abroad. They likewise educate the people of their rights and duties as citizens. Through media people can keep tabs of events affecting their day to day lives and thus enable them to know the bad things to avoid and the good things to seek; to find out what is right and what is wrong in our society especially in the government so that the necessary and appropriate actions can be suggested or taken. Indeed because of a very diligent, resourceful and in-depth probes conducted by some investigative journalists, several anomalies and wrongdoings in government have been exposed. Thus it can be said that media have somehow become deterrents in the commission of graft and corruption by government officials especially those occupying highly influential and powerful posts for fear of being exposed.

Right now however, there seems to be more disadvantages than advantages in having a powerful and influential media especially in our country. Apparently, the most harmful is in the field of politics. Because of our defective electoral processes and a voting population majority of whom are uneducated and/or uninterested/unaware of the issues involved and the qualifications of candidates, media have been used by moneyed candidates as the main vehicle in winning elections. There is no more doubt that candidates with more money to spend for extensive media coverage and excessive media exposure, especially in the national level, invariably emerge victorious over candidates who are more qualified but do not have enough money to spend in such kind of campaigning.

And there is likewise no more doubt that media have developed a new hybrid of politics perhaps found only in our country, commonly called “celebrity politics.” Under this kind of politics, people with constant exposure in media but without any qualification for the office they are seeking and without any experience in governance, run for public office because of their celebrity status. They know that they have bigger chances of winning elections since they are always exposed in media and have already acquired “name recall” from the adoring electorate come election time. Thus even without spending big sums of money like the other moneyed candidates, their “win-ability” is assured by media. This is undoubtedly the reason for the presence of so many movie actors and actresses, television personalities and sports heroes running and winning various elective public offices in both the local and national level. Indeed we even had a president whose main qualification is popularity because of his mass appeal acquired through his roles in several action movies. While he was ousted from office, it seems that our people did not learn from said experience and elected him again to a local office. Of course they may not be disqualified for the offices they seek but there are certainly many other citizens deserving and more qualified who should have been elected instead.

But more noticeable at this stage is the “media overreach” into the functions of the judiciary. This is not however like the judicial overreach that P-Noy is attributing to the judiciary which remains to be seen. Here, it is very clear that the various forms of media are encroaching upon the role of the judiciary.

This is very noticeable in the on-going Senate Blue Ribbon Committee investigation of the alleged overpricing and other corrupt practices supposedly committed by VP Binay. This investigation is merely a fact finding investigation. It is not an investigation that determines the guilt or innocence of those involved in the anomaly. Neither is it supposed to determine the weight and admissibility of the evidence or testimonies therein made, or to find out and declare that the witnesses or resource persons are lying. These are the functions of the court.

But in this case, several journalist and opinion makers in media have gone to the extent of declaring that some resource persons or witnesses, who are testifying in said investigation, have been lying. Apparently they are already encroaching upon the functions of the court here. They are obviously usurping the functions of a judge who has the sole authority to determine the credibility and weight of the testimonies of witnesses. This is exactly what “trial by publicity” is all about. And whether it is their intention or not, the public perception is that media people are protecting and favoring the official against whom the testimonies are given.

Hence to avoid the further malfunctioning of the administration of justice in this country which may deprive the parties concerned of their right to due process of law, the Senate should stop the investigation and just endorse the case to the Ombudsman for the proper investigation and filing of the appropriate charges in court where the guilt of the accused should proven beyond reasonable doubt. This is what I have been repeatedly suggesting.

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