Let me begin by greeting my wife of 33 years, Arlene, a very happy birthday today. Always loving, persevering and faithful, she deserves every meaning that this greeting can be meant, in words that can be said, and in thoughts for which words will never be enough. With this greeting comes the love with which it is couched, from me and our three daughters.
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As a journalist for more than 37 years, I fully understand the need to always put context into every story. And I fully get it as well that context is often best served in the form of contrary views, the so called "other side" so to speak. And because no two people think exactly alike, the other side could be as many as there are people on this earth.
This is therefore the reason why I cannot understand the practice of some media outlets, but most particularly ANC, of always resorting to the same resource persons over and over again whenever they need to put in the other side --- the contrary view --- to anything and everything that President Duterte and his administration say or do.
Florin Hilbay and Gary Alejano, to name two, are not the only persons on this earth who can provide context to every Duterte story that ANC decides to put out. In fact there are far more people with better expertise than these two who can provide context with greater credibility that ANC quite inexplicably just refuses to tap.
Hilbay and Alejano, while without doubt experts in whatever it is that they do, cannot be allowed to dominate the conversation because they are patently anti-Duterte and are therefore less credible than others who may share similar views but are coming from a more neutral and apolitical position.
By always repairing to Hilbay and Alejano and the few others who make up the small and predictable retinue of anti-Duterte assets, ANC is doing itself a very great disfavor. Not only is it painting itself into the corner of biased journalism, it is also consequently losing viewership each time the jaded old faces of Hilbay, Alejano and company come into view.
You do not need to actually listen to Hilbay and Alejano to know what they are saying. If Duterte sees black, you know at once that Hilbay and Alejano will see white. If Duterte cries foul, Hilbay and Alejano will cry fair. I hope the day will not come when, to save on effort, ANC will not just quote the two without actually going through the motions of interviewing them.
ANC loves to constantly and loudly promote itself. But the best self-promotion initiative can only come by doing what is right, by actually practicing what it constantly brags about. On the matter of putting in context, ANC can try other resource persons, people who by their neutrality and objectivity can be more credible and respectable in their views, even if they be anti-Duterte.