CEBU CITY, Philippines – Cebuano media workers are celebrating Cebu Press Freedom Week in time for the 52nd anniversary of Martial Law on Saturday, September 21, as they confront the twin challenges of technological changes and news avoidance.
The weeklong celebration of press freedom comes with hope that the media will “remain a significant part” of the lives of readers and viewers.
A pooled editorial published in Cebu dailies on Monday, September 16, identifies two key challenges for the media industry.
“One, of course, points to technological advances which cannot really be solved quickly. It takes time to gain the means with which to acquire them, as well as to learn them and correctly apply them to work on our system,” the editorial said. “The other challenge looks quite easy to confront, but is in reality a tougher nut to crack. It’s about news fatigue and news avoidance.”
“We hope the celebration of the Cebu Press Freedom Week from September 15 to 21 will provide some context and guidelines on what we can do to keep our readers glued to the papers they’re reading, and to the screens they’re watching or surfing. We want to remain a significant part of their lives,” said the pooled editorial.
For some journalists, the meager pay in the industry is also an important concern.
“As much as we love doing the job and serving the community through what we do, when you look at the bills every month, it becomes difficult to budget with the salary,” said Cebu Daily News (CDN) Digital multimedia reporter Pia Piquero.
Piquero is also the vice president of the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) – Cebu.
Gatekeeper role diminished
Kaiser Jan Fuentes, who writes for The Manila Times and MyTV Cebu, said the key challenge facing local journalists is being ignored by news sources who have built for themselves large platforms on social media. Fuentes said he is worried about the profession but sees opportunities in the move to digital journalism.
“With elected officials, government agencies, and other decision-makers now able to directly communicate with the public through social media, the role of the media as traditional gatekeepers of information has diminished,” said MyTV Cebu Program Director Andi Pateña-Matheu.
Officials “can now shape the narrative by producing their own news releases and broadcasts, which, unsurprisingly, always cast their administration in a positive light,” Matheu told Rappler.
Members of the Cebu media industry are celebrating the 32nd Cebu Press Freedom Week from September 15 until September 21. The event is celebrated annually, in the week where September 21 falls, as a reminder to the stifling of press freedom during Martial Law.
Key highlights of the week-long celebration are different fora tackling various aspects of journalism including:
- GMA Masterclass on “documentaries in a rapidly changing news media landscape” with Raffy Tima and Malou Mangahas at the UP Cebu Performing Arts Hall from 9 am to 12 nn last Monday, September 16
- “Responsible content creation” by MyTV at the University of San Jose Recoletos Main Campus from 1 to 5 pm last Tuesday, September 17
- “Journalism and financial literacy: Tools in achieving freedom from debt and financial security” by CDN Digital at UP Cebu from 10 am to 12 nn on Thursday, September 19
- “MAMSER: Improving news reporting on gender” by the Cebu Citizens-Press Council, STET Women in Cebu Media, and Cebu Media Legal Aid (CEMLA) at the Marcelo B. Fernan Cebu Press Center from 1 to 3 pm on Thursday, September 19
- “Impact of AI on Community Journalism” with Jaemark Tordecilla by STET Women in Cebu Media at Seda Ayala Center Cebu from 9 am to 12 nn on Friday, September 20
- “Is Journalism Still Relevant in Today’s Digital Landscape?” by SunStar Cebu at the Cebu City Sports Center from 8 to 11:30 am on Saturday, September 21
Opportunities ahead
For retired newspaper editor Michelle So, the key challenges for the industry are the “onset of AI, inadequate journalistic skills of many young reporters, growing lack of appreciation of news sources for what journalists do, shrinkage of newsrooms, and work overload of editors because of fewer people in the newsroom.”
So leads the coordinators of the Cebu Press Freedom Week.
Online harassment and bullying of media workers over unfavorable coverage are also another challenge for journalists, Matheu said.
The Cebu Citizens-Press Council (CCPC) keeps track of attacks on Cebu journalists. It lists on the Cebu Journalism and Journalists website that 10 Cebu journalists have been killed since Antonio Abad Tormis was shot dead on July 3, 1961. The latest case involved radio commentator Rey Cortes on July 22, 2021. CCPC also lists 16 “attacks and harassments,” with the last incident being the barring of Rappler Cebu correspondent Lorraine Ecarma from covering the police headquarters on May 14, 2021.
Father Felmar Fiel, the newly-elected Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (KBP) Cebu Chapter president, said controversial incidents involving broadcasters are key concerns for their industry.
Two broadcasters were widely criticized earlier this year for a radio interview where a minor victim of sexual abuse was asked to recount in lurid details on air what happened to her. Earlier this month, two broadcasters were denounced after a video clip went viral showing them running after a news source who did not want to be interviewed.
Fiel, who manages the Catholic radio station dyRF, was elected to the KBP Cebu post in July. He said issues involving ethics and the respect of news sources were among the key challenges he faced in the initial days in his term.
Fiel wants to use as an approach to solve the problem of the industry something that is central to the Catholic Church under Pope Francis — synodal. He wants all media organizations to “journey together” and collaborate on solving media issues.
But are there opportunities ahead for Cebu media?
“The opportunities are boundless. Social media has empowered us to connect with storytellers from all corners of the globe, while citizen journalism has grown stronger than ever,” said Matheu. She added that this “heightens our responsibility to prioritize thorough fact-checking” and to encourage critical thinking among media consumers.
For So, “now is the time for journalists to upgrade skills and embrace tech advances. There are many free online courses. In Cebu, mentorship is gaining ground and more media practitioners have joined the academe.” – Rappler.com
Max Limpag is a freelance journalist based in Cebu and is an Aries Rufo Journalism Fellow of Rappler for 2024.