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blogger blues

little more than a handful of pinoy bloggers on my required-reads list have been blogging (and only a handful of readers commenting) on israel’s wicked war in/on gaza, which is a shame because it betrays how insular we can get, as though we were an island complete unto ourselves, which we’re not.

the israel-palestine problem should concern us, at the very least because it involves the u.s. of a. (even if cnn and bbc don’t talk about the how and the why) with whom we are said to have “special relations.”   a must-read is anna de brux’s post, America should stop subsidising Israel’s war on Gaza to the tune of $2.4 billion a year in military aid.   iyan ang “special relations.”   iyong sa atin, a paltry $149 million, poor relations lang tayo, distant relations, even beggar relations, thanks to government policies, e.g. foreign policy, trade policy, debt policy, that keep us dependent on, subservient to, outside forces.

at the very least, next time gma or kristiekenney talks “special relations” because of our long history as allies, let us be aware that it has been a long time since it’s done us much good.

so what have pinoy bloggers been fretting about  instead all through the holidays til now?    the golf folderol (as djb puts it), what else.   now that the blogosphere’s kneejerk rush to judgement in reaction to bambee de la paz’s campaign for justice has been proven rash foolish unwise, many bloggers left twisting in the wind are making the best of a sorry situation, some by admitting outright that it was a mistake, some by posting the pangandaman side, some by utter silence so far, and some by editing their blogs perhaps to avoid libel suits.

must reads:

Final Cut: The Pangandaman-Dela Paz Feud
Bubuyog Tonite: De la Paz, di nagkasya sa payong …
Obliterated: An Anti Pangandaman Blog
Credibility in Blogging and the Libel Suit against Blogger Bambee de la Paz
It’s your blog
The Right to Bitch …

i can hear luis teodoro et al saying, i told you so:

the principles of journalism should apply . . . . there should be verification and fairness even if it’s an opinion piece.“

reading my strong negative reaction at the time, a long time ago, long before bambee, i cringe.   but no, i’m not editing out any of it.   a reminder to think twice before jumping into the next debate between mainstream media and the new media that’s admittedly going through birth pains, no, maybe teething pains, pinoy style.

challenge of the blogs

must read: talk about kettles calling the pots black by dean jorge bocobo, where he takes on media guru luis teodoro, who deserves it for not finding anything good to say about blogs except that they pose a challenge to mainstream media, and who therefore advises journalists to:

. . . go into blogging to set examples . . . the principles of journalism should apply.”

ateneo communications professor chay hofilena agrees:

There should be verification and fairness even if it’s an opinion piece. There should be an effort to get the other side no matter how little the space you allot.”

ahahaha. what do they think they’re doing? they want to change the blogosphere, that’s what. they want bloggers writing like their mga alaga, i suppose, who only report both sides of a story, and who do not feel too strongly or care deeply enough about issues (for lack of reading and research?) as to make the mistake of pushing an opinion or taking a stand, oh no, that’s a no-no.

but that’s precisely what’s so great and radical about blogging – the unlimited space for opinions and ideas that are not welcome in mainstream media because, as bocobo tells us in no uncertain words:

Next to the government itself, of which the Main Stream Media are virtually a part, I cannot think of a more corruption-ridden, unethical, unprofessional, disingenuous and commerce-driven bunch than the Philippines Main Stream Media. Hiding behind veils of objectivity to hide prejudice, ideology, selfish agendas and vested interests, using innuendo, libelous and scurrilous attacks, whilst piously defending press freedom, what right do these kettles have to call the pots black and then to charge for it.

“Hahaha! At least when the bloggers use these same tactics they aren’t hypocrites about it and expect everyone else to bow down before their “codes of professional ethics”–which in our Main Stream Media are followed more in the exception than in the rule.”

my advice to journalists who would-be political bloggers: plunge in, get the hang of it, get into the loop, persevere, but don’t expect special treatment. like bocobo says:

Bring your ethics. Bring your standards. Bring your professionalism. Bring your Mama! But what really matters here is whether your ideas can compete with others and win! Your bandwidth is my bandwidth. My Liberty is your Liberty. Leave your stupidities and inanities at the door, or bring them along and wallow with the rest of the warthogs (which is allowed!). Here we are equals, and you’ve just come to the party a little late. Now, there’s a place at the table for everyone, but don’t expect a high place and automatic respect just coz you’re so used to one way conversations and call yourself some fancy name that really means nothing to most of us.”

what if, instead of trying to change the blogosphere teodoro found ways to raise the bar for journalism, raise the level of thinking and analysis through reading lists and interdisciplinary crash courses on history, politics, economics, environment, world trade and the like.

instead of putting down blogs, which is so crabmentality, yuck, traditional media should be upgrading and rising to the challenge of the blogs.

cheche & censorship

what does it say about philippine journalism when one of its top icons, a multi-awarded veteran broadcast journalist, producer, educator, and talkshow host (also maria ressa’s idol) says that art for art’s sake is secondary to the will of the man with the purse, and that artists give up freedom of expression when commissioned to do a work of art.

or something to that effect. cheche lazaro’s scripted wrap-up in the last 15 (10?) seconds of media in focus last thursday was so rushed, i may have heard wrong, i hope i heard wrong, because how could she be so okay about censorship?

says john silva, senior consultant to the national museum:

“The cavalier and contemptible manner by which the National Press Club blithely desecrated a work of art is evidence enough that these so-called journalists haven’t a clue about freedom of expression. In a free society, contending thoughts, contending works of art are allowed and respected despite its inherent inclinations and viewpoints. The National Press Club’s actions has just put their profession to ridicule, painted themselves as cowards, and now insinuates itself as being in-the-pay of the powerful. Fellow journalists who abide in the freedom of expression should call for the immediate dismissal of the club officers.”

says raul pangalanan, dean of the u.p. college of law:

“The National Press Club (NPC) apparently thinks that just because it paid for the mural, it has the power to alter it as it wishes. The NPC must realize that ownership of the thing does not mean ownership of the copyright. Granting that the work was commissioned by the NPC for P910,000 and assuming that there was no other agreement, ownership of the thing itself would belong to the NPC but copyright remains with the artists. The ownership of the NPC is limited to the physical thing, which it may sell like any other property — but only the artists, as copyright owners, have the right to transform their art work. The owner may only keep the work ‘as is.’ Transforming it is an exclusive ‘economic right’ of the artist.

“In addition, the artist has ‘moral rights’ to maintain the integrity of his work and oppose ‘any distortion, mutilation or other modification of … his work … prejudicial to his honor or reputation.’ Indeed, moral rights may not be waived entirely, especially if the effect is ‘to use the name of the author with respect to a work he did not create.’ The NPC may be liable for damages, criminal penalties and fines for the infringement of their intellectual property rights.”

says luis teodoro, former dean of the u.p. college of mass communication:

“The NPC leadership was not being ‘apolitical.’ It was being crudely, brazenly political – first, when it asked press freedom’s worst foe since Ferdinand Marcos to inaugurate the mural, and second, when it censored it. What’s even worse, what the NPC did was not to expunge ‘leftist’ elements from the mural, but to deface it so as to hide the truth.

“Truth-telling is the fundamental value and responsibility of journalism. But here’s the NPC suppressing such truths as that Jonas Burgos was indeed abducted by military agents, and that the anti-terrorism law, deliberately misnamed the Human Security Act, has grim implications for press freedom. These are neither leftist nor rightist claims, but facts – the very stuff of which competent practice and ethical journalism are made. Has the NPC leadership even heard of either? Anyone engaged in the suppression of facts has no business calling himself or herself a journalist, the appropriate word being ‘hack’ – preferably with the words ‘bought and paid for’ attached to it. ‘Quack’ also applies.”

ah, how i wish we had writers like john silva, raul pangalangan, and luis teodoro hosting tv public affairs talkshows, thinkers who as a matter of course go beyond he-said-she-said, truly probe into issues, and dare take a stand, no matter how anti-establishment.

but it ain’t gonna happen. they’re not pretty enough or popular enough, and they are neither hacks nor quacks.

sacred cow, divaga

ang totoo niyan, Manila Standard Today is one of two broadsheets the newsboy delivers daily. it was Today i used to get, alongwith PDI, mostly for the counterpoints of teddy boy locsin, luis teodoro, and alejandro lichauco. also, i liked maureen dowd’s whitehouse-bashing column ‘free fire’ ba yon, linda black’s on-a-10-scale daily horoscopes , and once in a while jessica zafra’s ‘twisted’.

when Today merged with Manila Standard, naging pro-administration ang editorial slant, so nabago lahat ng kolumnista, and i kept meaning to drop it except that the new astrologer was okay naman, keeps track of planetary movements too. all right din si tony abaya, who loves to hate communists but otherwise talks economic sense. then nag-join pa da sikat bloggers connie veneracion and bong austero, puwede na rin, good to know wazzup in the web. but ‘divalicious’? i didn’t even know it was there. i may have cast an eye on a first paragraph some time or other but gone on at once to something else, cos ni hindi siya nag-register, i suppose because i’m just not into fashionistas, how boring the brand- and name-dropping, would rather read the horoscope anytime — btw, i don’t read just my sunsign, i also read my moonsign and ascendant sign, which together and apart give me a good idea of the temper of the day and the different forces at play.

but back to MST. isa pang star attraction to me has been da infamous vic agustin, whom Inquirer needn’t have fired, not after he had the gumption to guest with rc constantino on ANC and offer rc a bottle of mineral water — thought balloon: sige na, bawian mo ako, please lang — but rc refused to do him the favor, so he twisted the cap off, raised the bottle over his head, and poured the water on himself, sabay gasp for breath. what a scene that was. great television. curiously enough, this same vic agustin is not just pala a columnist but also the chair of MST’s board of editors. and write niya sa ‘cocktales’ nung aug. 31:

“despite our private, aching desires as journalists to explain the malu fernandez affair, the Manila Standard Today adheres to a certain set of protocols that prevent us from publicly discussing personnel issues.”

ano siya? sacred cow? curiouser and curiouser. what about malu antoinette can’t they tell us that would explain why they can’t / won’t accept her resignation? perhaps that she has rich and powerful backers? stockholders? advertisers? politicians? maybe the i.s.a.f.p.? the c.i.a.? mwahaha. if i know, enjoy lang sila sa publicity, never mind the issues.