Getting into the news
Getting into the news
Rules on media ethics often include the sanction that “journalists shall make every effort to remain in the audience, to be stagehand than its star, to report the news, not make the news.” That is difficult when the journalist is drawn into the vortex of events.
Broadcaster SD Tecson (1912-1982) of dyRC radio (now defunct) one morning in his daily newscast led the day’s headlines with this: “Usa ka magsisibya gikootan (A broadcaster is theft victim).”
When he went into the details, SD said, “Do, si Manoy SD nimo ni, ‘do. Ako intawon tong imong gikootan. luli tong akong pitaka. Pobre ‘tawon ming taga-medya, ‘do (This is your Manoy SD; I was the one whose pocket you picked; please return my billfold; we in the media are poor).”
“Do” is short for “ondo,” a term of endearment in Cebuano-Bisaya. Note the “intawon,” which is stronger and more pitiable than “please.” The last line, about us in media being poor, may have been embellished by the source of the tale, but it jibed with SD’s virtue of humility.
Cimatu played a crucial role in the enforcement of protocols in Cebu City at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, especially when the city was tagged as the epicenter of the pandemic in the Philippines in June 2020.
No game, just a fierce brawl
Jerry Tundag, The Freeman editor-in-chief, loves to tell this story to emphasize the importance of journalists learning the skill to recognize what’s news when they see it.
One day years ago, he sent a freshly hired photographer to cover a crucial basketball game in the local college tournament.
An hour later, the photographer returned with a disappointed look, telling Jerry: “Way ayo, sir. Wa mahinayon ang duwa (Nothing good, sir. The game didn’t push through).”
When asked why, whether the game was re-set, the
photographer said: “Wa pa gani matunga sa first quarter, nagsinumbagay na og ang mga tawo nanglabay og botilya (They hadn’t reached middle of the first quarter when there was a brawl among the players and spectators threw bottles at them).”
Because of the violent incident, he didn’t take any photo.
If you put reporters on a plane
One time, five news reporters in Cebu were on board a plane bound for a media conference in Manila.
The quips and banter would illustrate the friendship among the reporters and maybe the kind of journalism at the time:
-“If this plane crashes, Cebu media would lose 90 percent of its field reporters. What a blow on Cebu journalism.”
-“God wouldn’t allow that, concerned as He is about spreading the gospel, but if He would, public officials, Colon merchants, and other media. benefactors would celebrate.”
“And some editors would be overjoyed. They’d have the chance to hire reporters with better English and fewer mistakes.”
“But our editors, bless them, would attack the airline for violation of human rights. We’d all be martyrs on the altar of press freedom.” – Pachico A. Seares 