the right to curtail press freedom?
An urgent issue currently facing Philippine media is the 'right to reply' bill (RORB), which is close to being approved in the House and the Senate. The bill, authored in the House by Bacolod City Congressman Monico Puentevella and in the Senate by Sen. Aquilino Pimentel, requires media organizations to print or air the replies of subjects of news articles of broadcasts. It imposes hefty fines, imprisonment, and closure of media outfits for those who fail to comply.
The RORB, deservedly, received immediate criticism from journalists, media groups and the academe. It was described as "A monster bill... (that) seeks to force print and broadcast media to always publish or broadcast the side of anybody who feels slighted by a media report." (Federico Pascual, Philippine Star, http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=442989&publicationSubCategoryId=64) Vergel Santos of BusinessWorld (who is one of the cleverest, funniest and fearless journalists i know) calls the bill “a patent violation of the Constitution” and “terrorism against the media.” Luis Teodoro, former dean of the UP College of Mass Communication (and my thesis adviser), said the bill would undermine the editorial prerogative of what to air or print in violation of press freedom. The Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster sa Pilipinas will question its constitutionality before the Supreme Court. “If the present Right of Reply Bill is passed into law, journalists will no longer be able to freely report on matters of public importance since this function will now be taken over by those who want to unduly shape public opinion to advance their own interests,” said KBP president Herman Basbano. The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP), the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibiltiy (CMFR), the National Union of People's Lawyers and other media and human rights groups joined the clamor against the bills' passing.
In a rare show of unity, even the country's biggest rivals, giant networks ABS-CBN and GMA, joined their voices to protest against the bill. Jessica Soho, of the GMA News and Public Affairs, said “A fear of right-to-reply claims would create a chilling effect among editors and news managers at a time when media must be at its most fearless, enterprising, and thorough.” ABS-CBN Head for News Gathering, Charie Villa, said that the ABS-CBN will oppose the bill and drum up public interest on the issue. (http://www.pinoypress.net/2009/02/24/%E2%80%98terrorism%E2%80%99-of-the-media-slammed-journalists-unite-vs-right-of-reply-bill/)
The bill seeks to grant the right of reply to anyone who feels they have been poorly treated by the media and proposes a maximum fine of P50,000 for media groups that fail to comply, or up to six months in prison for the offending individual. (Phil. Star, March 3, 2009, http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=443668&publicationSubCategoryId=63)
Definitely, students of Mass Communication should be aware of developments in the RORB, and act against any and similar efforts to curtain press freedom. The media is under enough oppression - journalists being killed for writing the painful truth, reporters working in spite of meager salaries, media organizations under pressure from advertisers and profit-oriented owners... the list of media issues is a long one, and the RORB is another that deserves our scrutiny and protest.