Maria Ressa’s Choice: Journalism For Development, Or Degradement?

Today, PH journalism is symbolized by Maria Ressa (inset), Head of the digital media group Rappler, Maria Ressa is so bold – and repeatedly so – against her President and mine, Rodrigo Roa Duterte, that she has landed on the universal hit list Time 100 Most Influential People, 2019[1]. Well? As a digital journalist myself, for as long as her 20 years, I envy her for the honor – but, I must say, hers is not my kind of journalism.

I subscribe to Development Journalism; perhaps hers is Degradement Journalism, where to “degrade” is “to lower in quality or value; make inferior or less valuable[2]” (American Heritage Dictionary). To simplify, Maria Ressa is anti-Duterte, while I am pro-détente; she ignores National Development, while I am all eyes and ears for it.

I say: Implemented, the War on Drugs is Sectoral; UN-implemented, the War on Poverty is National.

Years earlier, Vice President Leni Robredo pleaded with Mr Duterte: “Mr President… we ask you to focus on the war that really matters: the War on Poverty. Our people are hungry, jobless and poor” (Facebook, 24 February 2017).

We are focusing on the War on Drugs. On journalism focusing on the War on Poverty, UNESCO itself is ignoring it!

The bigger image above is from the cover of the 2018 UNESCO book titled Getting The Message Across and subtitled Reporting On Climate Change And Sustainable Development In Asia And The Pacific: A Handbook For Journalists (106 pages)[3].

Now, both Philippine Maria Ressa and the UNESCO book disappoint me for missing out on development that includes the poor.

The UNESCO book is all about climate change – nothing about changing the climate of poverty among the poor peoples of the world! All about developing the news, nothing about developing people subject to climate change.

On page 17 of the book, it states very promisingly:

Sustainable Development Goals – No One Left Behind

Heads of State, Government leaders, UN High Level Representatives and civil society met in September 2015 at the 70th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, and adopted the Sustainable Development Goals… These 17 Goals represent a universal, ambitious, sustainable development agenda, an agenda of the people, by the people and for the people. At its core, is a pledge to leave no one behind. “Underpinning the renewed focus on inclusion and social justice is the realization that the benefits of social and economic progress have not been equitably shared.”   

But that is the closest that the UNESCO book comes to Development Journalism. On page 72, it lists “Ten Quick Tips For Better Stories,” and these are:

1. Know your audience.
2. Team up.
3. Localize the jargon.
4. Be visual.
5. Get a second opinion
6. Quote varied voices.
7. Get reactions.
8. Humanize, Humanize, Humanize.
9. Do justice to press releases.
10. Tell success stories.

UNESCO, where is the Journalism for Development there? Your climate change story is only about changing the physical climate and not the social climate of poverty; that is not Development Journalism at all!@517

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[1]https://time.com/collection/100-most-influential-people-2019/

[2]https://www.thefreedictionary.com/degrade

[3]https://en.unesco.org/getting-the-message-across