STATE OF ONLINE JOURNALISM IN THE PHILIPPINES: NO WAY BUT UP
Online journalism in the Philippines has no way to go but up.
The growing popularity of computers and information technology has led to the emergence of new forms of information
dissemination known as �new media�. Now, websites, blogs, podcasts and every other medium accessible through the
internet serve as vehicles of online journalism, a democratized journalism that still adheres to professional standards.
With the rise of the new media, the way Filipinos communicate has vastly changed, making information dissemination
easier, more mobile. While studies over the past years by research groups have shown the increasing Internet penetration in the country,
these same studies neglect the great disparity between the availability of these resources in rural areas.
Telephone lines in certain areas are almost non-existent, and telecommunication services are largely limited to
Metro Manila, Cebu and Davao.
Ultimately, the goal of online journalism is to make information �free� for everyone.
Information has become accessible to almost anyone: from the closed walls of Burma to the streets of Mumbai during
siege, people �reported� on what they saw. Blogs have been updated in real time, videos uploaded on YouTube and photos posted on Flickr.
In our online journalism class under Professor Danilo Arao, we realized that
despite technological advances, capitalist interests always find a way to take advantage of the system, and, how
online journalism, despite its best interests, is constrained by the lack of resources.
In this respect, the �freedom� that is said to be gained through online journalism is shortchanged, constrained by
existing social structures.
Professor Lourdes Simbulan, in our
Feature Writing class, brought up the changing roles of journalists. If information is to be free, should
information gathering be free too? This, according to her, is a dilemma of media practitioners today.
She said that contrary to the belief that the new media would bring the inevitable end of newspapers, print media
are here to stay. Journalists will always find ways to innovate and inject fresh analyses to long-standing issues.
In other words, new media is another avenue to accommodate the pluralism of ideas.
In the Philippines, we see the biggest media corporations controlled by particular families, catering to the widest
of audiences. The news they present then turns neutral, quite empty. Online journalism gives alternative voices the
avenue to express their views.
But despite all these, there is a great disparity when it comes to accessibility. Rural areas find it more
difficult and more futile to practice online journalism, precisely because their audience reach is minimal.
Secondly, only those of higher social strata have the greater propensity to actually own computers, have internet
connections, and be more literate. In this respect, online journalism has missed its mark.
With the rise of online journalism, new problems surface as well. Now, even online journalists are subjected to the
same dangers that befall print journalists. Death threats, bribery and manipulation can happen even on the World
Wide Web.
In the end, Philippine journalists must be ready to face ethical dilemmas from the lack of clear guidelines
governing the internet.
Are they?
I don't have the answer.
But I'm sure you can find ten different blogs that do.
Photos from Jennie Uy
|
