rappler.com-June 15
The annual Digital News Report by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism (RISJ) at Oxford found that the Philippines media landscape, despite the change in leadership in 2022, remains “largely grim,” with attacks on journalists not letting up since Ferdinand Marcos Jr. became the president. It noted 75 cases pertaining to violations of press freedom under Marcos’ rule from June 2022 and April 2023, including the killing of journalists Percival Mabasa, Cresenciano Aldovino Bunduquin, and Rey Blanco, and the use of legal action against journalists. Red-tagging remains a tool to harass and silence journalists, with targets from both mainstream and alternative media including ABS-CBN, Rappler, Bulatlat, and the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP). A major proponent of red-tagging is the far-right broadcast network Sonshine Media Network International (SMNI), in what is a continuance of its ways from the Duterte years. Ironically, RISJ included SMNI in its ranking of media organizations’ reach, thus lending a semblance of legitimacy to an organization with a known history of peddling and amplifying disinformation, and red-tagging journalists and activists. SMNI is owned by a preacher who is wanted in the US for alleged crimes of rape and human trafficking. In its inclusion of SMNI in the rankings presented via a table, it grouped the organization with ones that abide by journalistic standards. The report cited one extreme example of the law being weaponized to silence journalists is the case of two broadcasters in Southern Luzon who are facing a whopping 941 counts of cyber libel put up by a provincial governor. Rappler was acquitted of tax evasion cases in January, but the cyber libel case involving CEO Maria Ressa and former Rappler researcher Reynaldo Santos Jr. remains pending in the Supreme Court. The RISJ noted the correlation between low media trust scores and constant media criticism. Part of the RISJ’s annual report is a table showing trust scores of media groups among the populace. Rappler has a 47% “Trust” score, 33% “Don’t Trust” score, and 21% “Neither” score, compared to last year’s 46% “Trust” score and 32% “Don’t Trust” score. Read more at: https://www.rappler.com/nation/philippines-media-landscape-grim-2023-risj-digital-news-report/
