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IT has been a long time since congressional speeches like “Give me
liberty, or give me death” and broadsides like “The Crisis”
(These are the times that try men’s souls) could inflame people
and lead them to a revolution that created the United States of
America. These were made possible by the printing press and
journalism. Today the “Press” is taken as the generic name for
mass media and journalism; circumstances have changed so radically
that print is no longer the sole and dominant medium of information.
Television and radio have become the electronic segment of mass
media as well as the new incarnation of these in blogs, Internet and
other communications offshoots of computer technology.
And the greater segment of the new communication
technology has been taken over by entertainment, advertising and
promotion. Journalism has become a minor appendage although it is
trumpeted as the be-all and end-all of the freedom of information.
Journalism, in a contemporary definition by academics and
professional journalists, provides the information necessary for a
free society.
In an economic society, whether free or
otherwise, information is indispensable. Economic decisions depend
on the appreciation of the costs and benefits of any action or
decision. And rational economic decisions are dependent on
information. This is the heart of Oscar Lange’s analysis of the
price system. Free market economists cite his study even though
Lange is a socialist economist and uses his analysis of the price
system to show that the theory of price may be used both under a
planned or a free market economy.
Under our political system, information is
considered a prime commodity. And the free exchange of information
is the backbone of a democratic society. Jose Rizal was insistent on
freedom of the press because a free press will provide the Spanish
crown the information about the activities and actuations of the
colonial government in the Philippines. Since the Queen of Spain is
a just person she would promptly redress the abuses of the colonial
government if she is informed of the true circumstances in the
colonies.
In our contemporary situation, a free press
informs the sovereign (which is the people) of the activities of the
government. How then does the sovereign (the people) act on the
information provided by the press? Since regular elections are a
part of a democratic society, it is here that the sovereign people
could exercise their power to change the government into one that
looks after their welfare.
There have been two instances in the recent past
when the people exercised their right to change the leadership of
the nation through a process other than an election. And while the
Supreme Court has ruled as valid the changes wrought by People
Power, these revolutions are not embodied in the Constitution. As a
result of these populist developments, another institution has come
into greater power.
People Power revolutions have been set up by a
most efficient information distribution system. The latest
development in information distribution system has spawned new
public relations consultants and firms adept in the use of new
communication technology.
The battle for the hearts and minds of the
people has opened a new front in mass communication. One may cry for
truth but this has mostly become dependent on journalism—not mass
media. It has become necessary to make a distinction among
communication professionals. One cannot deny that there is a great
difference between a media consultant and a journalist. When one
presents oneself as from “media” one is not necessarily a
journalist. A media consultant could be an entertainer. And while a
journalist may sometimes entertain, a journalist has other
objectives than entertainment in the same way that media consultants
do inform but have other objectives than information. In fact, the
information they provide may be just a tool to sell a bill of goods.
One of the things that journalists and
journalism organizations are supposed to watch out for are trials by
publicity. Information revealed by journalistic—and public
relations—undertakings must be validated by proper courts and
agencies before these may be used for or against entities as part of
due process. People power circumvents due process. And today
condemnation by media—not necessarily by journalists—could be as
decisive and as painful as a conviction in a court of law.
“Press” organizations, as they were known
before, are self-perpetuating, dependent only on the support of
their readers or audiences. And readers and audiences are fair game
for media professionals with hatchets for hire.
opinion@manilatimes.net
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