Journalists Under Fire When Media and News Sources Switch Places

Reverse press conference fails to get objectives
By Rimaliza Opiña
from Sun. Star Baguio
Friday, December 26, 2008

WHAT was initially conceptualized as a moment of camaraderie and fun between news sources and members of the media turned out to be "pay back" time for some of the sources.

Dubbed as "Shoe on the Other Foot, Press Conference in Reverse on Autonomy and Development," news sources were the ones who were given the privilege to ask questions of the media.

But instead of an overview of how the media gathers and composes their reports and how the newsroom works and an exchange of how to foster the relationship between news sources and media, sources complained about biases of news writers.

Rules on a questions-answer type of forum was not followed when some of the supposed "reporters" lectured on media ethics while some demanded that news stories for print should be written in the vernacular and some dwelled into the proper use of words when writing news.

Baguio Representative Mauricio Domogan during the forum consumed 30 minutes lecturing on balanced reporting and the history of moves to make the Cordillera into an autonomous region.

Objectives of the forum were not achieved, panelists and media observers say.

* Sun.Star's Jane Cadalig, the panel's youngest member, -- What happened was character assassination. We were there to make each other understand our work. It instead created a division between the source and the reporter.

* Dhobie de Guzman, executive producer and anchor of TV Patrol Northern Luzon -- Observations from the "reporters" were a welcome development. Separate forums should be held for those in the print, radio, and TV media. Panelists should also be divided into separate sectors like for non-government organizations, line agencies, and politicians.

[...]

* Dexter See, correspondent of the Manila Bulletin -- The system in every newsroom and editorial prerogatives should have been clarified and expounded.

* Bombo Radyo-Baguio Assistant Station Manager Eddie Carta -- Rules should be strictly imposed to maximize the interaction between the media and the sources.

But Philippine Information Agency Regional Director Helen Tibaldo views the forum success despite some glitches. "In a way we were able to achieve something."

She said rules haves not been strictly followed but this is a good start, considering this was the first time in many years a reverse press conference was held.

Tibaldo vowed that in the next forum, suggestions will be incorporated, including questions from the provinces in the Cordillera.

"Shoe on the Other Foot" is a project of the IEC on Regional Autonomy and Development. It was covered simultaneously by local radio and TV stations in the city, Kalinga and Mt. Province. It hopes to create a clearer picture and promote critical collaboration between news sources and news reporters in the dissemination of autonomy issues and other regional development concerns.

(Source: http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/bag/2008/12/26/news/reverse.press.conference.fails.to.get.objectives.html)