QUEZON CITY – Some one hundred sixty journalists, media workers, educators, human rights and press freedom advocates from various parts of the country called on the government to guarantee the protection and safety of journalists in the country.
The said call was contained in the declaration that was signed by the concerned sectors as an offshoot of the 1st Philippine Media Safety Summit which was conducted simultaneously with the celebration of World Press Freedom Day last May 2-3, 2024 at the Luxent Hotel along Timog Avenue.
The signatories affirmed that a democratic society is best served by independent and critical media that can help citizens make sense of events happening around them and become critical thinkers.
“Better journalism alongside more responsive and democratic political and social institutions builds a better society,” the declaration stated.
The summit participants condemned the continuing killings of journalists and the lack of resolution of cases and the deliberate targeting of journalists and media organizations.
“We also reaffirm the Philippine Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists (PPASJ) that promotes the safety and protection of journalists, and provides a multi-stakeholder framework and platform to coordinate efforts to strengthen journalists’ professional competencies to increase the public’s trust in media; improve working conditions in media; strengthen legal and social structures and mechanisms to deal with various forms of harassment, threats, and attacks on journalists; counter impunity by helping multi-stakeholder efforts to strengthen the courts and the methods of criminal investigation and prosecution and increase public awareness and knowledge about the role of media in society through public information, citizen media engagement and research,” the declaration added.
The PPASJ provided guidelines in support of the aforesaid five flagship goals, however, there is a need for the same goals to be fleshed out by journalists and media organizations, academic institutions, human rights advocates and other sectors to highlight that the government should perform its constitutional mandate and duty to stop the killings and all forms of violence against citizens, including mainstream and campus journalists and media workers and to properly investigate crimes committed against them, including ‘red tagging,’ trolling, and other forms of online hate and violence; thus, the government should work for the immediate release of journalists wrongfully charged and imprisoned without cause.
Further, the signatories want the media owners to recognize the rights of journalists and staff to form associations and unions; provide fair and decent living wages and an inclusive and gender fair environment and safe workplaces, allowing journalists and staff to work without external pressure. While the said work places are adapted to the latest technology such as artificial intelligence, their business models should not allow the deskilling, marginalization, and displacement of journalists.
The participants called on media organizations to support journalists to perform their roles effectively, and provide legal and psycho-social support, especially if they are terminated, threatened or killed aside from the fact that newsrooms and media organizations should provide the necessary skills, materials, trainings and other resources to journalists, especially those going to hostile coverages to ensure their safety and protection in the line of duty.
According to the declaration, journalists and media organizations should perform their work to the highest standards of their craft and provide to the best of their ability balanced and accurate reportage of events. They should hold themselves accountable to whatever they release to the public and encourage feedback and correction of their lapses.
Moreover, media organizations and journalists associations should extend support to colleagues by coming up with mechanisms to publish or broadcast stories and images which are otherwise suppressed for reasons of safety, self-censorship, and lack of support, by releasing them in their news organizations and other independent platforms, and in collaboration with other journalists and media outfits in the spirit of solidarity.
On the other hand, the declaration stipulated that small and micro-media organizations should be given support to sustain their operations and ensure their longevity by linking them with funding institutions and non-profit groups that invest on communication and media projects based in communities. Support should also include inter-generational exchanges of views and sharing of skills to ensure the survival of hyperlocal media organizations that answer the informational needs of the community.
The participants urged media organizations to explore diverse business models, various revenue streams, narrative techniques for local stories, distribution and marketing channels, and financial strategies, including training services, monetizing the content, images and archives without sacrificing ethics, truthfulness and other journalistic values.
The declaration underscored the importance of medial organizations and journalists engaging with policy makers and legislators in relation to laws concerning security and welfare issues of journalists and media workers, including the repeal of the Anti-Terror law and Cyber law which became the basis for cyber libel, ‘red tagging’ of journalists, surveillance and profiling of journalists, and capturing their digital footprints to be turned against them.
The declaration pointed out that the role of multi-platform audio content coming from legacy radio, fringe internet radio and podcast producers should be revisited as a strategy of connecting with communities through streaming and that there should be dialogue between media groups and funders on how to rationalize fund use through capacity building so that journalists can focus in writing their stories and not be tied down by drawn out financial procedures.
The summit delegates agreed to follow-up and implement the actions that have been outlined and defined in the declaration, including the post-summit road show events to popularize the PPASJ in partnership with other organizations or individuals.
The 1st Philippine Media Safety Summit was spearheaded by the Asian Institute of Journalism and Communication, University of the Philippines College of Mass Communications, Philippine Press Institute, Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism, Center for Community Journalism and Development, Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility, Peace and Conflict Journalism Network, in partnership with the Royal Norwegian Embassy, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, Inter News and the International Media Support. By Dexter A. See