MANILA, Philippines—Beyond the gossip, the fuss and frenzy caused by Australian Brian Gorrell’s blogspot have started a debate on a crucial media concern: How blogs and other technological innovations are changing the landscape of communications.
In separate e-mail interviews, award-winning broadcast journalists— ABS-CBN’s Maria Ressa and GMA-7’s Howie Severino— discussed blogs and news making.
Change, challenge
As the Kapamilya network’s senior vice president for News and Current Affairs, Ressa delivered a speech on the subject recently in Hong Kong. Severino, who co-hosts the Kapuso docu show “I-Witness,” runs his own blog.
“The Internet and blogging [have] democratized access to an audience,” said Ressa. In the past, she noted, the high cost of putting up a radio or TV station had limited “control of the airwaves” to those “who already had power, or those who could afford it.”
The World Wide Web is changing and challenging the status quo, Ressa explained: “[That] power is no longer in the hands of the traditional gatekeepers, mass media. It is now in the hands of the consumer. [But as] in any marketplace … caveat emptor… let the buyer beware.”
Severino pointed out: “The main [advantage] of blogs is the speed with which they can reach a huge audience. There is little that one can do right now to prevent bloggers from slandering other people. At the same time, it empowers individuals to seek justice without leaving their bedrooms.”
Vital concerns
Ressa commented that “blogs and citizen journalism (User-Generated Content or UGC) are raising vital questions: What is the line between professional and amateur journalism? Should there be legal sanctions for abusing the medium?”
The main issue, said Severino, is “whether blogging is as trustworthy as mainstream journalism as a source of information. I think not. But most blogs don’t pose as journalism anyway.”
The Internet has led to an information boom, he noted.
Discernment
“While the number of sources of information has exploded because of the Net, we have to be more discerning in deciding what is reliable information and what is not. [The Net] increases the number of possible sources of information, which also increases the likelihood of [getting the] wrong information.”
Ressa asserted: “Technology is most definitely changing the way journalists do their work. What needs to be done is to understand the trends and technology and put them to use for the purpose of professional journalism.”
She recounted how blogs were used by Nokia to report on the Davos World Economic Forum. “That was unprecedented.”
Locally, she related, “ABS-CBN’s ‘Boto Mo, Ipatrol Mo’ utilized citizen journalism and mobile technology to prevent cheating during the May elections.”
“Globally,” Ressa said, “journalists are figuring out how to harness the technology, to give viewers/readers the information they want.”
Severino acknowledged that “the rights to privacy and freedom of expression and copyright infringement” are “important considerations” in the realm of blogs, but “the rules and concepts of acceptable and best practice are evolving as I e-mail this.”
Take part
Ressa concurred: “Right now, there are no rules, unless you live in China. Even so, it’s nearly impossible to control access to information.”
As she said in her Hong Kong speech: “The ground is shifting beneath our feet, and we need to take part in the global debate about the relationship between old and new media, or we will lose our relevance.”
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