A wake up call

Lora Dana Tajonera

In the present time, media is quoted to be dirty as politics. That media personalities are protecting names from the government for brive, and for their own safety as well. And i guess this is what the article of Maria Ressa is all about, that not all media men are the same.

“We are journalists first”, quoted from Maria Ressa’s article. I really think that what’s she’s trying to say is that not all the journalists are alike, that there are still journalists who live to their pledge which is to deliever news with pure honesty. Maria Ressa stressed that she wanted to deliver the truth behind the stories of the Lopez - Arroyo administration and the stampede that took place on the set of ABSCBN’s program Wowowee, even if these could affect the reputation of the network she’s working at. The point is that the name of the company you’re working for doesn’t matter as long as you know that you are not working against honest broadcasting. She claimed that being a journalist should be the first in line rather than covering up for your boss, or maybe for your own good as well because as a media person, you work for the people and not for any big boss of any network. This is a reminder that being a journalist is not an easy job, because behind the glamour of what we see “on cam” are crucial scenarios that journalists are facing “off cam”. Every journalist should be true to their pledge, because after all, this is what being a journalist is all about: bringing and uplifting the ugly truth to the nation, to be a watch dog to the wrong actions. This is a wake up call not only to the media persons, but also to the public. Journalists are also human beings, we aspire to bring people the best stories we can and to be honest at all times. But reality check, people make mistakes and no matter how hard we try to be perfect, we cannot please everyone. I think every aspiring journalists should read this, to make them realize what kind of track they are about to take, the risks that they are about to make upon fulfilling their dreams as a media person.

In this article, aspiring broadcasters like me are shown how important ethics is. Not only media ethics but our core values as humans with equal rights, because in such corrupt world, temptations are everywhere and we must strengthen our beliefs in order to be fair for everyone.