Without fear or favor
The best stories are often those with little details in the beginning that only make sense in the end or in retrospect, when the bigger picture is clearer. It’s a sign of ingenuity to be able to produce a material littered with crumbs of foreshadowing and symbolism that are only realized after thorough scrutiny.
This is why the conversation on the 2019 Academy-awarded film Parasite still doesn’t die down. With every viewing, a keen eye will always discover something new in the scenes, whether it be in the framing, production design, or dialogue. The same can be said of the Harry Potter series whose fans uncover meaning behind details that weren’t as conspicuous as before. There are many other examples out there, but identifying them for what they really are takes time.
At work, when explaining this idea in the context of writing scripts for documentaries, I like to use a farming metaphor:
As a storyteller, sow seeds in the beginning — but don’t leave them be. Sprinkle nourishment throughout the material; allow the seeds to grow. Don’t give too much too soon for the most crucial time in a plant’s life happens while it is in the darkness of the earth.
Only through scrupulous care will the seed be ripe for harvest and be delivered organically by the end of the story.
Lately, however, I’ve been wondering if the same scheme can be said of life. Or is life merely a series of inconsequential details?
* * *
Today marks my 46th day in pandemic-induced isolation. To many others, the day count would’ve been higher.
I wanted to write about the essence of journalism and the cause for press freedom last night, but all I managed to type in a high-pressure app that forced me to keep going for five minutes were 294 incoherent, loose words.
That the other side of the globe is still observing World Press Freedom Day as I write this draft with pen on paper is my excuse.
Especially in this time of uncertainty do we need a free press. Who else will hold those in power accountable? Who gives humanity to the voiceless? Who remembers when the nation forgets?
In fact, this coronavirus disease (COVID-19) crisis that has forced many of us into pits of despair and anxiety, ushering the world as we knew it into new horizons we struggle to recognize, started because a country censored its media.
Further reading:
If we let history as it unfolds be remembered only with a version that is told and retold differently, perhaps inaccurately, then we risk repeating the same mistakes until the lesson is not only learned but also taken to heart. No one knows when that will happen given humans’ propensity for short-term memory but we can keep hoping. Journalists choose to do that.
It’s ironic — or perfect, depending on which side you are — that as nations honored journalists yesterday, some counting them as among the frontliners in this health crisis, news broke of Philippine Solicitor General Jose Calida cautioning the National Telecommunications Commission against giving ABS-CBN, the largest media network in the country, a provisional authority to continue its operations despite the expiration of its franchise today. (Here’s some context.)
Further reading:
The Philippines is still among the countries with the worst state of press freedom. Aside from the threat of franchise non-renewal to the country’s 11,000-strong multimedia company, there has been other forms of vilification of media and journalists. Among which: media restriction in major events and coverages, attacks on news organizations, proliferation of disinformation in social media and websites, red-tagging, and trolling and harassment.
As well, the economic conditions of press people in the Philippines, though rarely brought to light, may contribute to self-censorship and unethical practices. These include, but are not limited to, mass lay-offs and retrenchments, having to fo more work for the same pay (usually due to multimedia demands), project-based employment, and pressure for news platforms and programs to earn or shut down.
A free press is vital to nation-building because it helps policy-makers and the public make informed decisions. It acts as a bridge between the two sectors who may have otherwise been oblivious to what the other is doing and how it affects everyone. Journalism ought to empower the powerless.
This is why the first to take a hit in an authoritarian rule are journalists. Always.
To silence the media is to silence all of us. •
This is why the conversation on the 2019 Academy-awarded film Parasite still doesn’t die down. With every viewing, a keen eye will always discover something new in the scenes, whether it be in the framing, production design, or dialogue. The same can be said of the Harry Potter series whose fans uncover meaning behind details that weren’t as conspicuous as before. There are many other examples out there, but identifying them for what they really are takes time.
At work, when explaining this idea in the context of writing scripts for documentaries, I like to use a farming metaphor:
As a storyteller, sow seeds in the beginning — but don’t leave them be. Sprinkle nourishment throughout the material; allow the seeds to grow. Don’t give too much too soon for the most crucial time in a plant’s life happens while it is in the darkness of the earth.
Only through scrupulous care will the seed be ripe for harvest and be delivered organically by the end of the story.
Lately, however, I’ve been wondering if the same scheme can be said of life. Or is life merely a series of inconsequential details?
Today marks my 46th day in pandemic-induced isolation. To many others, the day count would’ve been higher.
I wanted to write about the essence of journalism and the cause for press freedom last night, but all I managed to type in a high-pressure app that forced me to keep going for five minutes were 294 incoherent, loose words.
That the other side of the globe is still observing World Press Freedom Day as I write this draft with pen on paper is my excuse.
Especially in this time of uncertainty do we need a free press. Who else will hold those in power accountable? Who gives humanity to the voiceless? Who remembers when the nation forgets?
In fact, this coronavirus disease (COVID-19) crisis that has forced many of us into pits of despair and anxiety, ushering the world as we knew it into new horizons we struggle to recognize, started because a country censored its media.
Further reading:
- The Atlantic: China is avoiding blame by trolling the world
The evidence of China’s deliberate cover-up of the coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan is a matter of public record. In suppressing information about the virus, doing little to contain it, and allowing it to spread unchecked in the crucial early days and weeks, the regime imperiled not only its own country and its own citizens but also the more than 100 nations now facing their own potentially devastating outbreaks.
- New York Times: How China is reshaping the coronavirus narrative
- South China Morning Post: The blame game: the origins of COVID-19 and the anatomy of a fake news story
If we let history as it unfolds be remembered only with a version that is told and retold differently, perhaps inaccurately, then we risk repeating the same mistakes until the lesson is not only learned but also taken to heart. No one knows when that will happen given humans’ propensity for short-term memory but we can keep hoping. Journalists choose to do that.
It’s ironic — or perfect, depending on which side you are — that as nations honored journalists yesterday, some counting them as among the frontliners in this health crisis, news broke of Philippine Solicitor General Jose Calida cautioning the National Telecommunications Commission against giving ABS-CBN, the largest media network in the country, a provisional authority to continue its operations despite the expiration of its franchise today. (Here’s some context.)
Further reading:
- ABS-CBN News: PH gov't vows to promote press freedom, hails journalists as frontliners
- ABS-CBN News: Calida warns NTC against issuing provisional authority to ABS-CBN, affiliates
- ANCX: ‘Journalists should assist the public sift thru distractions caused by propaganda‘ — Justice Marvic Leonen
JUST IN: Office of SolGen issues statement warning NTC against issuing provisional authority to ABS-CBN and affiliates. ABS-CBN Corp's franchise expires May 4. pic.twitter.com/dr5yEHYAzu
— Mike Navallo (@mikenavallo) May 3, 2020
The Philippines is still among the countries with the worst state of press freedom. Aside from the threat of franchise non-renewal to the country’s 11,000-strong multimedia company, there has been other forms of vilification of media and journalists. Among which: media restriction in major events and coverages, attacks on news organizations, proliferation of disinformation in social media and websites, red-tagging, and trolling and harassment.
As well, the economic conditions of press people in the Philippines, though rarely brought to light, may contribute to self-censorship and unethical practices. These include, but are not limited to, mass lay-offs and retrenchments, having to fo more work for the same pay (usually due to multimedia demands), project-based employment, and pressure for news platforms and programs to earn or shut down.
A free press is vital to nation-building because it helps policy-makers and the public make informed decisions. It acts as a bridge between the two sectors who may have otherwise been oblivious to what the other is doing and how it affects everyone. Journalism ought to empower the powerless.
This is why the first to take a hit in an authoritarian rule are journalists. Always.
To silence the media is to silence all of us. •