I will be giving away a copy of the 60-page book I co-authored (with Prof. Luis Teodoro and Hector Bryant Macale) titled Monitoring Media Coverage of Elections (CMFR, 2007) to three individuals who who can give the best answer to the hypothetical situation below. (By the way, I contributed this hypothetical situation at the workshop of Batangas and Mindoro journalists last November 8 in Tagaytay City.)
Rules:
- Entries shall be judged based on adherence to the principles and standards of journalism. For reference, individuals are encouraged to read, among others, The Journalist’s Code of Ethics.
- Contestants should submit only one entry, not more than 500 words as inline text.
- Entries should be emailed to dannyaraoATyahooDOTcom with the subject “Contest Entry.”
- Winners living in Metro Manila should go to the University of the Philippines College of Mass Communication (UP CMC) to pick up their copies of the book. Winners who live outside Metro Manila or the Philippines should provide their postal address so that I can deliver their copies.
- The deadline for submission of entries is November 21 (Wednesday), 5 p.m. (Manila time).
- Winners will be announced on November 23 (Friday) on this blog and will be notified via email.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me. Thank you and good luck.
Judith Miranda is as an award-winning business reporter for a major television station. Her father Romy is as an assistant manager for Lifeline, one of the biggest life insurance companies in the country.Lifeline hogged the headlines when the checks it had issued to about 5,000 claimants bounced. A class suit was soon filed against the company. Consequently, the latter’s management charged with libel those who made public statements against the company, as well as the media organizations that aired such statements. Judith’s television station, however, had not been charged with libel by Lifeline.
Assigned to cover the issue, Judith became a frequent visitor of the offices of Lifeline. She interviewed both the Lifeline management and the insurance claimants, trying her very best to be objective and fair in her reportage. At that time, only her relatives and close friends knew that her father works as an assistant manager at Lifeline. “Hindi naman kailangang ipagkalat ang personal na buhay ko. Bakit? Alam ba ng mga tao na anak ni Prop. Lito Bautista si Jenny Bautista na madalas na nag-iinterbyu sa kanya?” she said.
After her interview with Tony Lazcano, president of Lifeline, she was asked if she is related to one of the company’s assistant managers named Romy Miranda. She said that the latter is her father.
A day after the interview, Romy was asked to attend an emergency board meeting of the company. At the meeting, Lazcano ordered Romy to pressure his daughter to stop reporting on the controversy surrounding Lifeline.
Lazcano threatened not only to fire Romy should the latter fail to convince his daughter. The former also vowed to use his vast influence in the business community so that Romy will not be able to find gainful employment in the country. Mindful that his boss was very serious, Romy said that he will talk to his daughter.
Romy then pressured Judith to stop covering Lifeline. “Mahirap banggain ang mga Lazcano,” he said. Judith knows that her father cannot afford to be fired from work since their combined incomes are barely enough to provide for their family. She is also aware that Lazcano is very influential, and she is certain that the latter will make good on his threat against her father.
If you were Judith, what would you do? Would you stop covering Lifeline or continue covering it? What ethical issue or issues is/are involved in this case? Could Judith have avoided this dilemma? Explain your answer.