Marcos administers oath to officers of media groups

The Manila Times

Marcos administers oath to officers of media groups  President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. urges journalists to help the government fight the spread and proliferation of fake news, as he assures them of his administration's commitment to ensure the safety of all media in the country. The President issued the statement during the oathtaking of new officers of the Malacañang Press Corps, the National Press Club, Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster sa Pilipinas, Malacañang Cameramen Association and Presidential Photojournalists Association in Malacañang on Aug. 27, 2024.  Video by Catherine Valente  Subscribe to The Manila Times Channel - https://tmt.ph/YTSubscribe  Visit our website at https://www.manilatimes.net    Follow us:  Facebook - https://tmt.ph/facebook  Instagram - https://tmt.ph/instagram  Twitter - https://tmt.ph/twitter  DailyMotion - https://tmt.ph/dailymotion    Subscribe to our Digital Edition - https://tmt.ph/digital    Check out our Podcasts:  Spotify - https://tmt.ph/spotify  Apple Podcasts - https://tmt.ph/applepodcasts  Amazon Music - https://tmt.ph/amazonmusic  Deezer: https://tmt.ph/deezer  Tune In: https://tmt.ph/tunein   #TheManilaTimes  #tmtnews  #bongbongmarcos  #journalist  #fakenews

Transcript

00:00I congratulate the newly elected officers of the NPC of the Philippines,

00:05the Kapisanan ng mga Broadcaster ng Pilipinas,

00:08the Malacanang Press Corps, the Malacanang Cameramen Association,

00:12and the Presidential Photojournalist Association,

00:15as you embrace the task of news reporting.

00:19Your courage and passion in championing freedom of speech and expression in our communities

00:24echo the aspirations of our people.

00:27In an age when information drives the progress of our society,

00:32your dedication to lending expertise to help speak the truth on matters of national importance

00:39and promote objectivity in the face of conflicting news is invaluable.

00:45I ask that you continue to adhere to the utmost ethical and professional standards of journalism,

00:52free from sensationalism, bias, and personal motives.

00:57Help us see and address the weaknesses of our system.

01:00Continue to uphold our nation's best interests so that our country can continue to flourish.

01:06I trust that you will also make the most of your platforms

01:09by amplifying the voices of the marginalized so that they too can take part in the building of our nation.

01:18Your persistent efforts have aided us in shaping a more enlightened and empowered citizenry,

01:23one that is more capable of joining our pursuit of a stronger Bagong Pilipinas.

01:30So as you fulfill your mandate, I urge you to remain at the forefront of our efforts

01:35in helping our people distinguish truth from misinformation, disinformation, and malinformation,

01:43a most important issue as we are facing all kinds of information.

01:52And it has become harder and harder, especially the proliferation of social media.

01:58It has become harder and harder for the ordinary citizen who does not follow necessarily closely

02:06the events that are being reported upon.

02:10And therefore, it's difficult for them to discern what is fake news, what is real news,

02:16what is propaganda, what is pure objective information.

02:21Whereas before, journalists, especially let's say, let's start with print journalists.

02:28Print journalists would not print anything until they have verified, validated with more than one source,

02:37never just one single source, always a second, a third, as many as possible,

02:42before printing any information, anything in print.

02:51On television, when Trimedia came into play, that's the same thing.

02:57Because if a radio commentator or a television commentator will assess something that is blatantly false,

03:06they will be taken to task for it, and people can check, and people can verify.

03:13And so that is how we develop trusted journalists.

03:17When this journalist speaks, it's true.

03:21Because we don't speak if we don't research it well, if we don't think about it,

03:27if we don't have a good understanding of the issue that we are discussing.

03:33Now, anyone can post anything under a resume.

03:40It is for an ordinary person who is too busy with their own lives,

03:46trying to make a living, trying to feed their families.

03:49They do not have time to go back and look at the documents and research and say,

03:54this guy is true, this guy is not true.

03:57And so that is where our problem now lies.

04:03We have just read the news about the CEO of Telegram being arrested in France.

04:11And this brings us again to how do we balance this new technology of social media

04:17with the responsibilities of the Portuguese state,

04:21and the responsibilities that we do not allow to proliferate harmful posts,

04:31harmful information, false and fake information.

04:36And we are battling with this at all times.

04:41However, I remember an interview with a New York Times reporter

04:52who was working in the Middle East.

04:55And he was asked, he said, what is the relevance of newspapers now?

05:00Nobody reads newspapers. They go to the Internet.

05:03Even if they read your newspapers, it's on the computer.

05:06But there are many, many, many other sources now.

05:10And I remember very well his answer.

05:13He said, I have lived here in the Middle East and have reported in the Middle East

05:17for the last 25 years.

05:19I know the personalities. They know me.

05:22I know the evolution of the situation here.

05:26And whenever I'm given a press release, I look into it.

05:30And I ask many other sources and say, is this true?

05:34Is this correct? Is this the right interpretation?

05:37Before I write it down in the paper.

05:41And he said, the reason that you still need to read the paper

05:45is that we are experts at what we do.

05:48And we have been honing that expertise over many, many years.

05:54With social media, I will use his precise words,

05:58any pimply-faced 16-year-old sitting in his basement can write a post.

06:03And you have no way to verify if it is indeed somebody who has

06:07some knowledge, some background on what they are doing.

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