PROCLAIM THE TRUTH, TRUTHFULLY
Every year the Church celebrates the World Social Communications day on the Feast of the Ascencion. And since the media practitioners are, on Sundays, on their day of ease, we in Manila celebrate it on a weekday after Ascencion Sunday. So this morning we come together to celebrate the Day of Social Communication, to salute those in multi media practice and to both thank you for your service to the community and renew your zeal for the things and activities that will further enhance your dedication to communication, formation and information of our people.
Public opinion exercises an enormous influence today over the lives of people. Whether the area of information is limited to a locality or widespread in its coverage (national, regional, etc.), those who help shape public opinion carry with them the responsibility to convey the truth, knowing the principles of the moral order and applying them to the practice of their given profession as media practitioners. (IM, 4). Thus, everyone immediately sees the responsibility of those who report the news, form judgment and suggest interpretations on what has happened, on what and how the information was reported to have happened.
Like in the practice of any profession the common good and the objective of helping in the development that is committed to the development of the nation as well as of each person, the presentation of the news or information must be objective. To be objective is to present the “facts” that made news, and not simply the “news” of the fact. If one prefers only the second stance of developing the news (of the fact), it is nearly impossible to succeed in divorcing oneself from the emotions, the relatedness, nay the “interests” that surround the core of the news. Here is where it is very difficult to be objective.
Once objectivity is lost in our reporting, even in my own preaching, then unfairness takes over. Even without the reporter’s intention of being unfair, by the fact that one has lost objectivity, hurt, injury or even injustice can ensue. A second party or a third could become a victim of a non objective reporting. The consumers of unfairly reported news innocently imbibe wrong information and the opinion created is both untrue and distrustful.
We are all aware of the fact the news can be manipulated depending on the interested party’s objective and advantage. Here is where the arena where conscience may be so often challenged. (I am prescinding from the point of view of profit and gain). The challenge is to do what is the right thing to do - - - to report with objectivity the fact of the news! Objective news reporting is always the right thing to do and to present to the public.
Naturally, the question of balance will necessarily enter the equation of objective and fair reporting. Here we do not mean to attain the equality of exposure views of arithmetical, spatial or pure temporal norms. It cannot be stated in terms of “I have written ten lines for this stuff, I write another ten lines against this same stuff.” In terms of positive and negative reporting, I can only present Our Lord Jesus Christ as model of reporting or transporting to us the Eternal Truths, the genuine GOOD NEWS in the Gospels. Of the possibility of informing people of the conflict between good and evil, holiness and sin, the kingdom of God and the kingdom of evil, the model for balanced objective and fair transmission of the news to us is the way Jesus talked more often of the good things, of healing, of conversion, of love, of understanding, of peace, of forgiveness, mercy, repentance, simplicity, humility, discipline and sacrifice, salvation and of Heaven as the Kingdom of goodness. Of course He also mentioned Hell and Sin, and punishment and evil. The point being mentioned is that the good Lord in his balance of good news transmission gave more space, more time, more occasions for what is good to come to light.
What was clear was that there was the complete absence obsession on evil, hell and sin in His teaching and information of people. Jesus was not only an information man, He was a Formative/Formation Person. That could be the difference between an ordinary news writer (and a Christian writer/reporter of news) and a communications person who is also a formative person.
When we help in the development of people who make the news and people who consume news, we who are in the middle, the social communications person, you, become people who form both kinds of persons and every person.
This is the responsibility the Church expects each media practitioner to carry out.
And for all of you today, thank you for your service to the truth, the country and the Church and to my poor self, in particular.
Ito po ay hindi basta balita, ito po ay pagtuturo at pagpapalago upang maging Balita!
Maraming Salamat Po!
+G.B. Rosales
Archbishop of Manila
World Social Communication Sunday
Manila Celebration
089 May 2008 (Friday) |
