Much has been said about Sen. Vicente Sotto III’s alleged plagiarism. From mainstream media to blogs and social media sites, this has been discussed ad nauseam. One would think that the debate on the Reproductive Health bill had been reduced to this singular issue.
It can be argued that it is not media’s fault that Sotto was caught “copying” the works of other persons without proper attribution. That he had to deny at first, then make a turnaround and insist that he did not commit a crime, deserved to be written about, to be sure, but this should not sidestep the valid issues he had raised against the RH bill.
For instance, only a few reported Sotto’s point that contraceptives could cause abortion, pose health hazards to women and have harmful effects on children whose mothers got pregnant while using contraceptives.
In the second part of his speech, Sotto challenged the faulty figures cited by the pro-RH groups and the credibility of those pushing for it. No one wrote about the actual improvement in maternal health and child care (backed by official figures) despite the absence of the RH bill, or about the real foreign agenda behind the bill.
Instead of rebutting Sotto’s arguments, pro-RH groups nitpicked on another plagiarism case, which the media again highlighted. Alas, media organizations appear to be playing into the agenda of pro-RH groups.
By focusing on the plagiarism issue, they have ignored the more important issues at hand—issues that the public also deserves to know, issues that the public has a stake in. By not reporting on the issues Sotto raised or, worse, by downplaying them, media organizations have betrayed the trust that the public has reposed on them.
Media’s role in shaping public opinion, which affects public policies, cannot be understated. Media’s influence has been demonstrated many times. Sometimes, media even dictate policies. That power is inherently imbued with responsibility: to promote the interest of the public they serve.
One of the major tenets of journalism is fair and balanced reporting. Fair and balanced reporting is not only a matter of presenting all sides, it is also presenting the actual issues at hand, with public interest as the sole standard.
Thus, we appeal to the media: Do not forget the public you serve. The public deserves to know all the issues. Anything less is a disservice to public interest.
—CHRISTIAN SISON,
christiansison671@
yahoo.com.ph