“Journalists should consciously go into blogging to set examples,” Teodoro told abs-cbnNEWS.com/Newsbreak.

Teodoro expressed concerns about the wealth of information made available online. “Many of those who post information online are irresponsible,” he said. “Sometimes, it becomes damaging. It disrupts the democratic dialogue.”

The YouTube Cebu rectal scandal and Australian Brian Gorrell’s allegations in Blogspot are just two of the latest controversies to emerge online that have raised concerns about information made available through the web. The first involves the broadcast of a medical operation against the patient’s consent; the latter involves publication of supposedly libelous content.

Teodoro is proposing that “there should be a means of self-regulation” in blogs. “Journalists should be models online,” he said. Be it a blog on political opinion or personal lifestyle, “the principles of journalism should apply.”

“There should be verification and fairness even if it’s an opinion piece. There should be an effort to get the other side no matter how little the space you allot,” said Ateneo de Manila University communication professor Chay Hofileña, who agreed with Teooro that journalists can set examples online.

“Ethics should show in your blogs,” Teodoro said.

Hofileña stressed that journalists should be very careful because the “the standard for a news reporter is higher.” She said journalists should come up with more substantial articles online .

Tricky Situation

Many journalists in the Philippines have joined the blogosphere. Major media agencies have also encouraged some of their prominent journalists to blog by including their sites in the company web sites.

International media organizations like Time and Washington Post have encouraged their journalists to blog, too.

One of the most prolific bloggers in the local media industry is Jove Francisco of television network ABC-5. A Malacañang reporter, his blog provides readers insider information about the country’s most influential office.

“It’s just tricky in the part where you add your opinions,” Francisco admitted. “In my case, I note in my blog if an entry is an opinion or news.”

Francisco said he is exercising “self-regulation. “I know that I don’t have an editor or a producer in my blog.”

TV reporters, particularly, will especially benefit from blogging, Francisco added.

“TV reports usually don’t have replays. If it’s published in the blog, students can use it as reference materials. You can put the other details in your blog,” he said.  Prime time TV news programs are about 90 minutes long.

Competition

“This recognition by mainstream media of the online medium is a big thing,” Teodoro said. He acknowledged that blogging and other means of information-sharing online “is going to be a very big challenge” for the mainstream news media. “As technology advances, competition will grow.”

There are even debates about the superiority of blogs over mainstream news media. Proponents of blogs argue that because news is edited, it is less free. Blogs, on the other hand, usually present raw information.

But Teodoro argued that there are “sound reasons” for editing news. While blogging is “empowering,” he said it has its “downside” if you “affect other people negatively.”

Alternative Viewpoint

In spite of these concerns, media experts acknowledged the contributions of bloggers in general. Blogs have become tools for the marginalized to expose information and voice out opinions that are otherwise neglected by mainstream media.

“There are things journalists miss,” said Hofileña. “Those who were in the blogosphere at the start were not journalists. They were there because of the lapses of journalism. They provided an alternative viewpoint.”

As a result, mainstream news media organizations are rapidly losing their monopoly over information. Citizen journalism has become a growing trend. Anyone with access to the Internet can share information. (abs-cbnNEWS.com/Newsbreak)

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