Category: Cebu Press Freedom Week

1 min read

147 views

The 2009 Maguindanao massacre was known not only as “an unprecedented case of election-related violence.” It was also billed as “an exceptionally brutal attack on the press.” Since the tragedy, CCPC has…

The 2009 Maguindanao massacre was known not only as “an unprecedented case of election-related violence.” It was also billed as “an exceptionally brutal attack on the press.”

Since the tragedy, CCPC has called for a review of journalists’ safety measures, which must include a practical and cautious deployment of reporters at political events, particularly in election hotspots.

No Comments

12 min read →

Cebu Press Freedom Week CJJ13 Fake News Media Issues News

Fake News: View of a non-journalist

Cebu Journalism & Journalists

November 4, 2019 1:35 pm November 4, 2019

12 min read

287 views

12 min read →

By Rev. Fr. Ramon D. Echica [Based on his talk at the Cebu Citizens-Press Council (CCPC) media forum during Cebu Press Freedom Week 2019, held at MBF Cebu Press…

By Rev. Fr. Ramon D. Echica

[Based on his talk at the Cebu Citizens-Press Council (CCPC) media forum during Cebu Press Freedom Week 2019, held at MBF Cebu Press Center in Sudlon, Lahug, Cebu City last Sept. 19, 2019. The other speaker at the forum was Jason A. Baguia, a communication teacher-researcher at U.P. Cebu and former Cebu Daily News columnist.]

I am offering my reflections on fake news neither as a cleric nor part of the academe, although I also cannot leave these two hats behind. I like to think that this piece simply comes from a non-journalist, sharing his thoughts to the professional practitioners of journalism.

The landscape of mainstream media is changing rapidly in large part because of social media. Like almost all things, this novel phenomenon has its upsides and downsides. On the former, social media connects people. It is now possible to talk to someone miles away, and free of charge. Indeed, most people believe they are better off with social media than with none.

It is fake news when it is used by political leaders to harass journalists and there is threat of greater harm. Media consumers need to think critically. And journalists can be more honest about their biases and not fail to apologize for their mistakes.

No Comments

Cebu Press Freedom Week CJJ13 How the Press Stands Media Issues

Expanded Sotto Law to benefit more media practitioners

Cebu Journalism & Journalists

September 26, 2019 4:43 am September 26, 2019

1 min read

251 views

The amendment to the Sotto Law, also known as Press Freedom Law, expanding the protection to journalists, has finally been approved. The law now covers not just print journalists but …

The amendment to the Sotto Law, also known as Press Freedom Law, expanding
the protection to journalists, has finally been approved. The law now covers not just print journalists but also practitioners in broadcast, wire service and electronic media.

President Duterte signed Republic Act #1145 last Aug. 30 yet but it was released only Tuesday, Sept. 24. It amends Republic Act #53, the 73-year-old law enacted in 1946.

The Cebu Citizens-Press Council (CCPC), which has helped in the drafting of the House version of the bill (HB# 694), in an en banc meeting last Sept. 19, thanked Rep. Raul V. del Mar as main sponsor who had diligently filed and re-filed the bill in a number of Congresses before it was approved this year.

No Comments

Cebu Press Freedom Week CJJ13 How the Press Stands Media Issues

Media Self-regulation through Media Literacy: Insights from the Cebu Citizens-Press Council (CCPC)

Mayette Tabada

July 1, 2019 3:57 pm July 1, 2019

1 min read

506 views

Abstract How does the press regulate itself? Through document research, key informant interviews, and participant observation, the researcher studied how the Cebu Citizens-Press Council (CCPC) promotes media self-regulation (MSR) among…

Abstract

How does the press regulate itself? Through document research, key informant interviews, and participant observation, the researcher studied how the Cebu Citizens-Press Council (CCPC) promotes media self-regulation (MSR) among the Cebu press and media literacy (ML) among citizens and netizens in Cebu, a metropolis in southern Philippines. Led by civil society leaders, the editors-in-chief of Cebu newspapers, and other media leaders, the CCPC conducts MSR through the reactive mechanism of adjudicating complaints about accuracy and fairness or right of reply raised against Cebu’s five local newspapers. Its proactive mechanism involves the promotion of MSR among local journalists and the initiation of ML for citizens and netizens. MSR thrives in a setting that involves four stakeholders: newspapers, media advocacy groups, citizens, and netizens, and it can be enhanced and sustained through ML, which ensures greater participation of citizens and netizens as media watchdogs and defenders of freedom of expression.

Click here for the full text.

No Comments

9 min read →

Cebu Press Freedom Week CJJ13 Media Issues News

THE 2019 DILI DIALOGUE FORUM

Cebu Journalism & Journalists

May 11, 2019 6:57 am May 11, 2019

9 min read

683 views

9 min read →

CCPC attendance at Timor Leste meeting enables it to share, and compare, its experience on press councils with other media groups in the region By Karlon N. Rama AN INTERNATIONAL…

CCPC attendance at Timor Leste meeting enables it to share, and compare, its experience on press councils with other media groups in the region

Representatives from the press councils of Australia, Indonesia, Myanmar, and Thailand discuss media challenges in their countries. Other media groups were represented as well — the Aliansi Jurnalis Independen of Indonesia, the Southeast Asian Press Alliance based in Bangkok, Thailand (Kathryn Roja Raymundo, 5th from right), the Cambodian Center for Independent Media based in Phnom Penh, (Danny Caspe, 4th from right), the Philippine Press Institute (Ariel Sebellino, 3rd from right), and CCPC. The named participants are Filipinos. [Photo from Conselho de Imprensa de Timor-Leste]

By Karlon N. Rama

AN INTERNATIONAL organization has shown interest in the interlocking support mechanism that lies at the core of the Cebu Citizens-Press Council, with an official saying it offers approaches that may apply to nascent democracies, where a free and vibrant press is crucial.

Dr. Lim Ming Kouk noted on the sidelines of the three-day Dili Dialogue Forum (DDF), held in the capital of Timor Leste May 9 and 10, that the “right support from the various sectors of the communities media itself serves” will help address internal and external concerns affecting the press in the region.

Quick look: Timor Leste allows free use of its public space but is planning to regulate media. It will define “who can broadcast and what can be broadcast.” A government representative sits in that country’s press council. The chairman of East Timor Press Council hopes for “self-regulation” and a media literacy program integrated in the education system.

Dr. Lim serves as advisor for communication and information of the Unesco office in Jakarta that partnered with the Conselho de Imprensa de Timor-Leste (Press Council of East Timor) in hosting the DDF.
Continue Reading

No Comments

Cebu Press Freedom Week CJJ12

Cebu Press Freedom Week timeline

Cebu Journalism & Journalists

October 19, 2017 12:56 pm October 19, 2017

5 min read

1072 views

The celebration of Cebu Press Freedom Week aims to remind the public and the press that the freedom they enjoy must be protected from all threats. The celebration brings together…

The celebration of Cebu Press Freedom Week aims to remind the public and the press that the freedom they enjoy must be protected from all threats. The celebration brings together not just Cebu journalists but also members of the public invited to activities that range from forums and training sessions to photo exhibits and fellowship.

The Cebu Press Freedom Week Inc. board of trustees lays down the policies on the management of the weeklong celebration. Continue Reading

No Comments

4 min read →

Cebu Press Freedom Week CJJ10

Media’s collective voice

Pachico Seares

July 15, 2017 12:45 pm July 15, 2017

4 min read

1322 views

4 min read →

Was there ever a Cebu Press Freedom Week (CPFW) celebration without the pooled editorial? The pooled editorial is as essential and basic a feature of the annual observance by Cebu’s…

Was there ever a Cebu Press Freedom Week (CPFW) celebration without the pooled editorial?

The pooled editorial is as essential and basic a feature of the annual observance by Cebu’s print and broadcast media as the parade. On its first two days: Sunday, the journalists’ street march and Monday, the pooled editorial in newspapers and public-affairs radio on Monday.

What makes it distinct is that it’s the closest to what can be called collective voice of Cebu media. On Press Freedom Week, that voice is routinely raised but at any other time, when solidarity is demanded by any crisis involving free press and free speech, Cebu media can and it will speak out as one, despite industry competition and individual differences of opinion.

Some quick facts about the pooled editorial:

No Comments

Cebu Press Freedom Week CJJ9

What do you know, Cebu Press Freedom Week started in 1984

Cebu Journalism & Journalists

September 25, 2014 11:15 pm September 25, 2014

10 min read

721 views

By Erma M. Cuizon It was 30 years ago when Cebu media in 1984 came together as advocates of truth in community living and to declare the power of the…

By Erma M. Cuizon

From left, Sun.Star Daily issues in September 1988, 1984 and 1994 announce the activities of the Cebu Press Freedom Week celebration.

It was 30 years ago when Cebu media in 1984 came together as advocates of truth in community living and to declare the power of the voice in the press. From then on, Cebu media tried its best to celebrate press freedom every year. This Sept. 20-27 is the 22nd celebration of the Cebu Press Freedom Week, continually empowering the efforts to unify and speak for the people.

Years before the Cebu press came together with one voice on its freedom, there were instances of persecutions from the 1970s up to the ‘80s during the Martial Law regime, especially in the ‘80s when there were cases of persecutions, killings and arrests of Cebu media personalities in a period in Philippine history when the voice of the people was stifled, not only in Cebu, but throughout the country.

But it was also in the ‘80s that Cebu media started to work in groups, to celebrate the freedom of the country after Martial Law was “lifted” and dictator Ferdinand Marcos fled the country while the Edsa Revolution would then show the world the Filipino spirit for freedom. Continue Reading

No Comments

Cebu Press Freedom Week CJJ6

A walk to remember: 17 years of Cebu Press Freedom Week

Cebu Journalism & Journalists

September 22, 2011 5:05 pm September 22, 2011

8 min read

592 views

By Rebelander S. Basilan It started as a simple activity in 1994. Looking back, journalist-lawyer Pachico Seares said the first Cebu Press Freedom Week (CPFW) featured a fun walk, an…

By Rebelander S. Basilan

THE EARLY YEARS. From left, Mildred Galarpe, then from The Freeman; Jack Biantan (holding megaphone) and Thea Riñen (holding fan), both then from Sun.Star Daily (since renamed Sun.Star Cebu); and Jane Paredes (holding two children), then from dyRC, join the opening parade during an early celebration of Cebu Press Freedom Week.

It started as a simple activity in 1994. Looking back, journalist-lawyer Pachico Seares said the first Cebu Press Freedom Week (CPFW) featured a fun walk, an opening night and a closing night, with one or two forums in between.

The first CPFW, in which less than 50 people participated, was meant to show a unified media that responds to any attempt to suppress its rights.

“It has turned out to be more than that,” Seares said. “It’s a showcase of media unity but it’s also a reservoir of goodwill and fellowship, a place for colleagues and competitors to gather, talk, chill out.”

The beginning of CPFW can be traced back to as early as Sept. 10, 1988, when leaders of media organizations in Cebu formed the Council of Cebu Media Leaders (CCML). Continue Reading

No Comments