if james bond were a journalist

According to Ifra, “A primary task for Mobile NewsGear 2007 is to keep journalists at a remote news scene connected to each other, to the Internet and to the newspaper office.”

The latest and most high-tech NewsGear selection is a “complete mobile online newsroom built into a Volvo XC90” -- like a TV remote broadcast van, but designed to produce news in multiple formats. This will enable journalists to drive to a live event, shoot digital video, record broadcast-quality sound, work on print stories with a laptop, scan and print to PDF -- and send everything live to a newsroom or straight to the Internet.

At our chat session a few nights ago, my classmates Nanette and Marieton, and I discussed how much this souped-up Volvo looked like something straight out of a James Bond film or that 1980s TV series Knight Rider -- or Mission Impossible, for that matter. If this vehicle were to become the newsroom of the future, it would mean infinitely more mobility and speed for the journalist, who could report in any or all platforms at any time and from anywhere -- a far cry from the days when we would have to report back to the office to file a story after a coverage on the opposite end of the city.

This mobile newsroom would streamline tasks -- but not, as I mistakenly noted during the chat, necessarily cut costs. Dr. Quinn says in Convergent Journalism, content does not cut costs in the content-producing areas:

“…(s)ome editorial managers and publishers… think that multi-skilled journalists should potentially be able to produce more news for the same or little more money. They reason that their organizations should be able to cut costs because of increased productivity -- more multi-skilled reporting means the organization needs fewer reporters. This remains one of the most popular myths about convergence.”

Could the mobile newsroom eventually render the tickler, pen, and even voice recorder obsolete? Not before journalists are trained to function in a cross-platform environment. Or at least rid themselves of their technophobia.

ever changing, ever constant

For years, journalists have been in control of what the news is, and when and how the public gets it. Now, they are learning -- they have to, anyway -- that they do not have a monopoly on this.

Not everyone who blogs/moblogs is a reporter or a journalist -- or wants to be -- but bloggers/mobloggers have speed, access to sources, and low-cost, portable technology on their side. Journalists will benefit from these tools with reduced production times. More importantly, blogs/moblogs are adding a new dimension to journalism, in the form of “user-generated content.” This opens the way for a two-way flow of news, which gives journalists a new source of news and information.

It makes no sense for journalists to be in competition with bloggers or mobloggers. Nor must they become complacent and leave all the work to the blogging/moblogging public. It is important to harness the potential of blogs/moblogs in newsgathering. But more than ever, journalists must be able to make sense of all the information out there, fact-checking, framing stories, and providing context -- skills that are necessary regardless of medium. They will have to separate the chaff from the grain.

As Howard Rheingold writes in “Moblogs Seen as a Crystal Ball for a New Era in Online Journalism:”

“… the most important remaining ingredient of a truly democratized electronic newsgathering is neither a kind of hardware nor a variety of software, but a species of literacy—widespread knowledge of how to use these tools to produce news stories that are attention-getting, non-trivial, and credible.

Journalism, if it to deserve the name,… is about the journalist’s intuition, integrity, courage, inquisitiveness, analytic and expressive capabilities, and above all, the trust the journalist has earned among readers.”

Journalists must continue to exercise their conscience in their work. Ethical standards must never be compromised by speed and technology. There is nothing wrong with speed -- but “instant” should not mean “reckless.” The ability to produce instant news must be balanced by sound judgment calls.

Blogging/moblogging will continue to change the way journalists work. Nevertheless, much will remain the same.

virtually free

Recently, I was chatting with a Burmese journalist in exile who works with an online Burmese news site and monitors the country’s blogosphere. A study he did just last week revealed that there are not more than 200 Burmese bloggers. Of these, only about 10 admitted to blogging from Burma. Of all Burmese blogs, less than 10 percent have political content.

According to him, the junta does not censor the blogs of those from outside Burma. Still, all bloggers -- political and otherwise -- hide their identities and take great care to go under the radar, so to speak. Censorship of the Internet in Burma is strictly and successfully accomplished, so much so that Reporters sans frontieres has included Burma in its list of 13 “enemies of the Internet” and has declared its Internet policies to be “even more repressive” than those of China and Vietnam.

Perhaps Internet restrictions have resulted in the small number of Burmese bloggers. But blogging does not necessarily indicate a free press. Take China as an example. Despite its estimated 17 million bloggers (and more than 10,000 newspapers and magazines, and 600 radio and TV stations), control of the media is still strong. Web and blog sites are either blocked or forced to shut down.

Imprisonment is another form of censure. In Burma and China, as in other countries with limited freedom of the press, any journalist working in any medium can be thrown in prison. But bloggers can be seen as a bigger threat because they work in a medium with the fastest publishing time and the widest reach. RSF maintains a list those journalists and other individuals who have been imprisoned for their Internet activities, including blogging -- 59 at last count, 50 of whom are Chinese. Some of them have been in jail since 1999.

In places where the traditional media are not free, blogging is journalism. But until bloggers can successfully evade a clampdown, they are only virtually free.

in the line of duty

This is just a postscript to my earlier entry.

In the Philippines -- despite being a democracy, named by the Committee to Protect Journalists as “one of the most dangerous datelines” in 2006, second only to Iraq -- anyone might cover the conflict in Mindanao, the stampede in Quezon City, the elections in May.

But it is still the traditional or “professional” journalist receiving death threats or getting killed in the line of duty.

Of course there can be many factors behind this. I was just thinking, though, that perhaps the local blogs are not yet considered as much of a “threat” as the mainstream press.

news for all, by all

Perhaps the most common argument I’ve heard against citizen journalism is in reaction to the idea that anyone can be a journalist. When you have studied and trained for years to be one, slaved as a cub reporter, covered beats, conducted interviews, and risked your life as a journalist, being told that your work can be done by anyone with a cellphone, a computer, no experience, and no training, takes some time getting used to.

Nevertheless, citizen journalism is important because it empowers the people. As Dan Gillmor writes in his book,We the Media, “Once mere consumers of news, the audience… is learning how to join the process of journalism.” Journalism has always aimed to be a forum for public discourse. Citizen journalism is proof that the public is aware and engaged. It tells us that the public wants to participate in and contribute to journalism’s watchdog role. Whether this speaks of a distrust of the press is another story.

I agree with Mark Glaser’s observation in MediaShift, that “mainstream media reporters and producers are not the exclusive center of knowledge on a subject.” Traditional journalists are not supposed to know all the answers, but acting with the public’s interest in mind, are supposed to ask the questions the audience would want to ask. Citizen journalism is the public exercising its right and its ability to ask their own questions and to document the world as they see and understand it.

Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel wrote in The Elements of Journalism: “People have an intrinsic need -- an instinct -- to know what is occurring beyond their direct experience.” Citizen journalists are born from this instinct, just as traditional journalists are. And if traditional journalists have done their job well, citizen journalists will share and exhibit the same news values. Good journalism, by whatever name and through whatever medium, should always aim for the truth.

story 2: veterans at a standstill (broadcast)

Two members of the Veterans Freedom Party, or VFP, are claiming their lone party-list seat.

The seat was vacated with the passing of VFP representative Ernesto Gidaya on December 4.

The two VFP members are Estrella Santos and Rodolfo Gutang. Both were party-list nominees in the 2004 elections.

Santos is the next nominee in VFP’s list. She is qualified to take Gidaya’s place under Republic Act 7941. The said act automatically designates the next nominee to fill any vacancy in the party list.

But Gutang says the Commission on Elections, or Comelec, "cannot proclaim Santos automatically.” He says he should be the next VFP representative.

According to a VFP resolution approved in 2004 a nonveteran cannot be the party’s lone representative. The resolution also states that a nonveteran “who would have qualified is considered resigned or should resign his position.”

Santos is a nonveteran, while Gutang is a retired constabulary general.

The VFP seat remains vacant pending a decision by the Comelec.

story 2: veterans at a standstill (print)

MANILA, 11 December – The passing of Rep. Ernesto Gidaya, party-list representative of the Veterans Freedom Party (VFP), on 4 December, has left the party’s future uncertain.

Two VFP members are claiming Gidaya’s seat in the House of Representatives.

The position remains vacant, pending a decision by the Commission on Elections (Comelec).

If Republic Act 7941, also known as the “Party-List System Act,” is to be observed, the vacancy should be occupied by Estrella Santos, next on VFP’s list of nominees. Santos, a nonveteran, is a member of the Sons and Daughters Association, Inc. (SDAI), an organization of veterans’ children.

According to a VFP resolution, however, the party cannot be represented by a nonveteran. Under this resolution, Rodolfo Gutang, a retired constabulary general, will take over.

only one seat
During the 2004 elections, the VFP earned one seat in the House of Representatives.

Gidaya, who headed VFP’s list of nominees, occupied the lone seat. The second nominee, World War II veteran Atty. Andres Bustamante, passed away in January 2006. The other nominees are Santos, Gutang, and retired general Vicente Buenaventura.

Section 16 of the Party-List System Act states that, “in case of vacancy in the seats reserved for party-list representatives, the vacancy shall be automatically filled by the next representative from the list of nominees in the order submitted to the Comelec by the same party, organization, or coalition, who shall serve for the unexpired term.”

Under this law, Santos would take over as party-list representative.

But in an interview, Gutang said, “The Comelec cannot proclaim Santos automatically.”

In a memo to the Comelec, Gutang cited VFP Resolution BT 04-04, approved in 2004, which states: “In the event that only one nominee is qualified and proclaimed by the Comelec to represent VFP, that nominee should be a veteran.” It further states: “The non-veteran who would have qualified is considered resigned or should resign his position.”

Santos could not be reached for comment.

on hold
Gutang said the Comelec has to study the matter carefully. “This is the first case of its kind in the party list. Wala pang ganitong nangyari, eh (nothing like this has ever happened).”

Meanwhile, Gidaya’s projects are on hold. “The implementation of the projects will need the presence of a congressman,” explained Gutang. “The replacement of Congressman Gidaya will take over the pending projects.”

With the lone seat at the House of Representatives being contested by both Santos and Gutang, the VFP is at a standstill.

story 1: a different market (print)

MANILA, 9 December – It was a different kind of market yesterday at the Goldcrest parking lot in Ayala Center, Makati.

Instead of food, clothing, or Christmas gift items, the items sold at yesterday’s Waste Market were recyclable waste. Used paper and paper products, electronics such as computers and computer parts, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic bottles, aluminum cans, used toner and ink cartridges, and polystyrene packaging waste were brought and exchanged for cash.

Paper products were exchanged for Php 3.50 to 8.50 per kilo. Defective computer parts went for Php 15 to 80 per piece, and CDs for Php 5 per kilo. Even cables were exchanged, at Php 25 to 30 per kilo.

The Philippine Business for the Environment (PBE), organizers of the Waste Market, had to extend market hours to accommodate more people.

Mila Antofina, senior project officer of the PBE, said that the market collected more waste materials than expected.

“Maganda ‘yung naging response ng public (the public’s response was good),” she said in a telephone interview. “Some even called to say sayang (too bad), they did not know about it.”

Unofficial results of the Waste Market showed that paper waste topped the list of recyclables collected in terms of volume. But by economic value, paper came second to electronics, which was estimated at Php 40,000.

The waste materials are evaluated by volume, economic savings, landfill space saved, and for paper waste, the number of trees saved.

pilot phase
The Waste Market, which was open to the general public, had its pilot run in September. It was then held every first Friday until December. Its initial areas were the cities of Makati and Muntinlupa.

Antofina says the PBE will first assess the project’s viability then decide whether to continue the Waste Market in 2007. But she is optimistic. “May trend na pataas (there was an upward trend),” she says.

If continued, Antofina says, the PBE could take the Waste Market to other areas.

recyclables collection events
The Waste Market was a small-scale version of PBE’s Recyclables Collection Event (RCE), which targets industries, big businesses, and establishments such as malls and condominiums.

The Waste Market is hoped to replicate the success of the annual RCEs.

Since 2002, the RCEs have been held to coincide with Earth Day in April. Venues have been Makati City, Quezon City, Muntinlupa, Calamba City, Baguio City, and Davao City.