About that ‘dangerous’ PH media landscapehome/Business/Business Columns/About that ‘dangerous’ PH media landscapeFirst of two partsFORMER TV news personality Jiggy Manicad sparked an explosion of existential angst among media advocates in the Philippines this week by daring to differ with the widely-held, fashionable pretension that “press freedom is under attack” in the Philippines. What the angry reactions — many of which branded Manicad a “traitor” and a “sellout” — to his comments reveal is how remarkably clueless many media practitioners and much of the public are about the media business here. First of all, we must dispense with the twisted idea of “media freedom,” at least in the terms by which it is defined by those who now cry that it is under threat. And to be fair to those who worry about “press freedom,” that does happen here, far too often. So much for the philosophical basis of “press freedom.” In Tuesday’s installment, I’ll discuss the economic aspects of the Philippines’ media landscape, and why the notion of “media independence” has become laughingly impractical.

Source: Manila Times February 02, 2019 16:18 UTC