Demise of Journalism or Celebrity?

Volume 1, Issue No. 51

OPINION/COMMENTARY

/ News That Fears None, Views That Favor Nobody /

. . . . . A community service of The Filipino Web Channel (TheFilipinoWebChannel@gmail. com) and the Philippine Village Voice (PhilVoiceNews@gmail.com) for the information and understanding of Filipinos and the diverse communities in North America . . .

 Our latest as of Monday, July 6, 2020 

~  Behind her repeated statements lie an implicit self-declaration of stature to the world, fortified by endorsements from unknowing international celebrities. Rappler's Maria Ressa soups up an ancient form of Chinese torture to fit the narrative of her being persecuted by a supposedly tyrannical Philippine government. Is this a case of a delusion of grandeur or a delusion of insignificance?

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MARIA RESSA 'FRAUDULENT EXEMPLAR OF JOURNALISM'

Celebrity as a Symbol of Democracy?

By ROMEO P. MARQUEZ

Editor, The Filipino Web Channel

"Many have made a trade of delusions and false miracles, deceiving the stupid multitudes". - Leonardo da Vinci

TORONTO - Maria Ressa, Rappler's CEO convicted by a Manila judge of cyber libel on June 15, 2020, has impliedly cloaked herself as some kind of a symbol of free speech in the Philippines trying to weather attacks by a supposedly authoritarian government.

The orchestrated puffery has attracted media friends from abroad, notably in the United States and the United Kingdom, the two countries from which she draws international legal support in a bid to overturn her and a former colleague's conviction.

When she says, and I quote, "What we're seeing is death by a thousand cuts to our democracy," Ressa basically arrogates the symbolism of democracy in her person. Is she predicting her physical demise or the demise of her celebrity?

Either way, democracy in the Philippines remains robust, exercised to the fullest by all, even by those who declare themselves outside the ambit of law, the communist rebels, the secessionists, and the plain ignorant who see the enforcement of laws as anathema to their fantasy.

"Death by a thousand cuts" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lingchi) is actually a figure of speech derived from a form of Chinese torture where the condemned are subjected to small wounds that may not be fatal but build-up to such a degree as to cause death.

Ressa modified the phrase to fit her narrative, adding "what we're seeing is. . . " before the clause and inserting "to our democracy" after it, thus customizing the whole figure of speech into "what we're seeing is death by a thousand cuts to our democracy," It's hyperbole basically.

If her recent conviction is one of those "cuts" to democracy as she insinuates, then we may soon see her - the celebrity businesswoman, not the journalist - and the online news organization she represents, being chopped into fragments because of her own undoing.

It's interesting to note that Ressa studied political theater at the University of the Philippines in Diliman, according to an entry in Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Ressa). It also claimed, based on an article in the Washington Post, that she "is perhaps the Philippines' best-known journalist".

The bold face that she manages to put up and attracts a lot of domestic and foreign bleeding hearts would crumble not because she could not exercise her press freedom and fight for it, but because she's too cavalier to even admit that her way of life, including articulating lies, is one of the fruits of that freedom.

A list of the cases compiled by Rappler against Ressa and the news site showed that, except for the cyber libel that resulted in her conviction, the lawsuits were for tax violations and questions of foreign ownership of Rappler. (Full info at: https://www.rappler.com/nation/223968-list-cases-filed-against-maria-ressa-rappler-reporters).

And the irony is that the finding of guilt beyond reasonable doubt by Judge Rainelda Estacio-Montesa is that the offending article about a private person was written by a former reporter, Reynaldo Santos Jr., and not by Ressa. (Video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HiqE3MRkAZ4).

“The right to free speech and freedom of the press cannot and should not be used as a shield against accountability,” the judge wrote, dismissing the argument that Ressa was just an executive editor, not editor-in-chief, of Rappler. This was a "clever ruse to avoid liability," the judge added.

To me, this is a clear indication that it's not Ressa's journalism, if it could be categorized as journalism at all, but her corporate persona boosted by her questionable status as an emerging international celebrity, which she acquires by association, and not by dint of hard work as a journalist.

Of course, the fact that she had previously worked with CNN and ABS-CBN is not to be discounted. But for the respected Filipino journalist Yen Makabenta, Ressa is a "fraudulent exemplar of journalism and press freedom".

He writes in The Manila Times: "I took interest in Ms. Ressa's work as a journalist, so I have taken the time to look for samples of her writing online, in order to read for myself her views and musings on our profession and public affairs.

"To my surprise," he continues, "there is literally nothing to read of what has been written by 'Maria Ressa.' Rappler itself does not have anything that bears Ms. Ressa's imprint". (Full story at: https://www.manilatimes.net/2020/06/18/opinion/columnists/topanalysis/fraudulent-exemplar-of-journalism-and-press-freedom/732552/).

Ressa may be successful in deluding people, fine, but those who follow her may not be quite familiar with the facts. Example of this are the fanatics of ABS-CBN, the broadcast network that's already legally expired but still refuses to die, struggling even to survive self-inflicted "death by a thousand cuts".

News reports from Manila said the House of Representatives, sitting in plenary, would vote on ABS-CBN's petition for a franchise this week. Some lawmakers believe it would be hard for the network to muster a vote of approval following revelations of brazen violations of existing laws and the Constitution. (Latest videos at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSrSFSNbfl4, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhtUWHKm6S8 and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ReK5EOlwj6A

Ressa, Rappler, and ABS-CBN are in the same choir, singing the same song in the same tune arranged by a Yellow cabal, and supported by communist outlaws, against President Rodrigo Duterte. (Video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8RexihfFtXo).

That their music is getting louder by the day only means they're prepping up for the momentous day of political reckoning although the well-entrenched Mr. Duterte has a full two years left of his presidency, (More info: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rodrigo_Duterte). (Copyright 2020. All Rights Reserved).