The Philippine Human Rights Reporting Project led the discussion on the role of media in reporting human rights over one of the country’s leading radio stations October 11. 

GMA Network’s radio dzBB, through its one-hour program entitled Bangon na, Bayan! (Rise up, society) focused on the current state of media reporting on human rights and measures to improve this through the Project.

The one-hour program, anchored by broadcaster Joel Reyes Zobel, featured Rorie Fajardo, project coordinator of the Philippine Human Rights Reporting Project; Weng Paraan, director and chair of the research and training commission of the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP); and Red Batario, executive director of the Center for Community Journalism and Development (CCJD).

Fajardo said the Project came about as a response to the growing need for improved and increased reporting of Philippine human rights issues in the media. While many have reported responsibly on human rights especially in the last years when human rights situation has brought international attention, many journalists are wittingly or unwittingly becoming tools to violate rights of individuals, she said.

When asked who has the responsibility to improve journalists’ skills in human rights reporting, Batario said: “Media outfits have a major role in improving their reporters’ skills and knowledge in human rights reporting. But most small outfits don’t have resources for training. Even the rights of journalists themselves are exploited – low wages, no benefits, and working beyond eight hours.”

Paraan cited good practices of several media outfits to ensure that rights of news subjects or sources are not violated. One of these is the prohibition of the GMA Network of using any statement culled from a suspect who has just been arrested and interviewed without the presence of a legal counsel.

Fajardo discussed the Project’s strategies in addressing journalists on human rights reporting. These include (a) training based on reporting and training needs consultations with journalists nationwide which the Project conducted from November 2007 to February 2008; (b) commissioning stories, blogs, and analyses on human rights; (c) media dialogues with human rights workers, government and other human rights stakeholders; (d) monitoring of human rights coverage; and (e) supporting initiatives of local journalists towards improvement of human rights reporting.

Paraan stressed the need for journalists to understand human rights concepts and uphold their own human rights through ethical and responsible reporting, both areas which the Project aims to address.

Batario also said the Project emphasizes the importance of context in the stories, an important aspect that is usually neglected or forgotten in the daily grind of news reporting.

Fajardo said the Project would end in May 2009 but is hoped to receive further support because “we cannot improve human rights reporting and monitoring overnight.” The Project gets funding support from the US Department of State Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor.

Listen to the Bangon na Bayan discussion on the Project here.